FGM...

I’ve written in the book about FGM (female genital mutilation). Though the custom predates Islam by centuries, today it is found only within, and adjacent to, Muslim communities. Despite what a handful of apologists say, there are no health benefits to FGM, but a host of problems, both physical and psychological. FGM is typically inflicted on girls at an age when they are too young to offer informed consent, or to fully understand what is being done to them.

The procedure, which is believed to have affected about 170,000 women and girls currently living in Britain, has been a criminal offence since 1985 (it also became illegal, in 2003, for UK nationals or permanent UK residents to take their child abroad to be ‘cut’). However, it wasn’t until 2013 that the first prosecution was brought. The police and social services have often been reluctant to prosecute people for what they see as religiously mandated customs. I read on the Guardian website today that the number of girls in England who have experienced or are believed to be at risk of female genital mutilation (FGM) has more than doubled in a year, according to assessments by council social workers. What a depressing statistic.

The statue of King William III, in Petersfield, Hants...