I just read about the case of Grace Gichuhi and Teresia Ndikaru Muturi in this article on The Age website.
I would love it if you read the article for yourselves, but to summarise, Grace & Teresia came to Australia for World Youth Day last year, and have since applied for protection as refugees on the basis that they face genital mutilation or death on their return to Kenya - Graces mother was killed for refusing this abhorrent procedure.
They have been denied these visas.
To help:
You can contact Senator Chris Evans, the Minister for Immigration & Citizenship, via his online contact page.
You could also try Kevin Rudd, too.
It doesn't feel like much, but this is what I wrote. Feel free to copy & paste.
Dear Senator Evans,
I have just heard of the case of Grace Gichuhi & Teresia Ndikaru Muturi, two women from Kenya who have been denied status as refugees.
I believe that the torturous practise of genital mutilation is abhorrent, and that to deny these women refugee visas is to take a weak stance on this issue.
I urge you to intervene in this case, not only to help these women, but also to send a clear message to Kenya that Australia does not condone these practises.
Sincerely,
Penny Eager
4 comments:
Thank you for talking about this. I have just sent an email to the Senator. And like you I am now going to blog about this to help spread the word.
Yes, thank you from me too. A Cause page has also been established on Facebook to, hopefully, make a collective and vocal impact on this issue. Feel free to join here: http://apps.facebook.com/causes/358458?m=6b07e9f9
Thanks Penny,
I read about this the other day too.
I've sent an email now as well.
Susie
I was hoping when I looked these young ladies up Google that they would have been allowed to stay. I sent an email when I saw the article in the online newspaper. I sent an email to Minister for Immigration - Senator Chris Evans. Hopefully our voices will be heard. I am starting to think the world and perhaps Australia does note care about women. Look at Afghanistan and their legal treatment.
Suzy
Absolutely abhorrent practice. I will look at the Facebook page tonight.
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