Fact File
International Day Against Female Genital Mutilation
Female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM) refers to several types of deeply rooted traditional cutting operations performed on women and girls. Often part of fertility or coming-of-age rituals, FGM is sometimes justified as a way to ensure chastity and genital "purity." It is estimated that more than 130 million girls and women alive today have undergone FGM, mainly in Africa and some Middle Eastern countries, and two million girls a year are at risk of mutilation. Cases of FGM have been reported in Asian countries such as India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Sri Lanka, and it is suspected that it is performed among some indigenous groups in Central and South America. FGM is also being practiced among immigrant communities in Europe, North America and Australia.
Since the late 1980s, opposition to FGM and efforts to combat the practice have increased. According to the Secretary-General's in-depth study on violence against women, as of April 2006, fifteen of the 28 African States where FGM is prevalent made FGM an offence under criminal law. Of the nine States in Asia and the Arabian Peninsula where female genital mutilation/cutting is prevalent among certain groups, two have enacted legal measures prohibiting it. In addition, ten States in other parts of the world have enacted laws criminalising the practice.
Source: UNIFEM.
New trends
United Nations Population Fund warned against the "medicalisation" of femalegenital mutilation/cutting. This tendency, according to UNFPA Executive Director Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, arises from increased awareness of the health risks associated with the practice. Ms. Obaid also warned of atrend of subjecting younger and younger girls to the practice in order to avoid their complaints or refusal to participate.
Ms. Obaid combined her warning with a renewed call for intensified global efforts to save the 3 million girls who still face the risk of female genital mutilation/cutting every year. In her appeal for the International Day Against Female Genital Mutilation, February 06,2007, Ms. Obaid pledged "to increase support for efforts to prevent female genital mutilation or cutting, and advance gender equality and human rights, including the right to sexual and reproductive health".
An estimated 120-140 million women have been subjected to the practice, which violates the basic rights of women and girls and seriously compromises their health. The practice leaves lasting physical and psychological scars, in addition to the risks it generates during childbirth. In many countries where the practice is widespread, laws have been passed to make female genital mutilation/cutting illegal. In addition, an increasing number of people now disapprove of the practice--reflecting a rising awareness of its risks.
With this increased awareness, however, and with greater access to health-care services, more and more parents try to minimize the health hazards of the practice by turning to health-care professionals to perform the cutting in clinical settings --in the belief that it is safer.
Health-care workers, on the other hand, may find themselves under pressure from individuals and families to carry out the practice.
"Contrary to popular belief," said Ms. Obaid, "female genital mutilation or cutting is not required by any religion. In fact, many religious leaders and scholars and faith-based organisations from around the world have called for the practice to be banned."
At UNFPA, she added, "we have learned that to make greater progress, laws need to be enforced, people need to be educated, and communities must be engaged." She also noted that through interventions that foster dialogue, "an increasing number of communities have fully or partially abandoned the practice in favour of alternative initiation ceremonies, which is a positive trend".
UNFPA supports a number of initiatives to abolish female genital mutilation/cutting around the world. The most successful -- like those in Uganda and Kenya -- provide alternative rites of passage that usher girls to adulthood without genital mutilation. The Fund also works with local and religious leaders who serve as agents of change within their communities. This approach has been effective in countries such as Burkina Faso, Egypt, Ethiopia and Senegal. UNFPA also works with human rights activists to enforce existing laws that ban the practice.
Source: UNFPA.
