Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) involves the partial or total removal of external female genitalia for non-medical reasons. It has no real benefits and can cause severe bleeding, problems with urinating, cysts, infections, as well as complications with childbirth.
Where FGM is a social norm, there is social pressure to conform to what others do. It is considered a necessary part of a girl’s life. FGM is considered a form of chastity. It is motivated by beliefs that FGM will reduce a woman’s desire to partake in extramarital sexual acts. It is associated with cultural ideas of femininity and modesty.
More than 200 million girls and women alive today have been cut in 30 countries where the practice is concentrated. The practice is carried out on girls between the ages of infancy and adolescence.
Female Genital Mutilation is a violation of the human rights of girls and women and a crime under international humanitarian law.
FGM
