Today, an alarming trend in some countries is the medicalization of FGM, in which the procedure is carried out by a health-care provider. Approximately one in four FGM survivors — some 52 million women and girls worldwide — were subjected to FGM at the hands of a health personnel. Medicalization not only violates medical ethics, it also risks legitimizing the practice and giving the impression it is without health consequences.
No matter where or by whom it is performed, FGM is never safe. Global efforts have accelerated progress being made to eliminate FGM. Today, a girl is about one third less likely to be subjected to FGM than she was 30 years ago. Still, sustaining these achievements in the face of population growth presents a considerable challenge. By , more than one in three girls worldwide will be born in the 31 countries where FGM is most prevalent, putting 68 million girls — some as young as infants — at risk of undergoing FGM.
If global efforts are not significantly scaled up, the number of girls and women undergoing FGM will be higher in than it is today. We also help to provide girls at risk of FGM, as well as FGM survivors, with access to suitable care, while mobilizing communities to transform the social norms that uphold the practice. Explore global data and resources on this harmful practice. Approximately 1 in 4 survivors of female genital mutilation were cut by a health care provider.
How the harmful practice affects millions of girls worldwide. If your Facebook account does not have an attached e-mail address, you'll need to add that before you can sign up.
Please contact us at contact globalcitizen. Female genital mutilation FGM is a cruel reality for more than million girls and women globally, while 3 million girls in Africa are at risk of undergoing FGM every year. This includes injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. FGM procedures vary from type 1, which is a partial removal of the clitoris, to type 3, which is the most severe form of FGM.
Type 3 FGM means the complete removal of the clitoris and labia, followed by stitching the edges of the vulva together to prevent intercourse, says the WHO. FGM is not just a horrific human rights violation, it also takes its toll on the mental and physical well-being of survivors.
FGM also comes with short-term health risks that include severe pain, as well as excessive bleeding, and genital tissue swelling that increases the risk of infection. Long-term health effects include chronic infections in the genital area, and the reproductive and urinary tracts.
FGM also increases the risk of complications in child-birth , and can lead to maternal and child deaths. Together, these are harmful practices that make it almost impossible for the girls affected to have the same life chances as boys. Jaha Dukureh, from The Gambia, was cut when she was just a week old. Now 31, Dukureh travels around the world as the founder of a non-governmental organisation called Safe Hands for Girls, to campaign against FGM and child marriage.
This is why we need to endFGM unwomenafrica phumzileunwomen pic. She says being forced to marry when she was 15 made her realise the full horror of FGM.
The film is all about her personal experience with FGM, and its impact on her life. Ahmed was eight years old when she was cut, and 15 when she was gang-raped. She managed to escape Somalia for Ireland, where she was able to campaign against FGM — and even be a driving force behind getting FGM officially banned in Ireland in To date, the Foundation has reached more than , people through its advocacy programmes.
In Mali, where prevalence is 89 per cent, the female population will nearly triple [ 1 ]. Some also associate it with religious beliefs, although no religious scriptures require it. The practice is such a powerful social norm that families have their daughters cut even when they are aware of the harm it can cause. Type 2, excision, involves partial or total removal of the clitoris and the labia minora, with or without excision of the labia majora.
Defibulation, opening of the covering seal, is often necessary prior to childbirth. Reinfibulation refers to the recreation of an infibulation after defibulation. Type 4, other, involves all other harmful procedures to the female genitalia for non-medical purposes, for example: pricking, piercing, incising, scraping and cauterizing [ 2 ].
Long term consequences can include chronic pain and infections [ 12 ]. FGM is estimated to lead to an extra one to two perinatal deaths per deliveries [ 14 ]. Consequences are graded according to the type of FGM. Disordered eating habits include loss of appetite, weight loss or excessive weight gain, and disordered sleeping habits include sleeplessness and recurring nightmares [ 15 ].
Change is slow, but occurring, and globally rates are decreasing. Overall, an adolescent girl today is about a third less likely to be cut than 30 years ago. Kenya and Tanzania have seen rates drop to a third of their levels three decades ago through a combination of community activism and legislation.
Attitudes are also changing: recent data show that the majority of people in the countries where FGM is practiced believe it should end, but continue to compel their daughters to undergo the procedure because of strong social pressure [ 1 ]. Collectively, the studies involved 6, participants at entry.
All studies compared an intervention with no intervention except one which included an education module. There was great variation in prevalence, ethnicity, religion, and education in the settings. Two of the interventions were directed at the individual level, and four at the community level. The multifaceted, community-based intervention in Kenya was delivered in a Somali refugee camp, and six village communities in Ethiopia received a nearly identical intervention, consisting of community meetings, theatre performances, video sessions, and mass media activities.
In Nigeria, multifaceted community activities, including multimedia and gender equity action plan development, were delivered at three community levels. A Community empowerment intervention took place first in Senegal and subsequentially replicated in Burkina Faso.
However, the authors stated that low quality of the body of evidence affects the interpretation of results [ 21 , 22 ]. There remains much to learn from the decades of interventions completed and those currently underway. The lack of theory-based interventions; the existence of data with poor validity because of limited methodological development; and the fragmented documentation of research uptake and use for policy and programming are all obstacles to be overcome [ 21 , 22 ].
Accessed February 7, Google Scholar. Ghadially, R. Accessed, March 3, Ghadially R. Al-Hinai H. Fertil Steril. Article PubMed Google Scholar.
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