International Child Day - 20 November

Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting
Female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) refers to all procedures involving partial or total removal of the external genitalia or other injuries to the female genital organs for cultural or other reasons that are not medical necessities. FGM/C reinforces the inequality suffered by girls and women and is a violation of universally recognized human rights – including the rights to bodily integrity and to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. While health consequences vary, they commonly include failure to heal, inflammatory diseases and urinary infections. Gynecological complications that result from female genital mutilation/cutting can become particularly serious during and after childbirth, and include fistula. Increased susceptibility to HIV infection is a concern. The pain of the procedure is known to cause shock and long-lasting trauma, and severe bleeding and infection can lead
to death.

The reasons for FGM/C are many and complex, but the most significant seems to be the belief that a girl who has not undergone the procedure will not be considered suitable for marriage. Traditionally, FGM/C is performed by local practitioners, most of whom are women. In some countries, efforts have been made to ’medicalize‘ the procedure by having medical staff perform it in or outside of hospitals. This does not, however, make it less a violation of human rights, and communities should be helped to abandon the practice.

Facts and figures
• FGM/C occurs mainly in countries along a belt stretching from Senegal in West Africa to Somalia in East Africa and to Yemen in the Middle East, but it is also practised in some parts of south-east Asia. Reports from Europe, North America and Australia indicate that it is practised among immigrant communities as well.

• It is estimated that more than 130 million women and girls alive today have been subjected to female genital mutilation/cutting.

HUMAN RIGHTS
There are many international treaties and conventions that condemn harmful practices. They include the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (1979), the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (1990). A specific focus on female genital mutilation/cutting is found in UN General Assembly Resolution 56/128 on Traditional or Customary Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Girls (2001) and in the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa, or Maputo Protocol (2003).

Arabic Forum