Female Genital

Mutilation
Dr. Sheetal Shah
Head of Department - Behavioral & Social Sciences
Webster University, Leiden, The Netherlands
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 FGM: Female Genital Mutilation is a destructive way operation of

removing part or all of a girls genitalia. The tissue around the vaginal
opening is scraped away or the vagina itself is cut. In the most
extreme cases, the vaginal opening is stitched shut
More than 125 million girls and women alive today have been cut in
the 29 countries in Africa and Middle East where FGM is concentrated
.
3 million girls are at risk annually.
FGM is mostly carried out on young girls sometime between infancy
and age 15. Average age of the girl is 10
7 out of 10 girls will be cut at home, not in a medical establishment
FGM is a violation of the human rights of girls and women.
(Source: World Health Organization Fact Sheet on FGM)

Facts/Statistics
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 Clitoridectomy: partial or total removal of the clitoris (a

small, sensitive and erectile part of the female genitals) and,
in very rare cases, only the prepuce (the fold of skin
surrounding the clitoris).
Excision: partial or total removal of the clitoris and the labia
minora (the labia are "the lips" that surround the vagina).
Infibulation: narrowing of the vaginal opening through the
creation of a covering seal. The seal is formed by cutting
and repositioning the inner, or outer, labia, with or without
removal of the clitoris.
Other: all other harmful procedures to the female genitalia
for non-medical purposes.

Procedures
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Recurrent bladder and urinary tract infections

cysts
infertility
an increased risk of childbirth complications and
newborn deaths
the need for later surgeries

Consequences/Harm
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 Deep-rooted inequality between the sexes & constitutes

an extreme form of discrimination against women.
Procedure carried out on Minors :violation of the rights
of children.
Practice violates a person's rights to health, security and
physical integrity, the right to be free from torture and
cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and the right to
life when the procedure results in death.

Why a Human Rights

Violation
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 Young girls sometime between infancy and age 15

In Africa, more than three million girls have been
estimated to be at risk for FGM annually.
The practice is most common in the western, eastern, and
north-eastern regions of Africa, in some countries in Asia
and the Middle East, and among migrants from these
areas.

Who is at RISK?
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 VACATION CUTTING: Introducing measures to stop

girls being taken abroad for vacation cutting (UK)
Link to Human Trafficking

Spreading across the

World
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30 October2014 Nairobi,
Kenya
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 October 302014 UN launches global media campaign to

end FGM
2012 UN General Assembly passes resolution for zero
tolerance on FGM
FGM Act 2011

Recent Events
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FGM ACT 2011

http://www.desertflowerfoundation.org/
http://www.thegirlgeneration.org/
http://www.womanstats.org/

BAN & Advocacy

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