Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting: Times are Changing (FGM)
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This video tells the story of a family that over time has come to question the practice of female genital mutilation/cutting. They have decided against their youngest daughter, Ola, being cut. Ola’s parents do not want her to be cut yet her aunties are pressuring them to go forward with the ceremony. Ola’s mother shares how her first-born daughter suffered a lot of bleeding and trauma when she was cut, describes her own complications during childbirth, and other harmful consequences of female genital cutting/mutilation. The video concludes with a community meeting revealing that others are also growing increasingly concerned about the practice and ends with a call to end female genital mutilation/cutting.
Youth
Female genital cutting or mutilation, also known as FGC or FGM, involves partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. It is typically performed on girls under 15 years of age although this varies across communities and can sometimes be carried out during the first weeks of life or occasionally in adulthood.
Female genital cutting is a serious reproductive health concern and a human rights violation. It has devastating short- and long-term consequences on the lives of women and girls and their communities. Female genital cutting can lead to excessive bleeding, infections, damage to adjoining organs, infertility, complications during pregnancy and childbirth, psychological trauma, and even death.
Worldwide, between 100 million and 140 million women have been cut, and 3 million more are at risk each year. Women are subjected to female genital cutting in 28 countries in Africa – this includes Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda in East and Southern Africa.
Female genital cutting is a practice that is deeply-rooted in tradition in communities where it is practiced and passed on through generations. It is frequently based on the belief that the practice helps control a girl’s sexuality and ensures her virginity until marriage or helps prepare her for marriage.
Female genital cutting is becoming less common, with more than 24,000 communities around the world declaring abandonment of the practice. Locally-led efforts that help recognize the harm of female genital cutting through community discussions are making a difference as more and more families decide not to cut their daughters.
If you or someone you know is concerned about being cut, talk to a trusted adult or seek out information from local NGOs that may be able to provide information or support.
FAQ
There are currently four different types of FGC as defined by the World Health Organization.
Type I – 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).
Type II – Partial or total removal of the clitoris and the labia minora, with or without excision of the labia majora (the labia are “the lips” that surround the vagina).
Type III – Commonly known as infibulation, this involves narrowing the vaginal orifice with the creation of a covering seal by cutting and repositioning the labia minora and/or the labia majora, with or without excision of the clitoris, leaving a tiny hole for menstrual blood and urine. This means that a woman may have to be cut open before she has intercourse and then has to be cut and resewn each time she gives birth.
Type IV – All other harmful procedures to the female genitalia for non-medical purposes, including pricking, piercing, incising, scraping, and cauterization.
In more than half of the countries that practice FGC, the majority of girls are cut before the age of five; elsewhere, cutting occurs between 5 and 14 years of age.
Parents
Female genital cutting or mutilation, also known as FGC or FGM, involves partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. It is typically performed on girls under 15 years of age although this varies across communities and can sometimes be carried out during the first weeks of life or occasionally in adulthood.
Female genital cutting is a serious reproductive health concern and a human rights violation. It has devastating short- and long-term consequences on the lives of women and girls and their communities. Female genital cutting can lead to hemorrhaging, infections, damage to adjoining organs, infertility, complications during pregnancy and childbirth, psychological trauma, and even death.
Worldwide, between 100 million and 140 million women have been cut, and 3 million more are at risk each year. Women are subjected to female genital cutting in 28 countries in Africa – this includes Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda in East and Southern Africa.
Female genital cutting is a practice that is deeply-rooted in tradition in communities where it is practiced and passed on through generations. It is frequently based on the belief that the practice helps control a girl’s sexuality and ensures her virginity until marriage or helps prepare her for marriage.
Female genital cutting is becoming less common, with more than 24,000 communities around the world declaring abandonment of the practice. Locally-led efforts that help recognize the harm of female genital cutting through community discussions are making a difference as more and more families decide not to cut their daughters.
While traditional practices can bring great joy to parents and children alike, some actually cause harm. In communities where female genital cutting is practiced, it’s important for parents and families to consider the harmful consequences on the health and wellbeing of their daughters, listen and talk with them if they don’t want to be cut, reach out to others about questioning the practice, and contact local groups or NGOs that may be able to provide support and information about strategies that communities have used to successfully shift away from the practice.
Educators
Female genital cutting or mutilation, also known as FGC or FGM, involves partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. It is typically performed on girls under 15 years of age although this varies across communities and can sometimes be carried out during the first weeks of life or occasionally in adulthood.
Female genital cutting is a serious reproductive health concern and a human rights violation. It has devastating short- and long-term consequences on the lives of women and girls and their communities. Female genital cutting can lead to hemorrhaging, infections, damage to adjoining organs, infertility, complications during pregnancy and childbirth, psychological trauma, and even death.
Worldwide, between 100 million and 140 million women have been cut, and 3 million more are at risk each year. Women are subjected to female genital cutting in 28 countries in Africa – this includes Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda in East and Southern Africa.
Female genital cutting is a practice that is deeply-rooted in tradition in communities where it is practiced and passed on through generations. It is frequently based on the belief that the practice helps control a girl’s sexuality and ensures her virginity until marriage or helps prepare her for marriage.
Female genital cutting is becoming less common, with more than 24,000 communities around the world declaring abandonment of the practice. Locally-led efforts that help recognize the harm of female genital cutting through community discussions are making a difference as more and more families decide not to cut their daughters.
Meanwhile, female genital cutting might be addressed in some curricula in the context of sexual and reproductive health or human rights and in such cases, it’s important for educators to address the topic per their educational frameworks while also being careful not to stigmatize students who may have already been cut.
International Technical Guidance on Sexuality Education
Values and Sexuality
Culture, Society and Sexuality
Gender-based Violence
Consent, Privacy and Bodily Integrity