As we mark this unique day, let’s start by these facts. Did You Know that:
- In 2020 alone, there are 4.1 million girls around the world are at risk of undergoing female genital mutilation.
- According to UNFPA, the cost of preventing female genital mutilation is $95 per girl today.
- 30 countries where female genital mutilation is prevalent are experiencing high population growth, with at least 30 per cent of girls undergoing female population under the age of 15.
- Young people aged 15 to 19 in countries where female genital mutilation is prevalent are less supportive of continuing the practice than are adults aged 45 to 49.
- In many countries where female genital mutilation is prevented, young girls have a dramatically increased chance of growing up without the risk of undergoing this harmful practice compared to their mothers and grandmothers.
Read more about other International Days
The International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation
International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation is a United Nations-sponsored annual awareness day that takes place on February 6 as part of the UN’s efforts to eradicate female genital mutilation. It was first introduced in 2003. In 2012, the UN General Assembly designated February 6th as the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation, with the aim to amplify and direct the efforts on the elimination of this practice.
One of the beliefs in support for this day acknowledges that culture is in “constant flux,” and with the concerns begetting FGM being so high-risk, the abolition of such practices must be prompt. This is a movement for the rights of women and their bodies, as well as the protection of their physical health- which can be tremendously affected later in life. These efforts are to benefit actions fighting violence against women and girls as a whole. Every Woman, Every Child (a global movement), reports that “Although primarily concentrated in 29 countries in Africa and the Middle East, FGM is a universal problem and is also practiced in some countries in Asia and Latin America. FGM continues to persist amongst immigrant populations living in Western Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand.” In the United States alone, the recent reports of how many women and young girls are affected by FGM staggeringly tripled in numbers in comparison to the previous reports in 1990. About 120 to 140 million women have been subject to FGM over the years and currently at least 3 million girls are at risk each year, in accord to data presented by the World Health Organization (WHO). It is an effort to make the world aware of FGM and to promote its eradication. The World Health Organization has said that “Though the practice has persisted for over a thousand years, programmatic evidence suggests that FGM/C can end in one generation.”
2020 Theme: Unleashing Youth Power
Ending female genital mutilation in one decade will require support from every quarter. With significant population growth, especially among youth, investing in young people becomes indispensable. That is why this International Day will focus on mobilizing youth around the eliminations of harmful practices, including female genital mutilation under the theme: “Unleashing Youth Power: One decade of accelerating actions for zero female genital mutilation.”
UN Action
Although the practice has been around for more than a thousand years, there are reasons to think that female genital mutilation could end in a single generation. That is why the United Nations strives for its full eradication by 2030, following the spirit of Sustainable Development Goal 5.
Since 2008, UNFPA, jointly with UNICEF, leads the largest global programme to accelerate the elimination of female genital mutilation. The programme currently focuses on 17 countries in Africa and the Middle East and also supports regional and global initiatives.
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Over the years, this partnership has seen significant achievements. For instance, more than 3.3 million girls and women supported by the Joint Programme have benefited from female genital mutilation-related protection and care services, and 13 countries have established legal frameworks for banning female genital mutilation and have established national budget lines funding programmes to address it.
Health risks
Short term
Severe pain, excessive bleeding (hemorrhage), shock, genital tissue swelling: due to inflammatory response or local infection, infections, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), urination problems, impaired wound healing: can lead to pain, infections and abnormal scarring, death (can be caused by infections such as tetanus and hemorrhage), and psychological consequences such as trauma (many women describe FGM as a traumatic event.)
Long term
Pain, painful urination, menstrual problems, keloids, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), obstetric fistula, perinatal risks, and psychological consequences such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety disorders and depression. Infections are also a common effect of these procedures (often happening more than once), which include chronic genital infections, chronic reproductive tract infections, and urinary tract infection. Female sexual health is also affected long term, presenting issues such as decreased sexual desire and pleasure, pain during sex, difficulty during penetration, decreased lubrication during intercourse, reduced frequency or absence of orgasm (anorgasmia). Lastly, Obstetric complications often result post FGM procedures, some of which including an increased risk of difficult labour, having a Caesarean section performed, experiencing postpartum hemorrhage, or a recourse to episiotomy.
Joint Statement
The World Health Organization, the United Nations Children’s Fund, and the United Nations Population Fund collectively agreed upon the inhumane practice that is FGM. This consensus was based on the presented health risks and human indignity that accompanies FGM. UNFP’s (The United Nations Population Fund) website, in an article written on last year’s observance of the International Day of Zero Tolerance for FGM (February 6, 2016), stated that “UNFPA and UNICEF jointly lead the largest global program to accelerate the abandonment of female genital mutilation.”
Sources:
UN
Wikipedia
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