Ending Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting

Female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) refers to several different harmful practices involving the cutting of the female genitals. It is estimated that about three million girls, the majority under 15 years of age, undergo the procedure every year. FGM/C is a practice deeply rooted in tradition and persists because it is a social convention upheld by underlying gender structures and power relations.

For decades, reformers have been trying to end female genital mutilation/cutting, a widespread traditional practice that is harmful to women and girls. Now, however, thanks to a new approach, communities across Africa and some Arab States are standing up together against the practice and overturning deeply entrenched social norms.

UNFPA and UNICEF, co-sponsors of the Joint Programme on Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting, aim to see communities everywhere abandon the practice in a generation. Key to their success is using a human rights-based approach to encourage communities to act collectively to abandon the practice, so that girls or their families who opt out do not jeopardize marriage prospects or become social outcasts. This approach has led some 8,000 communities across Africa to abandon the practice, usually through some form of public declaration.

Still, much work remains to be done. Some 3 million girls worldwide face FGM/C each year, and 140 million have already undergone the practice. The Joint Programme address works on many levels - from advocacy to influencing legislation - to accelerate change. It also protects women and girls who suffer from having been cut.

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Ending Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting

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