The United Nations have named 6th of February as the international day of zero tolerance to female genital mutilation.
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) includes all procedures involving disturbing or damaging the female genital organs for reasons that have nothing to do with medical decisions, and is recognized internationally as a violation of human rights of women and girls.
Here are the facts:
- At the global level, it is estimated that there are at least 200 million girls and women mutilated.
- 44 million girls under 14 years of age have suffered the ablation, mainly in the Gambia (56 %), Mauritania (54 %) and Indonesia, where about half of the 11-Year-old girls have suffered from this practice.
- The countries with the highest prevalence among women and girls between 15 and 49 years are Somalia (58 %), Guinea (97 %) and Djibouti (93 %).
- If the current trend continues, to 2030 approximately 86 million girls in the whole world will suffer some kind of genital mutilation.
- Female circumcision is practised in girls at some point in their lives between childhood and adolescence.
- This practice is cause of severe bleeding and other health problems such as cysts, infections and infertility as well as complications in childbirth and a higher risk of death of newborns.
Join the campaign against this misuse of girls by writing the ambassadors and heads of state of the countries named above and ask your politicians to become active, especially when they invite representatives from those countries.