Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a practice in which the genitalia of women and girls are altered or injured for medically unnecessary reasons. It is common across Africa and the Middle East but is also practiced in parts of Latin America and Asia. Roughly 200 million women who are alive today have undergone FGM. The United Nations condemns this practice as a violation of women and girls’ rights to reproductive freedom, physical integrity, and life, among others.
February 6th is recognized as the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and UNICEF are jointly leading the effort to reach zero tolerance for FGM by 2030. Their initiative seeks to provide resources and services to 3.2 million women and girls in 17 countries where FGM is widespread. They are also working with the national governments of these countries to improve domestic mechanisms for preventing FGM. As a result of this program, over 900 cases of legal enforcement related to FGM have occurred across 13 of the 17 countries.
Compiled from: International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation, 6 February, United Nations; UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme to Eliminate Female Genital Mutilation, United Nations Population Fund (February 6, 2019).