The General secretary The UN called on Thursday to end once and for all the scourge of female genital mutilation. In his message for the International Day against this harmful practice, which is celebrated this Sunday, António Guterres expressed his hope of ending it during this decade.
“It is imperative to stop this flagrant manifestation of gender inequality. With urgent investments and timely measures we can meet the goal of the Sustainable Development Goals to eliminate female genital mutilation by 2030 and build a world that respects the integrity and autonomy of women,” she urged.
Guterres recalled that general mutilation is “an abominable violation of human rights” and that it causes “profound and permanent” damage to women and girls in various parts of the planet.
“Every year, more than four million girls are at risk of being subjected to this extreme form of violence. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted health services and put even more girls at risk,” she stressed.
The head of the UN explained that the Organization and its partners support initiatives aimed “to change the social norms that perpetuate this practice” and called for “investments to be accelerated to end female genital mutilation and defend the human rights of all women. and girls”.
Uganda Development Communication Foundation / John Bosco Mukura
Margaret Chepoteltel underwent female genital mutilation as a child.
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UNICEF denounces setbacks in the fight against female genital mutilation
For its part, UNICEF joined the Secretary-General’s warning about the increased risk of girls falling victim to female genital mutilation during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The UN Children’s Fund highlights that the closure of schools, confinements and the alteration of health services are the main reasons why girls may suffer from this dangerous practice of which two million cases could occur over the next decade.
UNICEF Senior Advisor for the Prevention of Harmful Practices, Nankali Maksud, warned about this situation and stressed that “ground is being lost” in the fight against female genital mutilation.
“When girls are unable to access vital services, schools and community networks, their risk of female genital mutilation increases significantly, threatening their health, their education and their future,” she said.
The specialist indicated that the commemoration this Sunday of the International Day of Zero Tolerance with Female Genital Mutilation, together with the second anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic, should serve to “renew our commitment to concerted and well-financed action to resume the way and end this practice everywhere.”
UNICEF reminds that female genital mutilation is a violation of girls’ rights and can lead to serious health complications and even death.
In addition, it highlights that minors who suffer from this practice are at greater risk of contracting child marriage and dropping out of school, a scenario that threatens their ability to build a better future for themselves as well as for their families and communities.
UNICEF/Harandane Dicko
A woman leads a focus group in Mali, where she sensitizes girls and women against all forms of violence, including child marriage and female genital mutilation, in order to bring about behavioral change.
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WHO launches two new publications to help those affected and health workers
The World Health Organization today announced the launch of two new tools to help health professionals provide the best possible care for girls and women who have undergone female genital mutilation, as well as to support global efforts to end the practice harmful and the violation of human rights.
Person-centred communication for the prevention of female genital mutilation: a facilitator’s guide for training health personnel It guides professionals in the health area to analyze their knowledge regarding this practice, and to develop their skills and abilities on how to train their patients in the decision-making process to stop it.
The Organization’s scientist and expert on female genital mutilation, Christina Pallitto, highlighted the WHO’s clear position on this practice by indicating that “there is no justification – medical or otherwise – to carry out female genital mutilation. Only It causes damage and is a serious violation of human rights.”
However, she noted that some health professionals can find it difficult to know what to do when a family asks them to perform female genital mutilation.
“This new training helps them learn to say ‘no’ and, above all, to listen to the people in their charge and make them change their minds, all with a person-centered approach,” he said.
Similarly, the Integration of female genital mutilation content in nursing and midwifery curricula It responds to the need to integrate content on the prevention and care of female genital mutilation in the academic curricula of both disciplines -as well as of other health providers- in a systematic and sustainable way.
Latest data on female genital mutilation
UN News
Facts about female genital mutilation.
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- At least 200 million girls and women have been victims of female genital mutilation. Another two million girls could be at risk by 2030 due to COVID-19, representing a 33% reduction in progress towards ending this harmful practice
- Approximately one in four women and girls, some 52 million worldwide, were subjected to female genital mutilation by health personnel. This proportion is twice as high among adolescents, which indicates a growth in the medicalization of this practice
- Of the 31 countries with available data on female genital mutilation, 15 are facing conflict, rising poverty and inequality, creating a double crisis for the world’s most vulnerable and marginalized girls.
- Female genital mutilation is still an almost universal practice in some countries: about 90% of girls in Djibouti, Guinea, Mali and Somalia are affected by this scourge
- It is practiced at increasingly younger ages in half of the countries, which reduces the opportunity to intervene. For example, the median age to undergo this practice in Kenya has dropped from 12 to 9 years in the last three decades.
- Progress is possible. Although girls are less likely to undergo female genital mutilation today than three decades ago, progress needs to be at least 10 times faster to reach the global goal of elimination by 2030. Multiple crises like COVID-19, rising poverty, inequality and conflict are putting millions of girls at increased risk of female genital mutilation
- In the last two decades, the proportion of girls and women in high-prevalence countries who oppose this practice has doubled
- Ensuring girls’ access to education, health care and employment is critical to accelerating the elimination of female genital mutilation and enabling them to contribute to equitable social and economic development
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