Posted On: 2023-02-03 11:11:37
Despite having no health benefits, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) continues to persist in countries all around the world. It includes partial or total cutting of external female genitalia. It is mainly carried out in young girls between infancy and fifteen.
It is said that over 200 million girls alive today have undergone Female Genital Mutilation. Female Genital Mutilation can have long-term consequences like bleeding and problems while urinating, cysts, infections, complications in childbirth and even an increased risk of newborn and maternal death. It can also lead to trauma, mental health issues and sexual dysfunction. It is also said that practice has no medical benefits whatsoever.
Currently, India has no law regarding Female Genital Mutilation, thanks to the opposition of conservative religious groups like Dawoodi Bohra Women for Religious Freedom (DBWRF). However, strong and inspiring activists like Aarefa Johari and Zehra Patwa have been advocating for the ban and raising awareness about the dangers of Female Genital Mutilation.
Female Genital Mutilation not only persists in India but all over the world. It is highly persistent in African, Middle-Eastern, Latin American, Asian, and Western European countries etc. Countries with the highest prevalent Female Genital Mutilation cases of girls under the age of fourteen include Gambia (56%), Mauritania (54%), and Indonesia, where around half of the girl population under the age of eleven have undergone the practice. Countries with the highest prevalence of Female Genital Mutilation in girls above the age of fourteen include Somalia (98%), Guinea (97%), and Djibouti (93%).
To combat this, the United Nations General Assembly declared the Sixth February as the ‘International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation.’ The United Nations aims to end the practice of Female Genital Mutilation by 2030. It has also been recognized as a human rights violation.
The theme for this year is "Partnership with Men and Boys to transform Social and Gender Norms to End Female Genital Mutilation". This theme encourages boys and men to advocate against the harmful practice of Female Genital Mutilation. This has resulted in a lot of male allies popping up and raising their voice to end Female Genital Mutilation. United Nations has also started an online campaign and asked users to use the hashtag #MenEndFGM.
While United Nations has not completely eradicated Female Genital Mutilation, its activism against the harmful practice is commendable. Through the partnership of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), a widespread programme focusing on seventeen African and Middle Eastern countries has started.
More than 6 million girls received prevention, protection, and care services related to Female Genital Mutilation. 45 million people have vowed to abandon the practice, and 532,158 girls have been rescued from undergoing Female Genital Mutilation.
So on the sixth of February, use your Voice to raise awareness about the dangers of Female Genital Mutilation, and let’s try our best to end the practice by the year 2030.
AUTHOR: ADIL SAYYAD
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