- Female genital mutilation (FGM) comprises all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.
- It has no health benefits for girls and women.
- It can result in severe bleeding and problems urinating, and later cysts, menstrual difficulties, infections, as well as complications in childbirth and increased risk of newborn deaths.
- FGM is mostly carried out on young girls between infancy and age 15.
- FGM is a violation of the human rights of girls and women.
- The reasons for following this practice vary from one region to another as well as over time and include a mix of sociocultural factors within families and communities.
- In India it is predominantly followed by the Bohra community.
- More than 230 million girls and women alive today have undergone female genital mutilation (FGM) in 30 countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia where FGM is practiced.
- UNICEF and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) collaboratively spearhead the largest global initiative in 2008, aimed at eradicating female genital mutilation (FGM).
- It works alongside communities to educate them about the detrimental effects of FGM and to promote a change in social norms that encourages collective abandonment of the practice.
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