“No Time to Waste” in Ending FGM

FGM is a taboo and complicated topic in Liberia and it is dangerous for women to speak out about it. Credit: Travis Lupick / IPSBy Will Higginbotham and Tharanga YakupitiyageUNITED NATIONS, Feb 7 2018 (IPS)More than 200 million women around the world have experienced some kind of female genital mutilation (FGM) and more could be at risk, a UN agency said. Though the practice has declined in prevalence globally, alarming new figures from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) predict that any progress could be off-set as a further 68 million girls face the risk of FGM by 2030.The statistics from the UN were unveiled today as the world marks the 15th International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).“The new figures mean that this practice is threatening the life and wellbeing of more girls and women than initially estimated,” the Coordinator of the UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Program on FGM, Nafissatou Diop, told IPS.“You and I and everybody and the girl next door can be affected,” she continued.FGM – sometimes called female circumcision or being ‘cut’ — is often practiced for religious, personal, cultural, and coming of age purposes. According to the UN, most cases are inflicted upon girls from infancy to the age of 15.The increase in ‘at risk of FGM’ cases is partly due to population growth in countries where FGM is common – namely in parts of northern and western Africa, the Middle East and pockets of Asia.In Egypt alone, more than...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Aid Crime & Justice Education Featured Gender Gender Violence Global Headlines Health Human Rights Inequity Religion TerraViva United Nations Women's Health Source Type: news