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Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a harmful traditional practice involving the cutting or removal of the external female genitals. It has existed for more than 2,000 years and is performed on girls from birth, up to just before marriage, and sometimes beyond. FGM is also known as "female circumcision" or "cutting", and by other terms locally.
Type I: Partial or total removal of the clitoris and/or the prepucerisque.
Type II: Partial or total removal of the clitoris and the labia minora, with or without excision of the labia majora.
Type III: Narrowing of the vaginal orifice with creation of a covering seal by cutting and appositioning the labia minora and/or the labia majora, with or without excision of the clitoris.
Type IV: All other harmful procedures to the female genitalia for non-medical purposes, for example: pricking, piercing, incising, scraping and cauterisation.
Our vision is a world where every girl and woman is safe, healthy and lives free from female genital mutilation. We are a registered charity, established in 2010 by Dr Ann-Marie Wilson to undertake research and provide knowledge and tools to those working to end FGM in the countries in Africa where it is practised and across the diaspora worldwide.
Leaving No Girl Behind on Zero Tolerance Day
Guest blog by Chantalle Okondo, Assistant Program Officer with Population Council.
The International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) brings awareness of the need to globally eradicate FGM/C. However, it can be difficult to ensure that no girl or women is left behind on a local level. This could not be truer when it comes to West Pokot County on the western side of Kenya, where FGM/C is nearly universal (85 - 94%)1, 2 despite the practice being outlawed by the National Government.
FGM in Guinea and the Guinean Community
Guest Blog by Mama Sylla, FGM survivor and Chairwoman of la Fraternite Guineenne: I grew up in a society where I had been led to believe that FGM/C was normal and justified. In Guinea the practice of FGM is still widespread and the belief is that a girl has to undergo FGM in order to be accepted later as an accomplished woman.
Creating Safe Spaces For Girls In Taita Taveta County
Guest Blog by Hope Gloria Mugambi Mwanyuma, Founder: Hope Alive Africa Initiative: A safe space for girls is a place where women and girls can go to at any time to feel safer and empowered and have access to information, education, recreational activities, support and services.
A study of FGM determinants and approaches to address the issue in Yemen
Guest Blog by Mohammed Gaber: FGM in Yemen is distributed throughout the country but predominates in four main cities; Aden, Al-Hodiedah, Al-Mhrah, and Hadramout. In 2001, the Yemeni Ministry of Public Health and Population (YMoPHP) enacted a decree to ban public and private health facilities from performing FGM. However, some facilities still carry out the practice.
Curbing the Cut: The Somaliland Dilemma
Guest Blog from Richard A. Powell, Mohamed Yussuf, and Bettina Shell-Duncan, Population Council “Evidence to End FGM/C” For decades female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) has been debated in dozens of countries around the world. But it is in Somaliland, in the Horn of Africa, where a recent fatwa, or religious edict, has rekindled a passionate debate of ‘zero tolerance’ versus ‘acceptable harm minimization’
The Pan African #YouthEndFGM Summit – Nairobi – Kenya 2018
Guest Blog from Bakary Seedy Dampha, Founder and National Coordinator, Kids Come First, The Gambia. The Girl Generation organized the first ever Pan African youth summit held from 25-26 April 2018 in Nairobi, Kenya. The summit brought together 170 young people from 17 countries including diaspora in the UK.
You can support our research and other projects to end this harmful practice by making a donation online with PayPal or JustGiving. If you would prefer to make a regular contribution, download our standing order form.
