Recent reports that Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) laws are to be toughened by the United Kingdom government is strong indication that the internationally endorsed battle against the perpetuation of the practice is far from won.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines FGM as “all procedures that involve the partial removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.” The practice of FGM is not expressly required by any religion. However, advocates for its continuance argue that it prepares women for adulthood and marriage, ensures pre-marital fidelity, and reduces a woman’s libido thus enabling her to resist “illicit” sexual acts.
Despite the creditable attempts made by international bodies such as the UN, WHO, UNICEF and Amnesty International at eradicating FGM, the WHO’s 2010 Report Global Strategy to Stop Health-Care Providers from Performing FGM revealed that the practice is still prevalent in 28 countries in Africa and the Middle East. These include Nigeria, Guinea, Kenya and Yemen. The WHO’s Eliminating FGM: An Interagency Statement also stated that about 100 to 140 million girls and women worldwide are currently living with the consequences of FGM. Further, an estimated 3 million girls are said to be at risk of undergoing the procedure every year.
Aside the fact that the practice violates several internationally endorsed legal instruments protecting the rights of girls worldwide – The Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women and The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women – FGM is also associated with many health risks including infections, infertility, increased risk of childbirth complications, chronic pain, psychological problems and in extreme cases death.
However, it cannot be said that the west, international bodies and NGOs have sat idly by whilst the practice has prospered. Notably, there has been a marked reduction in the prevalence of the practice over the last 50 years. Several countries including Liberia, Ghana and Burkina Faso have criminalised the practice and have also successfully prosecuted individuals. The EU also marked the International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation on 6th February 2011by condemning “the abhorrent practice that severely violates the human rights and the dignity of hundreds of thousands of women and girls.”
Encouragingly, the WHO’s campaign on the negative health implication of FGM in the developing world has led to a significant increase in the proportion of FGM operations carried out by trained health-care personnel. The organisation’s FGM and other Harmful Practices Report reveals a widespread practice of this new “medicalised” form of FGM. For instance 76% of FGM operations in Yemen in recent years were carried out by trained medical personnel, 65% in Mauritania and 46% in Kenya. However, critics argue that whilst immediate health consequences of the practice such as pain and bleeding may reduce as a result, victims rights are still being violated and the psychological effect on those subjected to the practice are not only unquantifiable, but are in many cases, irreversible.
Undoubtedly this deeply entrenched ancient practice will be impossible to eradicate without resources being invested in education, as well as wider publicity of its associated health risks within practising communities. In this vein, the UN should support international and national initiatives by providing financial support to educate individuals, families, communities and FGM practitioners of the health risks in order to dissuade them from the practice. Further, alternative jobs and sources of income should be made available to FGM practitioners to prevent them from returning to the profession. Perhaps the media should also be utilised as a means of publicising the health risks and to raise public awareness of the topic.
Additionally, strengthening enforcement and prosecution mechanisms in these communities should be of paramount importance. Therefore, penalties should be imposed on anyone including medical professionals, nurses and midwives who assist or are involved in carrying out the practice. The penalties should include long-term jail terms and significant fines to serve as a deterrent. Also, victims should be provided a means of seeking redress by bringing civil action against perpetrators. It goes without saying that these preventive and punitive measures will be impotent without the political will of the international community and national governments.
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