The survey published by Unicef is a sad one. According to the organization, the number of girls and women who have undergone female genital mutilation, known as excision, has increased by 15 percent in the past eight years. And this, although the United Nations passed a resolution to ban it in 2012.
230 million circumcised women worldwide
These genital mutilations are not becoming more common globally, but more girls are born in countries that practice excisions than in the rest of the world.
To date, more than 230 million girls and women still alive were subjected to excision, compared to 200 million in 2016. Since Caretakerthe executive director of Unicef, Catherine Russellhe is alarmed by this girls who undergo genital mutilation at an increasingly younger age.
“We are also seeing a worrying trend that more and more girls are being subjected to this practice at younger ages, often before their fifth birthday. This further reduces the intervention window. We must redouble our efforts to end this harmful practice.”
Catherine Russell.
More and more families they choose to have their daughters circumcised earlier, sometimes at age twoto reduce the physical harm and psychological trauma suffered by older girls.
A practice that is increasingly difficult to detect
However, the UN had set itself the objective of eliminating this practice by 2030. To do this, the efforts made must be “ 27 times faster than today “Unicef said.
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But according to local activists, the “medicalization” of excision, or the fact that it is on the increase practiced by healthcare workers rather than from traditional “excise taxes” in hospitals or at home – makes detection more difficult.
Approximately 60% of excision cases – or 144 million – occur on the African continent (the highest rates are in Somalia, Guinea, Djibouti, Egypt, Sudan and Mali). While 80 million take place in Asia, and 6 million in the Middle East.
Many countries have put laws in place to ban it. A bill was presented to the Gambia Parliament this week. But in Sierra Leone, despite being criminalized, this practice remains legal. Second The Guardian, three girls have already died since the beginning of 2023.
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Source: Madmoizelle
Mary Crossley is an author at “The Fashion Vibes”. She is a seasoned journalist who is dedicated to delivering the latest news to her readers. With a keen sense of what’s important, Mary covers a wide range of topics, from politics to lifestyle and everything in between.
