FGM involves the partial or total removal of the external female genitals for non-medical reasons. The practice is mostly carried out on young girls sometime between infancy and age 15 by traditional circumcisers who have no medical training. No anaesthetic is used and often girls are too young to properly realise what’s happening to them.
The causes of female genital mutilation include a mix of cultural, religious and social factors within families and communities. Considered a necessary preparation for womanhood and marriage, FGM is associated with cultural ideals of femininity and modesty, including the notion that girls are “clean” and “beautiful” after removal.
FGM harms girls and women in many ways including severe bleeding, increased susceptibility to infections, an increased risk of new born deaths and a raft of psychological traumas. They are also twice as likely to die in childbirth and are more susceptible to obstetric fistula, a severe medical condition that leads to incontinence.