Female Genital Cutting
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| A female genital cutting awareness presentation in Guinea. Source: L. Lartigue |
Female genital cutting (FGC), also called female circumcision or female genital mutilation, is a traditional cultural practice that can range from cutting to total removal of the external female genitalia. Millions of girls and women have undergone FGC for reasons that include beliefs about health and hygiene, women's sexuality, and adulthood and community initiation rites. FGC causes serious pain, trauma, and frequently severe physical complications such as bleeding, infections, or even death. Long-term complications can bring recurrent infections, infertility, and obstructed labor. Because of its relationship to reproductive health, USAID's Office of Population and Reproductive Health incorporated eradication of the practice into its development agenda and in September 2000, announced a policy recognizing FGC as a harmful practice "that violates the health and human rights of women and hinders development.
Policy
What's New
- International Women's Day - 03/08/08
To celebrate, USAID is kicked off a series of features on women whose work through USAID-supported projects are making a difference in the lives of other women, families, and communities.
- 10 Lessons to Bring About Change in the Practice of FGM/C - 02/12/08
On the USAID-funded INFO Project blog, watch a video and read 10 lessons that have been learned to successfully bring about change in the practice of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C). This particular blog post discusses a presentation that took place at a symposium marking the 5th International Day of Zero Tolerance for FGC on February 6.
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Addressing FGM/C Among the Somali Community Living in Kenya
- 09/11/07 [PDF, 316KB]
Dr. Ian Askew, Director of FRONTIERS in Reproductive Health, recently presented on the female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) situation among the Somali in Kenya. The Population Council’s FRONTIERS program, which is funded by USAID, has undertaken two interrelated activities among the Somali ethnic population living in Kenya’s North Eastern Province. Working with the Ministry of Health, FRONTIERS has developed and implemented a training program for health providers who provide antenatal and delivery care to infibulated women to build their skills in managing the medical and other complications they encounter. In collaboration with UNICEF, FRONTIERS has also engaged religious leaders to initiate a dialogue to question the validity of the religious values that are commonly used to justify sustaining the practice. In his presentation, Dr. Askew presented experiences with both activities and discussed the lessons learned from addressing this traditional practice from different perspectives.
- Global Technical Consultation on Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting - 07/30/07 to 08/03/07
USAID representatives, at both the regional and Washington level, recently participated in a Global Technical Consultation on Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) along with a wide range of development partners to share their experiences on how to address this global concern from many perspectives - including human rights, health, culture, gender and politics. Over 100 million women have been subjected to FGM/C, a practice that still puts up to 3 million of girls at risk each year. At the United Nations Population Fund-sponsored forum, development partners, research institutions, funding agencies and civil society organizations developed strategies and worked on a road map for the elimination of FGM/C.
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Access the Development Gateway's Population and Reproductive Health Highlight on FGC. |
The Development Gateway Foundation Highlights FGC
The Development Gateway Foundation has launched a special collection on FGC, providing a package of useful resources to help disseminate information and create greater awareness about this phenomenon. The collection includes dgCommunities coverage from the Gender, Youth, HIV/AIDS, Population and Reproductive Health, Culture, and Civil Society perspectives.
Research
- Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting: Data and Trends [PDF, 412KB]
Female genital mutilation poses serious physical and mental health risks for women and young girls. According to this new Population Reference Bureau data sheet, an estimated 100 million to 140 million girls and women worldwide have undergone FGM/C.
- CD-ROMs on Female Genital Cutting (FGC)
- Abandoning Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting: An In-Depth Look at Promising Practices [PDF, 1.6MB]
Funded by USAID, this collaborative new work on female genital mutilation/cutting attempts to answer the number one need identified by development experts surveyed on FGM/C: the need for more information on evaluated case studies that illustrate what is working and why.
- Ending Violence Against Women and Girls: Protecting Human Rights Good Practices for Development Cooperation
The paper emphasizes that in order to prevent gender-based violence, it is essential to address gender stereotypes and the relationship between the two sexes. Therefore, working with men and boys is equally important as supporting women and girls.
- Study Shows Female Genital Mutilation Exposes Women and Babies to Significant Risk at Childbirth
A study published by the World Health Organization (WHO) has shown that women who have had Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) are significantly more likely to experience difficulties during childbirth and that their babies are more likely to die as a result of the practice.
- Female Genital Cutting in the Demographic and Health Surveys: A Critical and Comparative Analysis - September 2004 [PDF, 3.6MB]
- Information on Female Genital Cutting: What Is Out There? What Is Needed? [PDF, 395KB]
- Changing a Harmful Social Convention: Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting [PDF, 703KB]
The United Nations Children's Fund's (UNICEF) Innocenti Digest examines the prevalence of FGM/C and its social dynamics. Hard copies can be ordered free in Arabic, English, French and Spanish from the UNICEF Web site
- A Statistical Exploration of Female Genital Mutilation [PDF, 1.3MB]
This publication analyzes available statistics on female genital mutilation/cutting, with the aim of improving understanding of related issues in the wider context of gender equality and social change.
Articles
- Female Genital Cutting, the Taboo Subject
This article, which appears in the June 12 to 14 edition of the Yemen Times, focuses on the practice of female genital mutilation in Yemen.
- Reaching the tipping point against female genital mutilation - 7/30/05 [PDF, 150KB]
Written by Layla M. Shaaban and Sarah Harbison, both with USAID, and appearing in the July 30, 2005 edition of The Lancet.
- Methodological issues in measuring the impact of interventions against female genital cutting [PDF, 207KB]
A recent article by Ian Askew, a staff member of the Frontiers in Reproductive Health Program (FRONTIERS), appearing in the journal Culture, Health & Sexuality. FRONTIERS is funded by USAID and implemented by the Population Council in partnership with Family Health International.
- A Tradition No Longer: Rethinking Female Circumcision in Africa
Community-wide stands against the dangerous practice of female genital mutilation are growing across much of Africa, thanks to the innovative efforts of an NGO in Senegal. This article appears in the November-December 2005 edition of World & I, which is published by the Inter religious and International Federation for World Peace.
Resources
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