FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION

Abstract

In many parts of the world, women have made less progress toward gender equality. They face barriers to enter various arenas of growth and development. One of those barriers is Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), which refer to cutting the external female genitalia for any nonmedical reason. The practice is prevalent in some majority Muslim countries and has a tremendous cost: many girls bleed to death or die of infection, most are traumatized. Those who survive can suffer adverse health effects during marriage and pregnancy. According to the World Health Organization, FGM has been documented in 30 countries, mainly in Africa, Middle East and Asia. There is a stereotype that FGM happens just on the African continent, but it’s actually part of the birthing procedure in regions all around the world. The study shows that FGM might be a phenomenon of epidemic proportions in the Arab Middle East and Arab governments refuse to address the problem. UNICEF reports that the practice also occurs to a limited degree in Jordan, Gaza, Oman, and Iraqi Kurdistan. This fall, a United States district judge heard a landmark case. For the first time, the federal government pursued a case of female genital mutilation on American soil. In India, for long, FGM or khatna as the Bohras call it remained a well-kept secret, a subject never to be discussed. But now a few women, victims at the hands of the Bohra tradition, are choosing to speak out and create awareness. FGM violates human rights conventions that protect women and children from cruelty and violence and ensure them "bodily integrity" and access to health care, education, and self-realization.