Female Genital Mutilation
Key facts
• Female genital mutilation (FGM) involves the partial or total removal of external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.
• The practice has no health benefits for girls and women.
• FGM can cause severe bleeding and problems urinating, and later cysts, infections, as well as complications in childbirth and increased risk of newborn deaths.
• More than 200 million girls and women alive today have been cut in 30 countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia where FGM is concentrated
• FGM is a violation of the human rights of girls and women.
• Treatment of health complications of FGM in 27 high prevalence countries costs 1.4 billion USD per year.
CREDIT: WHO