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UN condemns female circumcision

The United Nations has called for an end to ritual female genital mutilation, a practice to which an estimated 130 million girls and women worldwide have been subjected.

The heads of the WHO, Unicef, and the United Nations Population Fund published a statement last week calling for an international effort to bring about a "major decline" within 10 years in what they termed an "unsafe and unjustifiable traditional practice." The aim is to eliminate female genital mutilation worldwide within three generations. The agencies announced plans to work with governments and political and religious organisations in countries where female genital mutilation is practised.

The practice, sometimes referred to as female circumcision, affects women and girls throughout the developing world, particularly among African countries, where the incidence may be over 90%. Female genital mutilation describes partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the genital organs for non-therapeutic reasons–usually cultural or religious–with the aim of reducing sexual responsiveness or drive.

Female genital mutilation is traditionally performed by elderly women who have no medical training and commonly use unsterilised razor blades, kitchen implements, or even broken glass. In the short term mutilated girls and women may experience severe pain, shock, urine retention, ulceration of the genital region, or even fatal haemorrhage or infection. Long term adverse affects include cysts and abscesses, keloid scarring, urinary incontinence, dyspareunia, sexual dysfunction, urinary tract infections, infertility, and complications during childbirth.

The primary focus of the United Nations' efforts has been to educate women through workshops. "We are very respectful of the fact that these are longstanding traditions in these countries," said Marsha Zeesman, a spokeswoman for Unicef in New York. "That is why we work with women themselves."

In the past year Unicef campaigns have resulted in legislation against female genital mutilation in Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso, and Egypt.