Stop FGM (Female Genital Mutilation)

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Female Genital Mutilation - Raise Awareness!

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Female genital mutilation (FGM), also called female genital cutting (FGC) or female circumcision (FC) is a cultural practice in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa. It consists in in excising or removing tissue of the female genitalia, for non-medical reasons. The United Nations Population Fund says on its website: "Because FGM is coupled with the loss of blood and use is often made of one instrument for a number of operations, the risk of HIV-AIDS transmission is increased by the practice".

 

Ending female genital mutilation

Since the middle of the last century many international and national organizations and agencies, both governmental and nongovernmental, have set up programmes to halt or reduce the prevalence of FGM. Thanks largely to their efforts, clauses prohibiting the practice have been incorporated into a large number of international legal instruments and into the legislation of a growing number of countries. Half of the 28 countries where the practice is "endemic" have introduced legislation forbidding it. A further seven countries have incorporated anti-FGM legislation into their constitutions or criminal laws. Applying the law, however, is another matter: a study published in 2000 found that prosecutions had been brought in only four of the 28 countries of Africa and the Middle East where FGM is practised. (1) Laws prohibiting FGM have also been introduced in several countries with immigrant communities continuing the practice: these countries include Australia, Canada, New Zealand, USA and at least 13 countries in Western Europe. Again, the annual rate of prosecutions varies widely.

Armed with arguments based on its danger to health and on its violation of human rights, opponents of FGM have, over the past half-century or so, tried various strategies—ranging from public education campaigns to offering alternative sources of income to FGM practitioners—aimed at stopping the practice. Some of the more successful strategies include:

Source: www.who.int

Watch VIDEOS AND close up IMAGES of FGM 

These images may shock you. It's up to you to decide if you want to watch them.

Clitoraid

Clitoraid 1 point

Female Genital Mutilation

Female Genital Mutil... 0 points

FGM Strings for Women 

Slogans: "I Stand Against Female Genital Mutilation" and "Stop FGM"

FGM Shirts for Men 

Slogan: "I Stand Against Female Genital Mutilation"

FGM Buttons, Stickers, Yard Signs, Posters and Christmas Tree Ornaments 

Slogan: "STOP FGM"

STOP FGM Home Stuff 

Mugs, mousepads, tile coasters, boxes...

More reading on Human Tragedy of female circumcision 

The Rape of Innocence: Female Genital Mutilation in the U.S.A.

The Rape of Innocence: Female Genital Mutilation in the U.S.A.

Female genital mutilation in the USA has been a we more...0 points

Slave by Mende Nazer

Slave by Mende Nazer

This book is not about FGM but is a harrowing acco more...0 points

Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas D. Kristof, Sheryl WuDunn

Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas D. Kristof, Sheryl WuDunn

From two of our most fiercely moral voices, a pass more...0 points

Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali

In this profoundly affecting memoir from the inter more...0 points

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Featured Lenses 

A selection of FGM Links 

Female genital mutilation linked to AIDS
Researchers have found ties to this brutal practice and the rise in HIV cases in countries that practice it
Female genital mutilation, the taboo subject
FGM is a very sensitive issue in Yemen: Many people dare not speak about it, while some claim that it's not a real problem in Yemen. However, many international organizations classify Yemen as one of at least 28 nations worldwide that practice FGM.
World Health Organization (WHO) informs on Female Genital Mutilation
What is female genital mutilation? Health consequences of FGM. Who performs FGM, at what age and for what reasons? Prevalence and distribution of FGM. Current WHO activities related to FGM.
KENYA: Woman Quits Job to Wage War Against the Cut
She quit her job as a primary school teacher to save girls in her community from early marriages.
FGC Education and Networking Project
News and information about Female Genital Cutting.

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