What is female genital mutilation (FGM)?
FGM can be described as the practice of the partial or total removal of the external genitals’ organs in young girls and women. It is mostly performed on young girls between infancy and adolescence, and occasionally on adult women. ~ World Health Organization
This procedure is carried out by a religious leader, elder or an amateur medical practitioner using a razor or a sharp glass.
There are four types of FGM as established by World health organization.
Type 1: is the partial or total removal of the clitoris glans (the external and visible part of the clitoris, which is a sensitive part of the female genitals), and/or the prepuce/clitoral hood (the fold of skin surrounding the clitoris glans).
Type 2: is the partial or total removal of the clitoris glans and the labia minora (the inner fold of the vulva), with or without removal of the labia majora (the outer folds of skin of the vulva).
Type 3: also known as infibulation, is the narrowing of the vaginal opening through the creation of a covering seal. The seal is formed by cutting and repositioning the labia minora, or labia majora, sometimes through stitching, with or without removal of the clitoral prepuce/clitoral hood and glans.
Type 4: this includes all other harmful procedures to the female genitalia for non-medical purposes, e.g, pricking, piercing, incising, scraping and cauterizing the genital area.
FGM HAS NO HEALTH BENEFITS, ONLY HARM!
Speak Wednesday is an initiative of CFHI to address issues around gender-based violence and gender bias.
#SpeakWednesday #GBV #FemaleGenitalMutilation #FGM #Women’srights #genderequality #genderbias
