‘FGM underestimated’ – says UN

By Kemo Cham

[First published on www.politicosl.com] The UN children’s agency,Unicef, hassaid that the practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is more widespread than has been reported, according to a recent report.

The report said millions more girls and women worldwide were victims of the widely criticized practice than initial estimates indicated.

It stated that at least 200 million girls and women alive today had undergone cutting, as FGM is also called.

The report, the result of a study covering some 30 countries where the practice was prevalent, indicated that nearly 70 million more girls and women were involved, compared to the estimated figure in 2014.

Somalia tops the list as the country with the highest prevalence of FGM victims with 98 percent of the female population between the ages of 15 and 49 having been subjected to FGM.

Sierra Leone was ranked among countries with the highest rate, alongside Guinea, and Djibouti.

Some 44 million victims of the practice around the world are aged 14 or younger, and the majority of girls who had had their genitals mutilated were cut before they were 5 years old, the UNICEF research finding reveals.

“In Yemen, 85 percent of girls experienced the practice within their first week of life,” it adds.

The study did not cover India, Malaysia, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

But on the good side, the study reveals that there was a slight fall in prevalence rates globally. Countries that have seen sharp declines include Liberia, Burkina Faso and Kenya.

The UN General Assembly in December 2012 outlawed the practice in a resolution passed unanimously.

Supporters of FGM cite cultural and even religious reasons for propagating it, while those opposed to it say it is barbaric.

The Sierra Leone government recently ruled out the possibility of outlawing the practice amidst growing calls from its international partners to do so.

The report was released to coincide with commemorations of the International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation (FGM/C) on 6 February.

The day was commemorated on the theme: ‘Together, mobilizing to contribute to the achievement of the new Global Goals through the elimination of Female Genital Mutilation by 2030’.

UNICEF, the UN population fund and other development partners, in a joint statement last week, urged the Sierra Leone government and all other stakeholders in the country — from health workers, traditional initiators or soweiis, traditional and religious leaders, to policy makers and influencers — to mobilize against the “harmful” practice.
FGM was singled out in the new UN Sustainable Development Goals for elimination by 2030.
Sierra Leone is said to have over 88.6% FGM prevalence, according to the national Demographic and Health Survey 2013.

The Government of Sierra Leone imposed a temporary ban on FGM during the Ebola outbreak in order to mitigate the spread of the disease.

“This has reportedly significantly reduced the practice among children and it is encouraging that His Excellency the President, Dr Ernest Bai Koroma in his address to mark the end of the Ebola outbreak called for anew beginning where “traditional practices that have a negative impact on health, and which were discontinued during the outbreak, should not be returned to,” UNICEF noted in a statement.

“Breaking the silence and disproving the myths around FGM/C are the first steps along the way to eliminating it altogether,” Geoff Wiffin, UNICEF Country Representative, was quoted in the statement.

(C) Politico 10/02/16