Five senior UN officials have welcomed the decision by The Gambia to uphold its ban on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), calling it a critical win for women’s and girls’ rights.
The global fight to tackle female genital mutilation (FGM) is being undermined by the movement of some girls across national borders and beyond to undergo the procedure, the UN human rights office (OHCHR) warned in a new report published on Friday.
More than 230 million girls and women alive today have been subjected to female genital mutilation (FGM); an increase of 30 million or 15 per cent compared with figures from 2016, new UN estimates revealed on Friday.
Some 4.4 million girls are at risk of female genital mutilation (FGM) this year, the UN Secretary-General warned on Tuesday, appealing for action to stamp out this “egregious violation of fundamental human rights” and give greater voice to survivors.
Women in The Gambia face high levels of female genital mutilation (FGM), period poverty (an inability to afford menstrual hygiene products), and domestic violence. In an interview with UN News, Ndeye Rose Sarr, the head of the UN reproductive and sexual health agency (UNFPA) in the country, underlines the challenges they face, and the efforts the UN is making to address the issues.
Female Genital Mutilation, or FGM, is an “abhorrent violation of fundamental human rights” said the UN Secretary-General on Monday, marking the International Day of Zero Tolerance against the scourge, which remains a threat for a staggering 4.2 million girls this year.
UN-appointed independent human rights experts called on Wednesday for stronger measures to prevent and penalize female genital mutilation in Sierra Leone.
In Somalia, over 90 per cent or more of girls and women, have been subjected to female genital mutilation, or FGM. Despite the practice having devastating health ramifications for women and girls - including pain, bleeding, permanent disability and even death - discussion over how to end the harmful tradition, remains taboo.
The COVID-19 pandemic is increasing the risk of female genital mutilation or FGM, with the UN predicting that an additional two million girls will be subjected to the practice in the next ten years.
