Female Genital mutilation (FGM) is the practice of cutting any part of the external female genitalia for non-medical reasons and is sometimes called female circumcision. It is a cultural practice well ingrained in certain cultures and is carried out by traditional circumcisers.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that around the world between 100 and 132 million girls and women have been subjected to FGM and each year a further 2 million girls are at risk. Female genital mutilation is mostly practiced in Africa. In Uganda, female genital mutilation is most prevalent in Kapchorwa, Bukwo and Karamoja.
The most common form of female genital mutilation involves the cutting or removal of the clitoris and other vaginal tissues. The reasons for carrying out FGM varies from culture to culture with some believing that FGM reduces a woman’s desire for sex and in doing so reduces the chances of having sex outside marriage.
Internationally, female genital mutilation is considered as a violation of the human rights of girls and women as it involves removing and damaging healthy and normal female genital tissue and interferes with the natural functions of girls’ and women’s bodies.
Female genital mutilation (FGM) has no health benefits for girls and women. FGM harms women’s psychological, sexual and reproductive health. Immediate consequences of FGM can include severe pain, shock, excessive bleeding, tetanus, urine retention and injury to nearby genital tissues. Long-term consequences of FGM can include recurrent bladder and urinary tract infections, infertility, increased risk to childbirth complications and newborn deaths and increased vulnerability to HIV.
