Female Genital Mutilation

GENITAL MUTILATION

Female genital mutilation is also known as female circumcision (FC) and female genital cutting (FGC). Circumcision gained a growing support in the 1970s. This term was adopted at the Inter-African Committee on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children.

The World Health Organization uses the term Female Genital Mutilation to describe varying types of genital cutting. Type I is the total or partial removal of the clitoris or prepuce. Type II focuses on partial or total removal of the clitoris and labia minora. Type III is the narrowing of the vaginal orifice with creation of a covering seal that cuts the labia minora and/or labia majora. Type IV is referred to as “all other harmful procedures to the female genitalia for non-medical purposes such as pricking, pinching, piercing, incising, and scraping. It is found in many diverse ethnic groups. These ethnic groups include: Senegal on the West Coast, Ethiopia on the East Coast, Egypt in the north, Tanzania in the south, Sudan, and Mali. Northern Saudi Arabia, southern Jordan, and Iraq are the other countries where genital mutilation is prevalent.