LONDON (TrustLaw) – African member states of the United Nations last week submitted a draft resolution on ending female genital mutilation (FGM) to the U.N. General Assembly, in what campaigners have hailed as a landmark step to end a practice that has been inflicted on up to 140 million women and girls.
FGM, which is widespread in parts of Africa and pockets of the Middle East and Asia, involves the partial or total removal of the external genitals, and in many cases the closing of the vaginal opening.
It is usually arranged by the women of the family and performed by traditional cutters who use anything from scissors to razor blades, broken glass and tin can lids.
The procedure, generally carried out without any kind of anaesthetic or pain relief, can cause lasting physical and emotional damage. In some cases it is fatal.
