International activists joined envoys from the United Nations and African Union in Senegal to “promote the adoption of a resolution that explicitly bans female genital mutilation as a practice that is contrary to human rights.”
The cutting or removal of young girls’ and women’s clitoris and/or labia affects some 120 to 140 million women in 28 countries, mostly in Africa and the Middle East, according to the World Health Organisation.
What Is Female Circumcision?
Female genital cutting (FGC), also controversially known as female circumcision, female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C), or female genital mutilation (FGM), is any procedure involving the partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs “whether for cultural, religious or other non-therapeutic reasons.” The term is almost exclusively used to describe traditional or religious procedures on a minor, which requires the parents’ consent because of the age of the girl.
When the procedure is performed on and with the consent of an adult it is generally called clitoridectomy, or it may be part of labiaplasty or vaginoplasty. It also generally does not refer to procedures used in gender reassignment surgery, and the genital modification of intersexuals.
FGC is practiced throughout the world, with the practice concentrated most heavily in Asia and Africa. Opposition is motivated by concerns regarding the consent (or lack thereof, in most cases) of the patient, and subsequently the safety and long-term consequences of the procedures. In the past several decades, there have been many concerted efforts by the World Health Organization (WHO) to end the practice of FGC. The United Nations has also declared February 6 as “International Day Against Female Genital Mutilation”.
Sources: newsone.com and wikipedia