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FEMALE GENITAL CUTTING

The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations (UN) define Female genital mutilation or cutting (FGM/C)  as "any partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or any other injury of the female genital organs for non-medical reasons." FGM/C is done mostly in parts of northern and central Africa, in the southern Sahara, and in of the Middle East and Asia as well as among migrants from these areas. FGM is therefore a global concern. More than 200 million girls and women alive today have been cut .The four types of FGM/C are:

  • Type 1: Partial or total removal of the clitoris. This is also called clitoridectomy.
  • Type 2: Partial or total removal of the clitoris and the labia.
  • Type 3: Sewing the labia together to make the vaginal opening smaller. This is called infibulation. 
  • Type 4: All other harm to the female genitalia for non-medical purposes, including pricking, piercing, cutting and scraping. 
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