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Every year several million women approach childbirth
knowing that the risk will be greater because some or all of their
genitalia has been cut away by the traditional practice of female
genital mutilation (FGM).
Approximately 2 million girls are mutilated every
year. Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Somalia, and the Sudan account
for 75 per cent of all cases. In Djibouti and Somalia, 98 per cent of
girls are mutilated.
Apart from the immediate fear and pain, the
consequences can include prolonged bleeding, infection, infertility, and
death. For those who suffer infibulations - the severest form of FGM in
which all external sexual organs are cut away - the trauma of recutting
is repeated with each new birth to allow passage of the baby. Both
moderate and severe forms increase the risks of childbirth.
Mutilation is not required by any religion. It is a
tradition designed to preserve virginity, ensure marriageability, and
contain sexuality. Usually inflicted on girls aged 4 to 12, FGM is one
of the worst violations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights
of the Child. The 1990s have seen growing pressures against the practice
from women's groups, human rights organizations, child welfare groups
and professional organizations.
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