International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation, 6 February 2022
Ending Female Genital Mutilation by 2030
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International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation, 6 February
UN Observances
Mekiya with her parents in their house in Ethiopia.
Mekiya with her parents in their house in Ethiopia. She was about to undergo female genital mutilation on her mother’s wish, but her father Mude Mohammed was against it.
On the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation, join us in calling to accelerate investment to end female genital mutilation and uphold the human rights of all women and girls.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres
Ending Female Genital Mutilation by 2030
Female genital mutilation (FGM) comprises all procedures that involve altering or injuring the female genitalia for non-medical reasons and is recognized internationally as a violation of the human rights, the health and the integrity of girls and women.
Girls who undergo female genital mutilation face short-term complications such as severe pain, shock, excessive bleeding, infections, and difficulty in passing urine, as well as long-term consequences for their sexual and reproductive health and mental health.
Although primarily concentrated in 30 countries in Africa and the Middle East, female genital mutilation is a universal problem and is also practiced in some countries in Asia and Latin America. Female genital mutilation continues to persist amongst immigrant populations living in Western Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand.
In 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively and disproportionately affected girls and women, resulting in a shadow pandemic disrupting SDG target 5.3 on the elimination of all harmful practices including, female genital mutilation. UNFPA estimates additional 2 million girls projected to be at risk of undergoing female genital mutilation by 2030. In response to this disruption, the United Nations, through its UNFPA-UNICEF joint programme, has been adapting interventions that ensure the integration of female genital mutilation in humanitarian and post-crisis response.
To promote the elimination of female genital mutilation, coordinated and systematic efforts are needed, and they must engage whole communities and focus on human rights, gender equality, sexual education and attention to the needs of women and girls who suffer from its consequences.
Invest Don't Rest — #InvestDontRest
In 2012, the UN General Assembly designated February 6th as the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation, with the aim to amplify and direct the efforts on the elimination of this practice.
This year, the UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme on the Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation: Delivering the Global Promise launched the 2022 theme; "Accelerating Investment to End Female Genital Mutilation." Many countries are experiencing a “crisis within a crisis” due to the pandemic including an increase in female genital mutilation. That is why the United Nations calls on the global community to reimagine a world that enables girls and women to have voice, choice, and control over their own lives.
Be part of the online conversation and participate on social media. Share with the world how you #InvestDontRest!
UN Action
Although the practice has been around for more than a thousand years, there are reasons to think that female genital mutilation could end in a single generation. That is why the United Nations strives for its full eradication by 2030, following the spirit of Sustainable Development Goal 5.
Since 2008, UNFPA, jointly with UNICEF, leads the largest global programme to accelerate the elimination of female genital mutilation. The Joint Programme currently focuses on 17 countries in Africa and the Middle East and also supports regional and global initiatives.
Over the years, this partnership has seen significant achievements. Through the support of the joint programme, more than 5.5 million girls and women received prevention, protection and care services related to FGM. Some 42.5 million people made public declarations to abandon FGM. 361,808 girls were prevented from undergoing FGM. [source: 2020 Annual Report on FGM]
#EndFGM
Voices of Resilience
This exhibit raises awareness and encourages action to address female genital mutilation, emphasizing the effect that COVID-19 has had on exacerbating this harmful practice. It features stories of girls and women that highlight the successes that have been achieved over the past decades in the urgent global fight to abandon FGM. The exhibit is organized by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
From an FGM survivor to a practitioner to now an advocate working to eliminate the practice in her community, Priscilla Nanagiro is among 60 community activists working with a UN Women programme to drive out the practice of FGM in rural communities in Uganda. The programme uses a methodology called “SASA!” – a comprehensive model that has had much success in changing harmful social norms through community engagement around the world
Why do we mark International Days?
International days and weeks are occasions to educate the public on issues of concern, to mobilize political will and resources to address global problems, and to celebrate and reinforce achievements of humanity. The existence of international days predates the establishment of the United Nations, but the UN has embraced them as a powerful advocacy tool. We also mark other UN observances.
