It is a gross human right infringement and offence to perform FGM on children or adults. FGM is illegal in most countries and has been outlawed and prohibited but many communities continue the harmful traditional practice because of peer pressure and miseducation.

Though Female genital mutilation is most prevalent in developing countries like Sierra Leone, with upto 91% of women, it is still a daily reality in developed nations like UK to developing ones like Nigeria. Actually, FGM is practiced in Africa, the Middle East, Indonesia and Malaysia, as well as some migrants in Europe, United States and Australia. It is also seen in some populations of South Asia.

Apart from FGM, other degrading practices like Breast Ironing, female circumcision and Clitoridectomy are practices to oppress women and stamp patriarchy. It is even a requirement in some religious sects like the Shafi’i version of Sunni Islam.

Breast ironing, also known as breast flattening, is the pounding and massaging of a pubescent girl’s breasts, using hard or heated objects, to try to make them stop developing or disappear.

Female circumcision common in Nigeria involves partial or completely removing the external females genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs whenever for non-medical reasons.

Clitoridectomy or clitorectomy is the surgical removal, reduction, or partial removal of the clitoris. It is rarely used as a therapeutic medical procedure, such as when cancer has developed in or spread to the clitoris. It is often performed on intersex newborns.

Today, Thursday, 6 February is the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation 2020 but little has been said. How can we create more awareness and stop this evil from happening?