In observance of International Women’s Day on March 8, 2024, UNICEF released a report entitled Female Genital Mutilation: A Global Concern. The report provides new global statistics on the practice. Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) refers to the practice of partially or totally removing the external female genitalia for non-medical reasons.
Compared to data from 2016, there is a 15% increase in the number of girls and women who have undergone the procedure. This means the total number of girls and women worldwide affected by FGM is now over 230 million, 30 million more than in 2016.
The majority of FGM victims are in Africa, with over 144 million cases, followed by over 80 million in Asia and over 6 million in the Middle East. The type of FGM varies, but most girls experience cutting with the removal of flesh. The most severe form of FGM is a procedure in which the genital area is sown closed. Each year, over half a million girls experience this extreme form of FGM, primarily in the nations of Sudan and Somalia.
In most nations, the procedure is frequently performed without anesthesia by people without medical training; however, Sudan and Egypt are the exceptions. In those nations, medical workers (doctors, nurses, and midwives) perform the majority of procedures.
Although FGM predates Islam and is practiced by people from different religious backgrounds, some Islamic scholars support and encourage FGM. Many Muslims believe that the failure to perform the procedure on their daughters will bring shame to the family.
PRAYER
Many of us live in nations where this would never be practiced and recognize it as a violent and invasive practice in a young girl’s life, causing permanent damage and ruining any future intimate enjoyment in marriage. The cultures have a spiritual stronghold where this is approved and practiced. Based upon II Corinthians 10:4-5, God has declared that “our weapons in God are mighty for the pulling down of strongholds, casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought (of those who are blinded) into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” Take a moment to pray for the perpetrators, using the authority Christ has given us! Your prayers will make a difference in the lives of these young girls and women.
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