2025 Int’ Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation: Let’s Step Up the Pace

Cultural practices are behaviors, activities, and customs shared and passed down within a particular culture or society. Members of a culture will do everything in their power to protect such practices as they believe it is essential to their continued existence and are usually very ready to fight any contrary opinion that threatens what they believe. 

One of such practice deeply rooted in culture is Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) also known as Female Genital Cutting; or also easily called Female Circumcision. This practice (FGM) involves the partial or total removal of external female genital organs or any other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. 

It is predominantly carried out in certain parts of Africa including Nigeria, the Middle East, and Asia on girls between the ages of 0 – 15 years using instruments such as razor blades, scissors, knives, etc., and often without anaesthesia. It has been described as a harmful practice because of the severe physical, psychological, and social consequences on millions of girls and women across the world. 

According to UNICEF (June 2023), at least 200 million girls and women living in 31 countries have undergone FGM and 19.9 million of them are in Nigeria! One question that often comes to mind about FGM is why the continued existence of the practice if harmful to its recipients. Unfortunately, the practice still exists because it is entrenched in patriarchal societies where it is seen as a way to control female sexuality, maintain social norms, and ensure marriageability amongst many other reasons.

Myths and Complications of FGM 

Have you heard some men say — a girl who is not cut will be promiscuous as she grows older. This line of thought has promoted gender inequality and reinforced harmful gender stereotypes such that a girl who is not cut is seen as an incomplete female while denying girls and women the right to bodily autonomy. Some others even believe that a girl who is not cut will always scratch her genitals, or her clitoris will continue to grow long. 

However, all of these are myths as we have seen girls and women who were not mutilated living a quality life than their mutilated counterparts. FGM does not ensure sexual responsibility nor does it promote good hygiene. These are the results of the choices a person makes.

Over the years, it has been seen from evidence from survivors of FGM that the practice even though often justified based on cultural, social and religious beliefs has no medical or health benefits. On the contrary, it poses immediate health risks such as hemorrhage (bleeding), severe pain, infections, and even death a few days after mutilation etc. and long-term health risks including childbirth complications, sexual dysfunction, psychological trauma, dyspareunia (pain during and after intercourse), urinary incontinence etc. to women and girls. 

An EndFGM Museum 

This year’s commemoration is themed — 2025 Theme: Step up the Pace. Strengthening Alliances and Building Movements to End FGM. It is time to do more than usual to bring this practice to an end. 

As part of the commemoration this year, Onelife Initiative is setting up an End FGM Museum. Our curation is almost complete. We can’t wait to share with the world. We aim to use the tool of culture to fight culture! 

More about this when we unveil the museum. As an individual or a group, you can support the movement to end FGM by simply creating awareness on the implications of FGM and by reporting cases of FGM to local authorities around you or you can also reach out to us on +2348094232675.