The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) issued a global appeal for an end to female genital mutilation (FGM).
According to the latest report from UNFPA, this year, 4.3 million girls are at risk of female genital mutilation, and is projected to reach 4.6 million by 2030.
“This number is projected to reach 4.6 million by 2030, as conflict, climate change, rising poverty, and inequality continue to hinder efforts to transform gender and social norms that underpin this harmful practice and disrupt programmes that help protect girls,” said UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem and UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell in a joint statement.
They noted that female genital mutilation violates the rights of women and girls and limits their opportunities for the future in health, education, and income.
“Rooted in gender inequality and power imbalances, it is an act of gender-based violence that harms girls' bodies, dims their futures, and endangers their lives,” the statement said.
“But we know that change is possible. With just eight years left to reach the global target of eliminating FGM, only collective and well-funded action across a diverse group of stakeholders can end this harmful practice,” they added.
Kanem and Russel also noted that the changing gender and social norms that encourage FGM are critical.
“Men and boys are powerful allies in the effort. Increasingly they are challenging power dynamics within their families and communities and supporting women and girls as agents of change,” they pointed out.
“We are witnessing significant opposition from men and boys to FGM in many countries. In Ethiopia, for example – a country with one of the highest rates of FGM globally – male opposition to the practice is 87 percent, according to a recent UNICEF analysis,” the statement read.
In this year’s International Day of Zero Tolerance for FGM, the UNFPA-UNICEF global Joint Programme is appealing to the global community to partner with and engage men and boys to shift unequal power relations and challenge the attitudes and behaviours caused by gender inequality that lead to FGM.
They should also integrate gender-transformative approaches and changing social norms into anti-FGM programs, and invest in national-level policies and legislation protecting the rights of girls and women, including the development of national action plans to end FGM.
“Today is a reminder of the urgent need for even more targeted and concerted efforts to turn our shared goal of ending FGM into a reality. We must work together with all stakeholders – including men and boys – to protect the millions of girls and women at risk and consign this practice to history.”