DUBAI: The United Nations children organization UNICEF revealed in a report published on Thursday that progress has been made in reducing the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) in Africa despite social pressures that want the practice to persist. “Millions of girls worldwide are cut or mutilated each year,” according to a UNICEF press release. “The practice, a serious violation of their human rights, can cause severe, lifelong health problems including bleeding, problems urinating, childbirth complications and newborn deaths,” the statement continued. The UNICEF study looked at five African countries; Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Senegal and Sudan between 2007-2008. It said that the study was to “identify and examine the factors that help or hinder the process towards the abandonment of FGM and other harmful practices that are deeply rooted in the customs and traditions of the respective societies.” It added that “campaigns in these five countries included important members of local communities, such as religious leaders, as well as using more traditional methods through the local media and working with national governments.” Here in Egypt, statistics show that nearly three out of four women in the country have undergone some form of cutting. The number jumps to around 90 percent in rural areas, especially in the more conservative south. In recent years, lawmakers in Egypt and elsewhere in Africa have been attempting to curtail the practice by introducing new legislation that criminalizes the procedure. Doctors in Egypt who are caught performing FGM can lose their medical license and face jail time. BM
