“As a survivor of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C), and as a nurse-epidemiologist, I know the harmful effects that will be caused by it,” said Catherine.
“Possible post-FGM/C complications include infections, long-term pain after child delivery, negative impact on women's sex lives and the emotional impacts and the distress that comes with women realising that it has been done on them. We have documented complications of type-one of female genital mutilation/cutting which is also happening in Asia, whose complications are of more severe form such as pain, genital swelling, haemorrhage, among others,” said Safiya Riyaz, Programme Officer, The Asian-Pacific Resource & Research Centre for Women (ARROW) and coordinator, Asia Network to End FGM/C, Sri Lanka.
“Female genital mutilation/cutting is described by the World Health Organization (WHO) as all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. It is referred to by a range of terms but no matter what terminology we use, it is recognised internationally as a grave violation of human and child rights, particularly sexual and reproductive health and rights of girls and women and as a form of gender- based violence,” added Safiya Riyaz.
Even if FGM/C is done medically, it violates medical ethics
“It is important to remember that female genital mutilation/cutting has no health or medical benefits and no scientific basis to justify why a healthcare professional should be engaging in it,” said Safiya Riyaz. That is why the WHO strongly urges health workers not to perform female genital mutilation/ cutting. When performed in a clinical setting, FGM/C violates medical ethics.
“There is no health benefit of female genital mutilation/cutting. When healthcare professionals perform it then they are wrongly legitimising this harmful practice as something that is ‘medically sound’ or ‘beneficial’ when it is not. We have very explicit condemnations by medical and scientific bodies such as the WHO, International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, International Confederation of Midwives, UNFPA and others against medicalisation of female genital mutilation/cutting in Asia,” she said.
Catherine and Safiya were among the keynote speakers of latest SHE & Rights session organised by Global Center for Health Diplomacy and Inclusion (CeHDI), Women Deliver Conference 2026, International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), Asian-Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women (ARROW), Women’s Global Network for Reproductive Rights (WGNRR), Asia Pacific Media Alliance for Health, Gender and Development Justice (APCAT Media) and CNS.
“We see in Asia that female genital mutilation/cutting has been sustained due to [harmful] social norms or [wrong] ideas around ‘purity’ that by performing female genital mutilation/cutting on a girl somehow, they become less promiscuous. It really boils down to a control of sexuality,” said Safiya Riyaz.
Community-led and owned local solutions to end FGM/C
“We also need to setup protection systems that reach the girls. I come from a community where female genital mutilation/cutting is practiced. It was so frustrating when I see girls running away from their homes because they were at risk of undergoing female genital mutilation/cutting. So, where do we call safe? A safe place should be at home where everybody is friendly, and girl feels safe and is safe. But now we are turning our homes to be unsafe,” said Catherine Menganyi. “We need to invest in community-led and community-owned solutions. Affected communities understand why harmful practices are occurring and best placed to find a locally relevant and effective solution. Investing in community-led responses to end FGM/C is best.”
Do not delink FGM/C with gender-based violence
“Female genital mutilation/cutting does not exist in isolation. It is part of a wider system that controls women’s and girls’ bodies. It limits the choices of women and girls. It ‘normalises’ violence against women and girls. So, we cannot delink female genital mutilation/cutting from the deeper issue of all forms of violence against women and girls. We must emphasise the importance of gender equality because it is not optional. It must be guaranteed as a right to all women and girls,” said Catherine Menganyi.
“All efforts to put women at the decision-making table and listening to their voices are very critical because these are the voices for change – to ensure health, education and peace becomes a reality for all. Ending violence against women and girls, right to health, right to education, right to peace are among the most essential ones – and cannot be delinked with each other – including with ending female genital mutilation/cutting. Let us all understand intersectionality,” stressed Catherine. “Every girl, every woman has the right to grow up whole, safe, educated, and free from violence. Ending female genital mutilation/cutting is not charity, it is justice.”
Promises unkept
"When we speak about violence and human rights violations, female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) is among the most heinous crimes. We must end such practices everywhere if we are to keep the promises of gender equality and human rights. That is why all world leaders at the UN General Assembly 2015, had promised to end FGM/C by 2030. Despite such promises to end female genital mutilation/cutting by 2030 (SDG 5.3), rates have instead risen by 15% in recent 8 years (2016-2024), from 200 million in 2016 to over 230 million in 2024," said Shobha Shukla, feminist leader and SHE & Rights Host and Coordinator.
"We have 13 countries in South Asia and Southeast Asia where female genital mutilation/cutting is documented: India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Maldives (South Asia); Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Brunei, Singapore, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Azerbaijan (South-East Asia). I would like to emphasise again that female genital mutilation/cutting is performed on young girls and infants within the first year after birth or before 5 years of age, against which we need more legal protection. We have only one country Indonesia which has any regulation banning such a practice," said Safiya Riyaz of Asia Network to end FGM/C.
"Female genital mutilation/cutting is also condemned by a number of international treaties and conventions including UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), Universal Periodic Review (UPR), the legally binding UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) to which several Asian nations have signed upon," added Safiya.
UPR is an important accountability mechanism
This SHE & Rights session marks 20th anniversary of Universal Periodic Review (UPR) and upcoming 70th intergovernmental Session of UN Commission on Status of Women (CSW70). Female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) is also one of the indicators for UPR. "Let us make accountability mechanisms like UPR more effective in ensuring gender equality and human right to health are protected and guaranteed to every person where no one is left behind," said Shobha.
The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a unique, state-driven, UN Human Rights Council mechanism that periodically examines the human rights records of all 193 UN Member States. It aims to improve human rights situations globally through 4.5-year cycles of interactive, peer-reviewed dialogues, where countries highlight progress and receive recommendations.
"We have found the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism very helpful, including for instance issuing the first-ever recommendation from an international mechanism to India on female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) which helps keeps the issue current. We are seeing the rising anti-rights pushback, for example, in The Gambia where there have been efforts to repeal the anti-FGM/C law; as well as in the US, where the government is trying to misuse the anti-FGM/C law to attack gender-affirming care," said Divya Srinivasan, Global Lead, End Harmful Practices, Equality Now.
A new report of Equality Now launched earlier in February 2026, Towards Justice: Global Challenges and Opportunities in Litigating Cases of Female Genital Mutilation, produced with legal research assistance from TrustLaw, the Thomson Reuters Foundation’s pro bono service. This report outlines how survivors of female genital mutilation/cutting and women’s rights advocates are increasingly using strategic litigation to strengthen implementation of laws, close legal gaps, and defend hard-won protections from rollback.
The research examines strategic litigation in India, Burkina Faso, Kenya, Liberia, The Gambia, and the US, and analyses barriers to justice in Australia, Burkina Faso, Egypt, France, Kenya, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Uganda, the UK, and the US. Some of the report findings include:
"Research shows that female genital mutilation/cutting is taking place in at least 94 countries across the world. Out of these 94 countries, 59 of them have specific laws which are addressing female genital mutilation/cutting. Despite this, prosecutions and access to justice remains rare. So, that is why this report was necessary to examine how strategic litigation has been used across different jurisdictions to improve accountability and to strengthen the implementation of legal frameworks. It also looks at access to justice and what survivors of female genital mutilation/cutting have really faced when they have tried to access the justice system and what kind of barriers they have faced," said Divya Srinivasan of Equality Now.
The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a unique, state-driven, UN Human Rights Council mechanism that periodically examines the human rights records of all 193 UN Member States. It aims to improve human rights situations globally through 4.5-year cycles of interactive, peer-reviewed dialogues, where countries highlight progress and receive recommendations.
"We have found the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism very helpful, including for instance issuing the first-ever recommendation from an international mechanism to India on female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) which helps keeps the issue current. We are seeing the rising anti-rights pushback, for example, in The Gambia where there have been efforts to repeal the anti-FGM/C law; as well as in the US, where the government is trying to misuse the anti-FGM/C law to attack gender-affirming care," said Divya Srinivasan, Global Lead, End Harmful Practices, Equality Now.
A new report of Equality Now launched earlier in February 2026, Towards Justice: Global Challenges and Opportunities in Litigating Cases of Female Genital Mutilation, produced with legal research assistance from TrustLaw, the Thomson Reuters Foundation’s pro bono service. This report outlines how survivors of female genital mutilation/cutting and women’s rights advocates are increasingly using strategic litigation to strengthen implementation of laws, close legal gaps, and defend hard-won protections from rollback.
The research examines strategic litigation in India, Burkina Faso, Kenya, Liberia, The Gambia, and the US, and analyses barriers to justice in Australia, Burkina Faso, Egypt, France, Kenya, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Uganda, the UK, and the US. Some of the report findings include:
- Despite a global shift to criminal bans on female genital mutilation/cutting, many countries do not have specific law prohibiting the practice, leaving women and girls unprotected.
- Courts are becoming a critical frontline in efforts to end female genital mutilation/cutting.
- Strategic litigation can clarify the law, expose systemic failures, set legal precedent, and drive legal and policy reform.
- Prosecutions can empower survivors, raise public awareness of female genital mutilation/cutting as a serious human rights abuse, and encourage other survivors to report.
- However, prosecutions remain rare, and failings in justice systems enable immunity.
- Reporting of female genital mutilation/cutting is low, due partly to stigma, fear, and weak victim and witness protection. Survivors are re-traumatised within the criminal justice system, and in some cases, even criminalised under the laws meant to protect them.
- Laws prohibiting female genital mutilation/cutting are under threat from coordinated legal challenges that (wrongly) frame the harmful practice of female genital mutilation/cutting as a matter of ‘culture’, ‘religion’, or ‘consent.'
"Research shows that female genital mutilation/cutting is taking place in at least 94 countries across the world. Out of these 94 countries, 59 of them have specific laws which are addressing female genital mutilation/cutting. Despite this, prosecutions and access to justice remains rare. So, that is why this report was necessary to examine how strategic litigation has been used across different jurisdictions to improve accountability and to strengthen the implementation of legal frameworks. It also looks at access to justice and what survivors of female genital mutilation/cutting have really faced when they have tried to access the justice system and what kind of barriers they have faced," said Divya Srinivasan of Equality Now.
Gender equality and human right to health are indivisible from sustainable development. Ending harmful practices like female genital mutilation/cutting is an urgent priority along with other forms of violence and violation of human rights.
(Shobha Shukla is a feminist, health and development justice advocate, and an award-winning founding Managing Editor and Executive Director of CNS (Citizen News Service). She serves as Chairperson of Global AMR Media Alliance (GAMA), Host and Coordinator of SHE & Rights (Sexual Health with Equity & Rights), Campaigner for Prevent-Find-Treat All TB, President of Asia Pacific Media Alliance for Health, Gender and Development Justice (APCAT Media), and founder leader of DJOP (Development Justice for Older Persons) initiative. She was also the Lead Discussant for SDG-3 at United Nations inter-governmental High Level Political Forum 2025. and former senior Physics faculty, prestigious Loreto Convent College. Her founded-GAMA received the AMR One Health Emerging Leaders and Outstanding Talents Award at UN High Level Ministerial Conference on AMR 2024. Follow her on X @shobha1shukla or read her writings here www.bit.ly/ShobhaShukla)
