View source for Prevalence of female genital mutilation

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{{about|the percentage of the population that have undergone FGM|laws concerning female genital mutilation|Female genital mutilation laws by country}}
{{use dmy dates |date=March 2024}}
[[File:2020 Global Response report FGM world map.svg|thumb|500px|Map showing the % of women and girls aged 15–49 years (unless otherwise stated) who have undergone FGM/C according to the March 2020 Global Response report<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.endfgm.eu/editor/files/2020/04/FGM_Global_-_ONLINE_PDF_VERSION_-_07.pdf |title=Female genital mutilation/cutting: a call for a global response |publisher=End FGM European Network, U.S. End FGM/C Network and Equality Now |date=March 2020 |accessdate=6 May 2020}}</ref>]]

[[Female genital mutilation]] (FGM), also known as female genital cutting (FGC), female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and female circumcision,<ref>{{cite book |author-link=Martha Nussbaum |first=Martha |last=Nussbaum |title=Sex and Social Justice |date=1999|quote=Although discussions sometimes use the terms 'female circumcision' and 'clitoridectomy', 'female genital mutilation' (FGM) is the standard generic term for all these procedures in the medical literature&nbsp;... The term 'female circumcision' has been rejected by international medical practitioners because it suggests the fallacious analogy to male circumcision&nbsp;...|page=119}}</ref> is practiced in 30 countries in western, eastern, and north-eastern Africa,<ref name="vb2005" /> in parts of the [[Middle East]]<ref name="FGM - Where is it practiced">[http://www.endfgm.eu/en/female-genital-mutilation/what-is-fgm/where-is-it-practised/ FGM – Where is it practiced?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131002143708/http://www.endfgm.eu/en/female-genital-mutilation/what-is-fgm/where-is-it-practised/ |date=2013-10-02 }} European Campaign on FGM & Amnesty International (2012)</ref><ref>Barbarani, Sofia (March 4, 2013) [http://kurdistantribune.com/2013/tackling-female-genital-mutilation-kurdistan-region/?doing_wp_cron=1380490541.5694770812988281250000 Tackling Female Genital Mutilation in the Kurdistan Region]. ''The Kurdistan Tribune''</ref> and [[Southeast Asia]],<ref name="World Health Organization 1998">World Health Organization, Female genital mutilation: an overview. 1998, Geneva: World Health Organization</ref><ref name="b1">Clarence-Smith, William G. (2012) "Female Circumcision in Southeast Asia since the Coming of Islam", in Chitra Raghavan and James P. Levine (eds.), ''Self-Determination and Women’s Rights in Muslim Societies'', Brandeis University Press. pp. 124–146. {{ISBN|978-1611682809}}</ref> as well as in specific minority enclaves in regions such as [[South Asia]] and [[Russia]], and within some immigrant communities in Europe, North America and Australia. <ref name="vb2005" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/female-genital-mutilation-australia-defined/|title=Australia's Highest Court Rules Female Genital Mutilation Illegal in All Forms|website=Global Citizen|date=17 October 2019 |language=en|access-date=2019-10-20}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | doi = 10.4414/smw.2011.13137 | title=Care of women with female genital mutilation/cutting | year=2011 | journal=[[Swiss Medical Weekly]] | author=Abdulcadir J | pmid=21213149 | volume=140 | page=w13137| doi-access=free }}</ref> The [[WHO]] defines the practice as "all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external [[Vulva|female genitalia]], or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons."<ref name="WHO1">[https://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs241/en/index.html "Female genital mutilation"], World Health Organization, February 2010.</ref>

In a 2013 [[UNICEF]] report covering 29 countries in Africa and the Middle East, [[Egypt]] had the region's highest total number of women that have undergone FGM (27.2 million), while [[Somalia]] had the highest percentage ([[prevalence]]) of FGM (98%).<ref name=FGM2013/>

The world's first known campaign against FGM took place in [[Egypt]] in the 1920s.<ref name=FGM2013/> FGM prevalence in Egypt in 1995 was still at least as high as Somalia's 2013 world record (98%), despite dropping significantly since then among young women.<ref>[http://www.undp.org/content/brussels/en/home/ourwork/sustainable-development/successstories/the-taboo-has-been-broken--fighting-female-genital-mutilation-in.html The taboo has been broken: Fighting Female Genital Mutilation in Egypt] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180809030938/http://www.undp.org/content/brussels/en/home/ourwork/sustainable-development/successstories/the-taboo-has-been-broken--fighting-female-genital-mutilation-in.html |date=2018-08-09 }}. According to this UNDP report, FGM prevalence among 15 to 30-year-olds dropped to 72% already in 2008 after having been 96% in 1995, which means that the prevalence among all women in 1995 was even higher than 76%.</ref> Estimates of the prevalence of FGM vary according to source.

==Classifications of FGM==
{{main|Female genital mutilation}}
The WHO identifies four types of FGM:
*'''Type I''': removal of the [[clitoral hood]], the skin around the [[clitoris]] (''Ia''), with partial or complete removal of the clitoris (''Ib'')
*'''Type II''': removal of the [[labia minora]] (''IIa''), with partial or complete removal of the clitoris (''IIb'') and the [[labia majora]] (''IIc'')
*'''Type III''': removal of all or part of the labia minora (''IIIa'') and labia majora (''IIIb''), complete removal of the clitoris, and the stitching of a seal across the vagina, leaving a small opening for the passage of urine and menstrual blood ([[infibulation]])
*'''Type IV''': other miscellaneous acts, might or might not include cauterization of the clitoris, cutting of the vagina ([[gishiri cutting]]), and introducing corrosive substances into the vagina to tighten it (extreme and rare cases)<ref name=Momoh6>Momoh, Comfort (ed). [https://books.google.com/books?id=dVjIP0RfVAMC&pg=PA6 "Female Genital Mutilation"], Radcliffe Publishing, 2005, pp. 6–7. {{ISBN|9781857756937}}</ref>

==Prevalence==
[[File:Fgm_map.gif|thumb|Prevalence of FGM in Africa cca. the year of 2000]]

The term "[[prevalence]]" is used to describe the proportion of women and girls now living in a country who have undergone FGM at some stage in their lives. This is distinct from the "[[Incidence (epidemiology)|incidence]]" of FGM which describes the proportion of women and girls who have undergone the procedure within a particular time period, which could be contemporary or historical. FGM is practiced in some but not all African countries, the Middle East,<ref name="FGM - Where is it practiced"/> Indonesia and Malaysia,<ref name="World Health Organization 1998"/><ref name=b1/> as well as some migrants in Europe, United States and Australia.<ref name=vb2005>Berggren, Vanja (2005)  [http://publications.ki.se/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10616/39499/thesis.pdf?sequence=1 Female Genital Mutilation: Studies on primary and repeat female genital cutting]. Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. pp. 2–4</ref><ref name=FGM2013/> It is also seen in some populations of South Asia.<ref name="Gibeau, A. M. 1998">{{cite journal|author=Gibeau, A. M.|title=Female genital mutilation: When a cultural practice generates clinical and ethical dilemmas|journal=Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, and Neonatal Nursing |volume=27|issue=1|pages=85–91|pmid=9475132|year=1998|doi=10.1111/j.1552-6909.1998.tb02595.x}}</ref><ref name="hindustantimes.com">{{cite news |url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Mumbai/Bohra-women-go-online-to-fight-circumcision-trauma/Article1-779782.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118125434/http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Mumbai/Bohra-women-go-online-to-fight-circumcision-trauma/Article1-779782.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 18, 2012 |title=Bohra women go online to fight circumcision trauma|newspaper=Hindustan Times |date=December 9, 2011}}</ref><ref name="smh.com.au">[http://www.smh.com.au/world/female-circumcision-fear-as-fundamentalists-roll-back-womens-rights-20120124-1qflv.html Female circumcision fear as fundamentalists roll back women's rights] Ben Doherty, The Sydney Morning Herald (January 25, 2012)</ref> The highest known prevalence rates are in 30 African countries, in a band that stretches from [[Senegal]] in West Africa to [[Ethiopia]] on the east coast, as well as from [[Egypt]] in the north to [[Tanzania]] in the south.<ref name=vb2005/><ref name="irinnews">{{cite web|url=https://www.irinnews.org/in-depths|title=In Depth Reports|website=IRIN}}</ref>

In a 2013 UNICEF report based on surveys completed by select countries, FGM is known to be prevalent in 27 African countries, Yemen and Iraqi Kurdistan, where 125 million women and girls have undergone FGM.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20140111204919/http://www.unicef.org/media/files/FGCM_Lo_res.pdf Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting]. UNICEF (2013), pp. 3–26.</ref><ref name=Yasin/> The UNICEF report notes FGM is found in countries beyond the 29 countries it covered, and the total worldwide number is unknown.<ref>[http://www.unicef.org/media/files/FGCM_Lo_res.pdf UNICEF 2013] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150405083031/http://www.unicef.org/media/files/FGCM_Lo_res.pdf |date=2015-04-05 }}, pp. 114, 22</ref>

Other reports claim the prevalence of FGM in countries not discussed by the 2013 UNICEF report.<ref>[http://whqlibdoc.who.int/emro/tp/EMRO_TP_2_vol2_(part2).pdf Female Circumcision] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120318011449/http://whqlibdoc.who.int/emro/tp/EMRO_TP_2_vol2_(part2).pdf |date=2012-03-18 }} World Health Organization, United Nations</ref><ref>[http://www.nocirc.org/symposia/first/hosken.html Female genital mutilation: Strategies for eradication] Fran P. Hosken (1989), The First International Symposium on Circumcision, Anaheim, California</ref> The practice occurs in [[Jordan]],<ref name="csmonitor.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0810/p06s01-woiq.html?s=t5 |title=Female circumcision surfaces in Iraq |publisher=CSMonitor.com |date=2005-08-10 |access-date=2015-07-18}}</ref> [[Iraq]],<ref name="Stop FGM in Kurdistan">{{cite web|url=http://www.stopfgmkurdistan.org|title=Stop FGM in Kurdistan|website=www.stopfgmkurdistan.org}}</ref><ref name="FGM in IK">{{cite web|url=http://www.stopfgmkurdistan.org/html/english/updates/update003e.htm|vauthors=Strobel S, von der Osten-Sacken T |title=Female genital mutilation in Iraqi Kurdistan. Presented at the 1ère Journée Humanitaire sur la Santé des Femmes dans le Monde, Paris, France|publisher=Gynécologie sans Frontières|date=2006-03-27}}</ref> [[Syria]],<ref name=Birch>Birch, Nicholas (10 August 2005). [http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0810/p06s01-woiq.html?s=t5 "Female circumcision surfaces in Iraq"], ''Christian Science Monitor''.</ref> [[Oman]],<ref name="muscatdaily.com"/> [[United Arab Emirates]]<ref name=tnuae11/> and [[Qatar]].<ref name="gulfnews.com"/> Earlier reports claimed the prevalence of FGM in Israel among the [[Negev Bedouin]], which by 2009 has virtually disappeared.<ref>[http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=83287 "Bedouins shunning FGM/C – new research"], IRIN, March 4, 2009.</ref>

As a result of immigration, FGM has also spread to Europe, Australia, and the United States, with some families having their daughters undergo the procedure while on vacation overseas {{Citation needed|date=March 2021|reason=without source this claim cannot be validated}}. As Western governments become more aware of FGM, legislation has come into effect in many countries to make the practice a criminal offense. In 2006, [[Khalid Adem]] became the first man in the United States to be prosecuted for mutilating his daughter.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/02/us/02brfs-001.html?_r=1 "Georgia: Man Convicted in Daughter’s Mutilation"], Associated Press, 2 November 2010.</ref>

The [[United Nations]] has called for elimination of the practice by 2030. A 2017 [[UCLA Fielding School of Public Health]] study, measuring trends in the prevalence of FGM over the course of three decades, found that they dropped significantly in 17 of the 22 countries surveyed. The researchers found a 2–8 percentage points increase in Chad, Mali and Sierra Leone during the 30-years period.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Koski |first1=Alissa |last2=Heymann |first2=Jody |date=25 November 2017 |title=Thirty-year trends in the prevalence and severity of female genital mutilation: a comparison of 22 countries |url=https://gh.bmj.com/content/2/4/e000467|journal=BMJ Global Health |publisher=BMJ Journals |volume=4 |issue=2 |pages=e000467 |pmc=5717946 |pmid=29225952 |doi=10.1136/bmjgh-2017-000467 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190206215144/https://gh.bmj.com/content/2/4/e000467 |archive-date=6 February 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Data reliability==
Much of the FGM prevalence data currently available is based on verbal surveys and self-reporting.<ref name=b2013>{{cite journal | doi = 10.1155/2013/680926 | pmid=24204384 | volume=2013 | title=Female Genital Mutilation in Sierra Leone: Forms, Reliability of Reported Status, and Accuracy of Related Demographic and Health Survey Questions | year=2013 | journal=Obstetrics and Gynecology International | pages=1–14 | pmc=3800578 | last1=Bjälkander | first1=Owolabi | last2=Grant | first2=Donald S. | last3=Berggren | first3=Vanja | last4=Bathija | first4=Heli | last5=Almroth | first5=Lars | doi-access=free }}</ref> Clinical examinations are uncommon. The assumption is that women respond truthfully when asked about their FGM status and that they know the type and extent of FGM that was performed on their genitalia. Many FGM procedures are performed at a very young age, many cultures feel a taboo about such discussions, and a number of such factors raise the possibility that the validity of survey responses might be incorrect, potentially underreported.<ref name=b2013/><ref>A. Rahman and N. Toubia, Female Genital Mutilation: A Guide to Worldwide Laws and Policies, Zed Press, London, UK, 2000</ref> In [[Oman]], for example, some do not wish to discuss FGM from the fear that such discussion is showing their culture's dirty laundry to the world, causing criticism of a practice that they believe is purely religious.<ref name="muscatdaily.com">[https://web.archive.org/web/20160307034607/http://www.muscatdaily.com/Archive/Stories-Files/The-issue-of-female-genital-mutilation-in-Oman-1xye The issue of female genital mutilation in Oman] Susan Mubarak, Muscat Daily (January 01, 2013)</ref>

In countries where FGM has been outlawed, fear of prosecution of family members or self, and social disapproval from elders may cause women to deny that they underwent or were subjected to FGM.<ref>{{cite journal | doi = 10.1186/1475-9276-10-20 | pmid=21592338 | volume=10 | title=Factors associated with female genital mutilation in Burkina Faso and its policy implications | year=2011 | journal=International Journal for Equity in Health | page=20 |last1=Karmaker|first1=Bue|last2=Kandala|first2=Ngianga-Bakwin|last3=Chung|first3=Donna|last4=Clarke |first4=Aileen| pmc=3112389 | doi-access=free }}</ref> For example, the self-reported circumcision status of women aged 15–49 was verbally surveyed in 1995 in northern Ghana. The same women were interviewed again in 2000 after the enactment of a law that criminalized FGM and Ghana-wide public campaigns against the practice. This study discovered that 13% of women who reported in 1995 that they had undergone FGM denied it in the 2000 interview, with youngest age group girls denying at rates as high as 50%.<ref>{{cite journal|pmid=14558322|year=2003|last1=Jackson|first1=E. F.|title=Inconsistent reporting of female genital cutting status in northern Ghana: Explanatory factors and analytical consequences|journal=Studies in Family Planning|volume=34|issue=3|pages=200–10|last2=Akweongo|first2=P.|last3=Sakeah|first3=E.|last4=Hodgson|first4=A.|last5=Asuru|first5=R.|last6=Phillips|first6=J. F.|doi=10.1111/j.1728-4465.2003.00200.x}}</ref>

UNICEF has revised its data on the FGM prevalence rates in the Kurdistan region of the Middle East:

{{blockquote|Where is FGM/C practiced? There are reports, but no clear evidence, of a limited incidence in (..) certain Kurdish communities in Iraq.|UNICEF (2005)|<ref>[http://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/fgm_eng.pdf CHANGING A HARMFUL SOCIAL CONVENTION: FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION/CUTTING]. UNICEF p. 3, column 1</ref>}}

{{blockquote|Female Genital Mutilation or Cutting (FGM/C): 1 in 2 young girls (15–24) has experienced FGM/C when they were younger in Erbil and Sulaymaniyah governorates (Kurdistan Region).|UNICEF (2011)|<ref name="unicef.org">[http://www.unicef.org/iraq/MICS_highlights_ENGLISH_FINAL.pdf The Situation of Children and Women in Iraq]; see 2nd last page</ref>}}

== Africa ==
[[File:FGM_prevalence_15%E2%80%9349_(2014).jpg|thumb|Prevalence of FGM in women aged 15–49 years in 29 countries in which the practice is concentrated, 2014]]
[[File:FGM prevalence 0–14 (2014).svg|thumb|Prevalence of FGM in girls aged 0–14 years in 29 countries in which the practice is concentrated, 2014 (except Indonesia)]]
[[File:FGM prevalence UNICEF 2016.svg|left|thumb|200px|2016 FGM prevalence in Africa and part of the Middle East in women aged 15–49 according to the UNICEF 2016 report.<ref name="UNICEF2016">{{cite web |url=http://www.unicef.org/media/files/FGMC_2016_brochure_final_UNICEF_SPREAD.pdf |title=Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting: A Global Concern |publisher=New York: United Nations Children's Fund |date=February 2016 |access-date=2018-06-29 |archive-date=2017-02-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170210071422/http://www.unicef.org/media/files/FGMC_2016_brochure_final_UNICEF_SPREAD.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> Most countries show a relative decrease compared to 2013.]]
{{further|Maputo Protocol}}
In July 2003, at its second summit, the [[African Union]] adopted the Maputo Protocol promoting women's rights and calling for an end to FGM. The agreement came into force in November 2005, and by December 2008, 25 member countries had ratified it.<ref name=USStateDep>[http://2001-2009.state.gov/g/wi/rls/rep/crfgm/ "Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) or Female Genital Cutting (FGC): Individual Country Reports"], U.S. State Department, 1 June 2001.</ref>

As of 2013, according to a UNICEF report, 24 African countries have legislations or decrees against FGM/C practice; these countries are: Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria (since 2015<ref name="theguardian1">{{cite news|last=Topping |first=Alexandra |url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/may/29/outlawing-fgm-nigeria-hugely-important-precedent-say-campaigners |title=Nigeria's female genital mutilation ban is important precedent, say campaigners |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=2015-07-18|date=2015-05-29 }}</ref><ref name="reuters1">{{cite web|url=https://af.reuters.com/article/nigeriaNews/idAFL6N0WY3M320150529 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150604105412/http://af.reuters.com/article/nigeriaNews/idAFL6N0WY3M320150529 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2015-06-04 |title=FGM campaigners: Nigeria ban welcome, but work not over |work=Reuters |date=2015-05-29 |access-date=2015-07-18}}</ref>), Senegal, Somalia, Sudan (some states), Tanzania, Togo and Uganda (see page 9 of the report) and Zambia and South Africa (see page 8).<ref name=FGM2013/> In 2015, Gambia's president [[Yahya Jammeh]] banned FGM.<ref name="bbc.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-34921135 |title=Gambia's Yahya Jammeh bans female genital mutilation |work= BBC |date=25 November 2015}}</ref>

In 2014 The Girl Generation, an African-led campaign to oppose FGM worldwide, was launched.<ref>{{cite news|last=Topping |first=Alexandra |url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/oct/20/efua-dorkenoo-dies-leading-fgm-campaigner |title=Efua Dorkenoo OBE, the 'incredible African female warrior', has died |newspaper=The Guardian |date=2014-10-22 |access-date=2015-07-18}}</ref>

===General===
Although estimates of the prevalence of FGM vary, sources have consistently found the practice to be undergone by the majority of women in the [[Horn of Africa]], in the [[West Africa]]n countries of Guinea, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Mauritania, Mali and Burkina Faso, as well as in Sudan and Egypt.
Of these countries, all have laws or decrees against the practice, with the exception of Sierra Leone, Mali and some states of Sudan.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unicef.org/media/files/FGCM_Lo_res.pdf|title=Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting: A statistical overview and exploration of the dynamics of change – UNICEF DATA|date=22 July 2013|access-date=5 October 2013|archive-date=5 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150405083031/http://www.unicef.org/media/files/FGCM_Lo_res.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-34921135|title=Gambia's Yahya Jammeh bans female genital mutilation|date=25 November 2015|work=BBC News}}</ref>

===Infibulation===
[[Infibulation]], the most extreme form of FGM, known also as Type III, is practiced primarily in countries located in northeastern Africa.<ref name=Yoder>Yoder, P.&nbsp;Stanley and Khan, Shane (March 2008) [http://dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/WP39/WP39.pdf "Numbers of women circumcised in Africa: The Production of a Total"], USAID, DHS Working Papers, No. 39, pp.&nbsp;13–14: "Infibulation is practiced largely in countries located in some countries in northeastern Africa. Survey data are available for Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Djibouti. Sudan alone accounts for about 3.5 million of the women.&nbsp;... [T]he estimate of the total number of women infibulated in [Djibouti, Somalia, Eritrea, northern Sudan, Ethiopia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Chad, Nigeria, Cameroon and Tanzania, for women 15–49 years old] comes to 8,245,449, or just over eight million women." Also see Appendix B, Table 2 ("Types of FGC"), p.&nbsp;19.</ref><ref>[http://www.unicef.org/media/files/FGCM_Lo_res.pdf UNICEF 2013] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150405083031/http://www.unicef.org/media/files/FGCM_Lo_res.pdf |date=2015-04-05 }}, p.&nbsp;182, identifies "sewn closed" as most common in Djibouti, Eritrea, Somalia for 15–49 age group (survey in 2000 for Sudan was not included), and for daughters, Djibouti, Eritrea, Niger and Somalia.
UNICEF statistical profiles on FGM, showing type of FGM: [http://data.unicef.org/corecode/uploads/document6/uploaded_country_profiles/corecode/30/Countries/FGMC_DJI.pdf Djibouti] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141030110609/http://data.unicef.org/corecode/uploads/document6/uploaded_country_profiles/corecode/30/Countries/FGMC_DJI.pdf |date=2014-10-30 }} (December 2013), [http://data.unicef.org/corecode/uploads/document6/uploaded_country_profiles/corecode/30/Countries/FGMC_ERI.pdf Eritrea] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141030113629/http://data.unicef.org/corecode/uploads/document6/uploaded_country_profiles/corecode/30/Countries/FGMC_ERI.pdf |date=2014-10-30 }} (July 2014), [http://data.unicef.org/corecode/uploads/document6/uploaded_country_profiles/corecode/30/Countries/FGMC_SOM.pdf Somalia] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141030114149/http://data.unicef.org/corecode/uploads/document6/uploaded_country_profiles/corecode/30/Countries/FGMC_SOM.pdf |date=2014-10-30 }} (December 2013).</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=Mackie, Gerry|url=http://pages.ucsd.edu/~gmackie/documents/MackieASR.pdf|title=Ending Footbinding and Infibulation: A Convention Account|journal=American Sociological Review|volume=61|issue=6|year=1996|pages=999–1017|quote=p.&nbsp;1002: Infibulation, the harshest practice, occurs contiguously in Egyptian Nubia, the Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti and Somalia, also known as Islamic Northeast Africa.|doi=10.2307/2096305|jstor=2096305|access-date=2014-11-20|archive-date=2019-07-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190720061010/http://pages.ucsd.edu/~gmackie/documents/MackieASR.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The practice is the removal of the [[Labia minora|inner]] and [[Labia majora|outer labia]], and the suturing of the [[vulva]].<ref>Gruenbaum, Ellen (2001) ''The Female Circumcision Controversy: An Anthropological Perspective'', University of Pennsylvania Press, pp. [https://archive.org/details/femalecircumcisi0000grue/page/n52 43–45]. {{ISBN|9780812217469}}</ref> It is mostly practiced in northeastern Africa, particularly Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan.<ref name=Yoder/>

The procedure leaves a wall of skin and flesh across the [[vagina]] and the rest of the pubic area. By inserting a twig or similar object before the wound heals, a small hole is created for the passage of urine and [[menstruation|menstrual blood]]. The procedure is usually accompanied by the removal of the [[Clitoris#Glans|clitoral glans]]. The legs are bound together for two to four weeks(up to 40 days) to allow healing.<ref>Momoh, Comfort (2005) "Female genital mutilation," in ''Female Genital Mutilation'', Radcliffe Publishing p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=dVjIP0RfVAMC&pg=PA7 7]. {{ISBN|9781857756937}}</ref>

The vagina is usually penetrated at the time of a woman's marriage by her husband's penis, or by cutting the tissue with a knife. The vagina is opened further for childbirth, and usually closed again afterwards, a process known as defibulation (or deinfibulation) and reinfibulation. Infibulation can cause chronic pain and infection, organ damage, prolonged [[micturition]], urinary incontinence, inability to get pregnant, difficulty giving birth, [[obstetric fistula]] and fatal bleeding.<ref>{{cite journal|pmid=21213149|year=2011|last1=Abdulcadir|first1=J.|title=Care of women with female genital mutilation/Cutting|journal=[[Swiss Medical Weekly]]|volume=140|pages=w13137|last2=Margairaz|first2=C.|last3=Boulvain|first3=M.|last4=Irion|first4=O.|doi=10.4414/smw.2011.13137|doi-access=free}}</ref>

===Algeria===
FGM is not generally practiced in [[Algeria]],<ref>[http://archive.ipu.org/wmn-e/fgm-prov-a.htm Female genital mutilation: Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan]. Archive.ipu.org. Retrieved on 2019-08-28.</ref> but is present among immigrants in South Algeria, particularly among Sub-Saharan African migrants. It is considered a criminal offense and is punishable by up to 25 years in prison.<ref>Raya, Patricia Diane. "Female Genital Mutilation and the Perpetuation of Multigenerational Trauma", ''The Journal of Psychohistory'', Spring 2010.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.smith.edu/health/bygirlsforgirls/2011/Research/DepikaSingha.html |title=Singha |publisher=Smith.edu |access-date=2015-07-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924103836/http://www.smith.edu/health/bygirlsforgirls/2011/Research/DepikaSingha.html |archive-date=2015-09-24 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="fgmnetwork.org">{{cite web |url=http://www.fgmnetwork.org/intro/fgmintro.html |title=FGC Education and Networking Project |publisher=Fgmnetwork.org |date=1995-02-14 |access-date=2015-07-18 |archive-date=2018-09-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180926233457/http://www.fgmnetwork.org/intro/fgmintro.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Benin===
Female genital mutilation is present in [[Benin]]. According to a 2011–12 survey, 7.3% of the women in Benin have been subjected to FGM.{{Citation needed|date=October 2019}} This is a decline over the 2001 survey, which reported 16.8%.<ref name="fgmnetwork1">[http://www.fgmnetwork.org/intro/world.php FGM Education and Networking Project], Fgmnetwork.org, accessed 5 February 2011.</ref> {{As of|2018||df=}}, UNICEF's latest data, from 2014, confirms only 0.2% of Benin girls aged 0 to 14 had been subjected to FGM, while 9% of females aged 15 to 49 had so.<ref name=":82">{{cite web|url=https://data.unicef.org/topic/child-protection/female-genital-mutilation/|title=Female genital mutilation|website=UNICEF DATA|language=en-US|access-date=2019-05-22}}</ref> The prevalence varies with religion in Benin; FGM is prevalent in 49% of Muslim women. The prevalence in other groups is lower, 3% of traditional religions, 3% of Roman Catholic and 1% in other Christian women.<ref name=unicefstat2010>[http://www.unicef.org/publications/files/FGM-C_final_10_October.pdf FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION/CUTTING: A Statistical Exploration] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180807014150/https://www.unicef.org/publications/files/FGM-C_final_10_October.pdf |date=2018-08-07 }} UNICEF (2010); see Table 1C, page 34</ref> A 2003 law bans all forms of FGM.<ref name="un.org">[[Berhane Ras-Work|Ras-Work, Berhane]] (2009) [https://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/egm/vaw_legislation_2009/Expert Paper EGMGPLHP _Berhane Ras-Work revised_.pdf LEGISLATION TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE OF FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION (FGM)]. UN.org</ref><ref>[https://data.unicef.org/wp-content/uploads/country_profiles/Benin/FGMC_BEN.pdf Benin. Statistical Profile on Female Genital Mutilation/cutting]. UNICEF (2014)</ref> According to UNICEF, Benin experienced the most dramatic decline in low prevalence countries, from 8% in 2006 to 2% in 2012, a 75% decline.<ref name="unfpa.org">[http://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/1027123_UN_Demograhics_v3%20%281%29.pdf Demographic Perspectives on Female Genital Mutilation]. UNFPA</ref>

===Burkina Faso===
The [[United Nations Population Fund|UNFPA]] gives a prevalence of 76% for the year of 2021 (women aged from 15 to 49)<ref name="who.int">{{cite web|url=https://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/topics/fgm/prevalence/en/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101029201427/http://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/topics/fgm/prevalence/en/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 29, 2010 |title=Female genital mutilation and other harmful practices |publisher=Who.int |access-date=2015-07-18}}</ref> in [[Burkina Faso]].<ref name="fgmbf2011">[http://www.giz.de/Themen/de/dokumente/giz-fgm-EN-burkinafaso-2011.pdf Female Genital Mutilation in Burkina Faso] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131003050541/http://www.giz.de/Themen/de/dokumente/giz-fgm-EN-burkinafaso-2011.pdf|date=2013-10-03}} Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany (September 2011)</ref> A 1998 survey reported a lower rate of 72%. This was not considered as evidence of an increase in the practice, but as reflecting the worldwide fact that better and more information is increasingly available on FGM.<ref name="fgmnetwork1" /> {{As of|2018||df=}}, UNICEF's latest data, from 2010, confirms only 13% of girls aged 0 to 14 had been subjected to FGM, while 76% of females aged 15 to 49 had so.<ref name=":82" /> The prevalence varies with religion in Burkina Faso. FGM is prevalent in 82% of Muslim women, 73% of traditional religions, 66% of Roman Catholics and 60% of Protestants.<ref name=unicefstat2010/><ref name=fgmbf2011/>

In a 2011 study on a wide range of variables, FGM prevalence characteristics in Burkina Faso was found to be strongly associated with religion, and age being the other important variable.<ref>{{cite journal|pmc=3112389|title= Factors associated with female genital mutilation in Burkina Faso and its policy implications | pmid=21592338 | doi=10.1186/1475-9276-10-20|volume=10|year=2011|journal=Int J Equity Health|page=20 | last1 = Karmaker | first1 = B | last2 = Kandala | first2 = NB | last3 = Chung | first3 = D | last4 = Clarke | first4 = A |doi-access= free }}</ref> A law prohibiting FGM was enacted in 1996 and went into effect in February 1997. Even before this law a presidential decree had set up the National Committee against excision and imposed fines on people guilty of excising girls and women.<ref name="USStateDep"/> The new law includes stricter punishment. Several women excising girls have been handed prison sentences. Burkina Faso ratified the Maputo Protocol in 2006.<ref>{{Cite news |last = Stolz |first = Joëllepr |title = Le Burkina Faso fait reculer l'excision |page = 18 |language = fr |work = Le Monde diplomatique |date=September 1998 |url = http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/1998/09/STOLZ/10970}}</ref>

===Cameroon===
Female genital mutilation is rare in [[Cameroon]], being concentrated in the far north and the southwest of the country.<ref>[https://www.28toomany.org/country/cameroon/ Cameroon28 Too Many]. 28toomany.org. Retrieved on 2019-08-28.</ref> In a 2004 study, the FGM prevalence rate was 1.4%. Even though national rate is low, there are regions with high prevalence rate. In extreme north Cameroon, the prevalence rate is 13% for the Fulbe people and people of Arab descent.<ref name=fgmcame2011>[http://www.giz.de/Themen/de/dokumente/giz-fgm-EN-kamerun-2011.pdf Female Genital Mutilation in Cameroon] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131003050434/http://www.giz.de/Themen/de/dokumente/giz-fgm-EN-kamerun-2011.pdf |date=2013-10-03 }} Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany (September 2011)</ref> The prevalence varies with religion; FGM is prevalent in 6% of Muslim women, less than 1% of Christians, and 0% for Animist women.<ref name=unicefstat2010/> Cameroon's national penal code does not classify genital mutilation as a criminal offence. Article 277 criminalizes aggravated assault, including aggravated assault to organs. A draft law has been pending for over 10 years.<ref name=fgmcame2011/><ref name=unlaw09/>

===Central African Republic===
WHO gives the prevalence of FGM in [[Central African Republic]] at 24.2% in 2010.<ref name="ReferenceB">[http://www.prb.org/pdf17/FGMC%20Poster%202017.pdf Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting: Data and Trends] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171124151045/http://www.prb.org/pdf17/FGMC%20Poster%202017.pdf |date=2017-11-24 }}. U.S. Population Reference Bureau (2017)</ref> A survey from 2000 found FGM was prevalent in 36% of [[Central African Republic]] women.<ref name=unicefstat2010/> This is a decline over the 1994 survey, which reported 43%. The prevalence in the 2000 survey varied with religion in Central African Republic; FGM was prevalent in 46% of Animist women, 39% of Muslim, 36% of Protestants, and 35% of Catholic women.<ref name=unicefstat2010/>

In 1996, the President issued an Ordinance prohibiting FGM throughout the country. It has the force of national law. Any violation of the Ordinance is punishable by imprisonment of from one month and one day to two years and a fine of 5,100 to 100,000 francs (approximately US$8–160). No arrests are known to have been made under the law.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.28toomany.org/static/media/uploads/Law%20Reports/car_law_report_v1_(july_2018).pdf|title=Central African Republic: The Law and FGM|date=July 2018|website=28 Too Many|access-date=21 March 2019|archive-date=11 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200511114030/https://www.28toomany.org/static/media/uploads/Law%20Reports/car_law_report_v1_(july_2018).pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> As FGM is less prevalent among younger women according to [[City University London]] in 2015, this suggested a decline in the practice.<ref name="CUL_Prevalence_FGM_Jul2015" />

===Chad===
In [[Chad]]'s first survey on FGM in 2004, FGM prevalence rate was 45%.<ref name=fgmchad2011/> A later UNICEF survey in 2014–2015 reported 38.4% FGM prevalence amongst women and girls aged 15 to 49, and 10% amongst girls 14-years old or younger.<ref name=":82" /> The prevalence varies with religion in Chad; FGM is prevalent in 61% of Muslim women, 31% of Catholics, 16% of Protestants, and 12% of traditional religions. The prevalence also varies with ethnic groups; the Arabs (95%), Hadjarai (94%), Ouadai (91%) and Fitri-batha (86%), and less than 2.5% among the Gorane, Tandjile and Mayo-Kebbi.<ref name=fgmchad2011>[http://www.giz.de/Themen/de/dokumente/giz-fgm-EN-tschad-2011.pdf Female Genital Mutilation in Chad] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131003050522/http://www.giz.de/Themen/de/dokumente/giz-fgm-EN-tschad-2011.pdf |date=2013-10-03 }} Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany (September 2011)</ref> Law no 6/PR/2002 on the promotion of reproductive health has provisions prohibiting FGM, but does not provide for sanctions.<ref name="un.org"/> FGM may be punished under existing laws against assault, wounding, and mutilation of the body.<ref name=USStateDep/><ref name="un.org"/>

===Comoros===
Female genital mutilation is officially discouraged in [[Comoros]].<ref>[[#Border|UK Border Agency]], p. 20</ref>

===Côte d'Ivoire===
{{As of|2018||df=}}, UNICEF's latest data, from 2016, reports 10% of Ivory Coast girls aged 0 to 14 had been subjected to FGM, while 37% of females aged 15 to 49 had so.<ref name=":82" /> The latter figure is practically unchanged from a prior 2006 survey, in which the prevalence of FGM was reported at 36.4% among women there aged 15–49.<ref name="who.int"/> A 2005 survey found that 42% of all women aged between 15 and 49 had been subjected to FGM.<ref name="fgmcdi2011">[http://www.giz.de/Themen/de/dokumente/giz-fgm-EN-cotedivoire-2011.pdf Female Genital Mutilation in Côte d'Ivoire] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131003050736/http://www.giz.de/Themen/de/dokumente/giz-fgm-EN-cotedivoire-2011.pdf|date=2013-10-03}} Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany (September 2011)</ref> This is similar to the FGM reported rate of 46% in 1998 and 43% in 1994.<ref name=unicefstat2010/> The prevalence varies with religion in Côte d'Ivoire; FGM is prevalent in 76% of Muslim women, 45% of Animist, 14% of Catholic and 13% of Protestant women.<ref name=fgmcdi2011/> A 1998 law provides that harm to the integrity of the genital organ of a woman by complete or partial removal, excision, desensitization or by any other procedure will, if harmful to a woman's health, be punishable by imprisonment of one to five years and a fine of 360,000 to two million CFA Francs (approximately US$576–3,200). The penalty is five to twenty years incarceration if a death occurs during the procedure and up to five years' prohibition of medical practice, if this procedure is carried out by a doctor.<ref name=USStateDep/>

===Democratic Republic of the Congo===
Female genital mutilation in the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]] is rare, but it takes place among some populations in northern parts of the country.<ref name="peacewomen.org">[https://web.archive.org/web/20140819085754/http://www.peacewomen.org/assets/file/Resources/NGO/hrinst_genderinequalityinthedrc_wilpf_december2010english.pdf GENDER INEQUALITY AND SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS IN THE D.R.CONGO.] peacewomen.org</ref> FGM is illegal: the law imposes a penalty of two to five years of prison and a fine of 200,000 Congolese francs on any person who violates the "physical or functional integrity" of the genital organs.<ref>[https://www.justice.gov/eoir/vll/country/canada_coi/dem%20rep%20of%20congo/COD104024.E.pdf RESPONSES TO INFORMATION REQUESTS (RIRs)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140414042910/http://www.justice.gov/eoir/vll/country/canada_coi/dem%20rep%20of%20congo/COD104024.E.pdf |date=2014-04-14 }}. ''Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), prohibition 2008–2012''. U.S. Justice Department (17 April 2012)</ref><ref>The law on sexual violence, DRC 2006 (Les lois sur les violences sexuelles) reads (''in French''): "Article 3, Paragraphe 7: De la mutilation sexuelle; Article 174g; Sera puni d’une peine de servitude pénale de deux à cinq ans et d’une amende de deux cent mille francs congolais constants, quiconque aura posé un acte qui porte atteinte à l’intégrité physique ou fonctionnelle des organes génitaux d’une personne. Lorsque la mutilation a entraîné la mort, la peine est de servitude pénale à perpétuité."{{cite web|url=http://monusco.unmissions.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket%3DaXFfmf5vsm8%3D%26tabid%3D11245%26mid%3D14386%26language%3Den-US |title=Les lois sur les violences sexuelles |access-date=2014-11-12 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819085226/http://monusco.unmissions.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=aXFfmf5vsm8%3D&tabid=11245&mid=14386&language=en-US |archive-date=2014-08-19}}</ref> The prevalence of FGM is estimated at 5% of women in the country.<ref name="peacewomen.org"/><ref name="brighamandwomens.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.brighamandwomens.org/Departments_and_Services/obgyn/services/africanwomenscenter/FGCprevalence.aspx |title=Female Genital Cutting Rates |publisher=African Women's Health Center at BWH |date=2014-12-08 |access-date=2015-07-18}}</ref> Type II is usually performed.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite web|url=http://www.fgmnetwork.org/intro/world.php |title=FGC Education and Networking Project |publisher=Fgmnetwork.org |access-date=2015-07-18}}</ref>

===Djibouti===
Estimates for FGM prevalence rate of FGM in [[Djibouti]] range from 93% to 98%.<ref name=FGM2013/><ref name=mogdji>{{cite journal| pmc=3598278 | pmid=23515242 | volume=12 | issue=4 | title=Female genital mutilation in Djibouti |vauthors=Martinelli M, Ollé-Goig JE | journal=Afr Health Sci | pages=412–5| year=2012 | doi=10.4314/ahs.v12i4.2}}</ref> In a UNICEF 2010 report, Djibouti has the world's second highest rate of Type III FGM, with about two thirds of all Djibouti women undergoing the procedure; Type I is the next most common form of female circumcision practiced in the country.<ref name="prb.org">[http://www.prb.org/pdf10/fgm-wallchart2010.pdf Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting: Data and Trends: UPDATE 2010] UNICEF, Page 7</ref> Like its neighboring countries, a large percentage of women in Djibouti also undergo re-infibulation after birth or a divorce.<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1016/j.ijgo.2010.01.001 | pmid=20138274 | volume=109 | issue=2 | title=The issue of reinfibulation | year=2010 | journal=International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics | pages=93–96| last1=Serour | first1=Gamal I. | s2cid=686853 }}</ref>

Two thirds of the women claimed tradition and religion as the primary motivation for undergoing FGM.<ref name=mogdji/> A predominantly Muslim country, Islamic clerics in Djibouti have been divided on the FGM issue, with some actively supporting the practice and others opposing it.<ref>[http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/journals/2313097.html Female Circumcision: Rite of Passage Or Violation of Rights?] Frances Althaus, International Family Planning Perspectives, Volume 23, Number 3, September 1997</ref><ref>[http://www.irinnews.org/report/51997/djibouti-fgm-still-a-major-challenge DJIBOUTI: FGM still a major challenge] IRIN, UN news service (2004)</ref> FGM was outlawed in the country's revised Penal Code that went into effect in April 1995. Article 333 of the Penal Code provides that persons found guilty of this practice will face a five-year prison term and a fine of one million Djibouti francs (approximately US$5,600). Djibouti ratified the Maputo Protocol in 2005.<ref name=USStateDep/>

===Egypt===

{{As of|2018||df=}}, UNICEF's latest data, from 2015, reports 14% of Egyptian girls aged 0 to 14 had been subjected to FGM, while 87% of females aged 15 to 49 had so.<ref name=":82" /> This is down from a previous 2008 study that reported the prevalence at 91%.<ref name="childinfo">{{cite web|url=http://data.unicef.org/child-protection/fgmc|title=Prevalence of FGM/C|publisher=UNICEF|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150715233215/http://data.unicef.org/child-protection/fgmc|archive-date=15 July 2015|access-date=18 August 2014}}</ref> The 2016 UNICEF report stated that the share of girls aged 15 to 19 who had undergone FGM dropped from 97% in 1985 to 70% in 2015.<ref name="UNICEF2016" /> The percentage of girls and women aged 15 to 49 years who had undergone FGM in the years 2004–2015 was 87%, while girls aged 0 to 14 years who had undergone FGM in the years 2010–2015 numbered 14%.<ref name="UNICEF2016" /> Earlier, a study in 2000 found that 97% of [[Egypt]]'s population practiced FGM and a 2005 study found that over 95% of Egyptian women have undergone some form of FGM. 38% of girls and women aged 15 to 49 years who had heard about FGM thought the practice should end, while 28% of the boys and men those ages did.<ref name=UNICEF2016/><ref>[https://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSL30168862 "Egypt death sparks debate on female circumcision"], Reuters, 20 June 2007.</ref>

Although it has had limited effect, Egypt's [[Ministry of Health and Population (Egypt)|Ministry of Health and Population]] has banned all forms of female genital mutilation since 2007.<ref name=USStateDep/> The ministry's order declared it is "prohibited for any doctors, nurses, or any other person to carry out any cut of, flattening or modification of any natural part of the female reproductive system." Islamic authorities in the nation also stressed that Islam opposes female genital mutilation. The Grand Mufti of Egypt, [[Ali Gomaa]], said that it is "Prohibited, prohibited, prohibited."<ref name = "badour shaker">Michael, Maggie (29 June 2007). [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/29/AR2007062901284.html "Egypt Officials Ban Female Circumcision"], ''The Associated Press''.</ref> Egypt passed a law banning FGM.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6251426.stm "Egypt forbids female circumcision"], ''BBC'', 28 June 2007.</ref> The June 2007 Ministry ban eliminated a loophole that allowed girls to undergo the procedure for health reasons.<ref>[https://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSL2801275920070628?feedType=RSS "Egypt strengthens ban on female genital cutting"], Reuters, 28 June 2007.</ref> Between [[2011 Egyptian revolution|2011]] and [[2013 Egyptian coup d'état|2013]], statements made by the then-ruling Muslim Brotherhood made statements defending FGM as a facet of [[Sharia]] (and, according the Muslim Brotherhood and supporting clerics, therefore religiously mandated).<ref>{{Cite web |date=19 June 2013 |title=Egypt girl's death puts spotlight on genital mutilation |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-22975400 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140516054640/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-22975400 |archive-date=16 May 2014 |website=BBC News}}</ref> Following the 2013 coup d'état, the Egyptian government's position returned to opposing FGM.

There had previously been provisions under the Penal Code involving "wounding" and "intentional infliction of harm leading to death," as well as a ministerial decree prohibiting FGM. In December 1997, the Court of Cassation (Egypt's highest appeals court) upheld a government banning of the practice providing that those who did not comply would be subjected to criminal and administrative punishments. In Egypt's first trial for committing female genital mutilation, two men were acquitted in November 2014; the doctor was ordered to pay the girl's mother compensation.<ref>Kingsley, Patrick (20 November 2014) [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/nov/20/egypt-first-female-genital-mutilation-fgm-trial-not-guilty "Egypt's first female genital mutilation trial ends in not guilty verdict"], ''The Guardian''.</ref> In 2015 after an appeal the doctor was sentenced to more than two years in prison and the father was given a three-month suspended sentence.<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-30983027 Egypt FGM trial 'convicts doctor of manslaughter']. ''BBC'' (26 January 2015)</ref> On 30 May 2018, the [[Dar al-Ifta al-Misriyyah]], a governmental body which advises on Islamic law, declared FGM "religiously forbidden." Health Minister Ahmed Emad el-Din Rady presented a six-step plan to eliminate FGM in Egypt by 2030.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.egypttoday.com/Article/2/51304/Female-Genital-Mutilation-is-declared-religiously-forbidden-in-Islam |title=Female Genital Mutilation is declared religiously forbidden in Islam |last=Saad |first=Menna |work=Egypt Today |date=31 May 2018 |access-date=4 June 2018}}</ref>

===Eritrea===

The government of [[Eritrea]] surveyed and published an official FGM prevalence rate of 89% in 2003.<ref name=dkerit>Kuring, Diana (2008) "Female Genital Mutilation in Eritrea: Regional Variations". Ch. 4, pp. 57–120 in ''Weibliche Genitalverstümmelung in Eritrea''. Regionale Er- klärungen, nationale Ansätze und internationale Standards, Saarbrücken: VDM Verlag Dr. Müller; see summary [http://www.ddv-verlag.de/issn_1570_0038_FE%2009_2010.pdf starting from p. 105]</ref> It was once over 93%. Historically, about 50% of the women in rural areas underwent Type III with stitching to close the vulva, while Type I and II was more common in urban areas. Overall, about a third of all women in Eritrea have undergone Type III FGM with stitching.<ref>[http://www.prb.org/pdf10/fgm-wallchart2010.pdf Female Genital Mutilation/ Cutting: Data and Trends: UPDATE 2010] UNICEF, Page 7</ref><!-- Article would benefit from the addition to the historical data of current data. {{Disputed inline|DYING OUT|for= no longer true. While prevalence remains high, total incidence (once 93%) has been dropping and is closer to 10%. See [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Percentage_of_girls_aged_0_to_14_years_who_have_undergone_FGM_(as_reported_by_their_mothers)_(with_Eritrea_highlighted).png chart 1] and [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chart_-_Female_Genital_Mutilation_by_country_by_age_range_at_cutting.png chart 2] [http://www.unicef.org/about/annualreport/files/Eritrea_COAR_2013.pdf report 1]|date=September 2016}}--> Most FGM (68%) are performed on baby girls less than 1 year old, another 20% before they turn 5 years old.<ref name=dkerit/> About 60% and 18% of Eritrean women believe FGM is a religious requirement, according to UNICEF, and the Eritrean government, respectively.<ref name=FGM2013>[http://www.unicef.org/cbsc/files/UNICEF_FGM_report_July_2013_Hi_res.pdf Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403142453/http://www.unicef.org/cbsc/files/UNICEF_FGM_report_July_2013_Hi_res.pdf |date=2015-04-03 }} UNICEF, (July 2013)</ref><ref name=dkerit/><sup>p.&nbsp;109</sup>

The prevalence varies with [[Eritrea#Religion|woman's religion]], as well as by their ethnic group. A 2002 UNICEF study shows FGM prevalence among 99% of Muslim, 89% of Catholic and 85% of Protestant women aged 15–49 years.<ref name=unicefstat2010/> Eritrea outlawed all forms of female genital mutilation with Proclamation 158/2007 in March 2007.<ref name=USStateDep/><ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6527619.stm "Eritrea bans female circumcision"], ''BBC'', 4 April 2007.</ref> The law envisions a fine and imprisonment for anyone conducting or commissioning FGM.<ref>[http://www.giz.de/Themen/de/dokumente/giz-fgm-EN-gesetzgebung-2011.pdf Female Genital Mutilation and Legislation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131003052759/http://www.giz.de/Themen/de/dokumente/giz-fgm-EN-gesetzgebung-2011.pdf |date=2013-10-03 }} Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany (January 2011)</ref>

===Ethiopia===
The WHO gives a prevalence of 65% for FGM in [[Ethiopia]] (2016) in women age 15–49 and falling to 47.1 in those 15–19 years. In a 2016 UNICEF report, [[Ethiopia]]'s regional prevalence of FGM is : [[Afar Region]] – 91.2%; [[Somali Region]] – 98.5%; [[Harari Region]] – 81.7%; [[Dire Dawa]] 75.3%; [[Amhara Region]] – 1.4% to 21.9%;<ref>{{cite journal | doi = 10.2147/IJWH.S28805 | pmid=22371659 | pmc=3282605 | title=Female genital mutilation: prevalence, perceptions and effect on women's health in Kersa district of Ethiopia | year=2012 | journal=International Journal of Women's Health | volume=4 | pages=45–54 | last1=Yirga | first1=Wondimu Shanko | last2=Nega Kassa | last3=Mengistu Gebremichael | last4=Aro | first4=Arja R. | doi-access=free }}</ref> [[Oromia Region]] – 75.6%; [[Addis Ababa]] City – 54%; [[Benishangul-Gumuz Region]] – 62.9%; [[Tigray Region]] – 24.2%; [[Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region|Southern Region]] – 62%; [[Gambela Region]] 33%. By ethnicity, it has a prevalence of 98.5% in [[Somali people|Somali]]; 92.3% [[Hadiya people|Hadiya]]; 98.4% [[Afar people|Afar]] and 23% [[Tigray people|Tigray]]. The prevalence also varies with religion in Ethiopia; FGM is prevalent in 92% of Muslim women<ref name=unicefstat2010/> and with lower prevalence in other religions: 65.8% Protestants, 58.2% Catholics and 55% Traditional Religions.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/PR81/PR81.pdf|title=Ethiopia Demographic and Health Survey 2016 - Key Indicators Report|website=dhsprogram.com|access-date=2017-03-10|archive-date=2017-07-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170712215628/http://dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/PR81/PR81.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> FGM has been made illegal by the 2004 Penal Code.<ref>Article 565 – Female Circumcision; Article 566 – Infibulation of the Female Genitalia {{cite web|url=http://sgdatabase.unwomen.org/uploads/Ethiopia%20-%20Revised%20Criminal%20Code%202004.pdf |title=Ethiopia Revised Criminal Code|access-date=December 3, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222202126/http://sgdatabase.unwomen.org/uploads/Ethiopia%20-%20Revised%20Criminal%20Code%202004.pdf |archive-date=February 22, 2014 }}</ref>

===Gambia===
{{Main|Female genital mutilation in the Gambia}}
[[File:FGM road sign, Bakau, Gambia, 2005.jpg|thumb|250 px|Anti-FGM road sign, Bakau, Gambia, 2005]]
Female genital mutilation is prevalent in [[The Gambia]].<ref name="fgmnetwork1"/><ref name="brighamandwomens1">[http://www.brighamandwomens.org/Departments_and_Services/obgyn/services/africanwomenscenter/FGCprevalence.aspx "FGC Prevalence Rates Diagram"], African Women's Health Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, accessed 7 September 2011.</ref> A 2006 UNICEF survey found a 78.3% prevalence rate in The Gambia.<ref>[http://www.unicef.org/gambia/MICS_III_Main_Report_final_version.pdf The Gambia MICS 2005-2006 Report] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170620213148/https://www.unicef.org/gambia/MICS_III_Main_Report_final_version.pdf |date=2017-06-20 }} UNICEF and Gambia Bureau of Statistics (2007)</ref> In a 2013 report, an estimated 76.3% of girls and women have been subjected to FGM/C.<ref name=kapgh>{{cite journal|doi=10.1186/1471-2458-13-851|pmid=24040762|pmc=3848660|title=Knowledge, attitudes and practices of female genital mutilation/Cutting among health care professionals in the Gambia: A multiethnic study|journal=BMC Public Health|volume=13|pages=851|year=2013|last1=Kaplan|first1=Adriana|last2=Hechavarría|first2=Suiberto|last3=Bernal|first3=Mariola|last4=Bonhoure|first4=Isabelle |doi-access=free }}</ref> As FGM is less prevalent among younger women according to [[City University London]] in 2015, this suggested a decline in the practice.<ref name="CUL_Prevalence_FGM_Jul2015" />

The Gambia's predominant religion is Islam (90%), and it has many ethnic groups. Prevalence rates of FGM/C vary significantly between the ethnic groups: Sarahule (FGM rate of 98%), Mandinka (97%), Djola (87%), Serer (43%), and Wolof (12%). Urban areas report FGM/C rates of about 56%, whereas in rural areas, rates exceed 90%. A majority of Gambian women who underwent FGM/C claimed they did it primarily because religion mandates it.<ref name=kapgh/> The age when FGM is done on Gambian girls ranges from 7 days after birth up to pre-adolescence.<ref>Hernlund Y: Cutting without ritual and ritual without cutting: female circumcision and the Re-ritualization of initiation in The Gambia. In Female “circumcision” in Africa: culture, controversy and change. Shell-Duncan B, Hernlund Y. (eds.) London: Rienner publishers; 2000</ref>

A 2011 clinical study reports 66% FGMs in The Gambia were Type I, 26% were Type II and 8% Type III.<ref>{{cite journal|pmid=21967670|pmc=3195700|year=2011|last1=Kaplan|first1=A.|title=Health consequences of female genital mutilation/Cutting in the Gambia, evidence into action|journal=Reproductive Health|volume=8|page=26|last2=Hechavarría|first2=S.|last3=Martín|first3=M.|last4=Bonhoure|first4=I.|doi=10.1186/1742-4755-8-26 |doi-access=free }}</ref> About a third of all women in Gambia with FGM/C, including Type I, suffered health complications because of the procedure. In 2015, Gambia's president [[Yahya Jammeh]] has banned FGM.<ref name="bbc.com"/> This was however attempted to be repealed by a local parliamentarian in 2024,<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Gambia votes to reverse landmark ban on female genital mutilation |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/19/the-gambia-votes-to-reverse-landmark-ban-on-female-genital-mutilation |access-date=2024-04-14 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref> which was met with stiff resistance from public health scholars like Cham Kebba Omar through his work in [[Edward & Cynthia Institute of Public Health]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Omar |first=Cham Kebba |date=2024-03-13 |title=FGM in The Gambia: a controversial socio-cultural practice and eradication challenges |url=https://eciph.in/fgm-in-the-gambia-a-controversial-socio-cultural-practice-and-its-challenges-in-eradication/ |access-date=2024-04-14 |website=Edward & Cynthia Institute of Public Health |language=en-US}}</ref> and Fatou Boye in her column in [[CHD Group]].<ref>{{Cite web |last1=W boye |first1=Fatou|date=2024-03-19 |title=Breaking the chains: Advocacy against FGM and the Gambia's efforts in banning the practice |url=https://www.chdgroup.org/opinion/breaking-the-chains-advocacy-against-fgm-and-the-gambias-efforts-in-banning-the-practice/ |access-date=2024-04-14 |website=CHD Group |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Ghana===
Female genital mutilation is present in [[Ghana]] in some regions of the country, primarily in the north of the country, in [[Upper East Region]].<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1186/s12905-018-0643-8|pmid=30227845|title=Prevalence and factors associated with female genital mutilation among women of reproductive age in the Bawku municipality and Pusiga District of northern Ghana|journal=BMC Women's Health|volume=18|issue=1|year=2018|last1=Sakeah|first1=Evelyn|last2=Debpuur|first2=Cornelius|last3=Oduro|first3=Abraham Rexford|last4=Welaga|first4=Paul|last5=Aborigo|first5=Raymond|last6=Sakeah|first6=James Kotuah|last7=Moyer|first7=Cheryl A.|pmc=6145319|page=150 |doi-access=free }}</ref> According to the WHO, its prevalence is 3.8%. In 1989, the head of the government of Ghana, President Rawlings, issued a formal declaration against FGM. Article 39 of Ghana's Constitution also provides in part that traditional practices that are injurious to a person's health and well being are abolished. The Criminal Code was amended in 1994 to outlaw FGM, and the law was strengthened in 2007.<ref name="un.org"/> Ghana ratified the Maputo Protocol in 2007.<ref name=USStateDep/>

===Guinea===
[[Guinea]] has the second highest FGM prevalence rate in the world.<ref name=FGM2013/> In a 2005 survey, 96% of all Guinea women aged between 15 and 49 had been cut.<ref name=fgmgui2011>[http://www.giz.de/Themen/de/dokumente/giz-fgm-EN-guinea-2011.pdf Female Genital Mutilation in Guinea] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131003050527/http://www.giz.de/Themen/de/dokumente/giz-fgm-EN-guinea-2011.pdf |date=2013-10-03 }} Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany (September 2011)</ref> That is a slight decline in the practice from the 1999 recorded FGM rate of 98.6%. Among the 15- to 19-year-olds the prevalence was 89%, among 20- to 24-year-olds 95%. About 50% of the women in Guinea believe FGM is a religious requirement.<ref name=FGM2013/> Guinea is predominantly a Muslim country, with 90% of the population practicing Islam. The high FGM rates are observed across all religions in Guinea; FGM is prevalent in 99% of Muslim women, 94% of Catholics and Protestants, and 93% of Animist women.<ref name=unicefstat2010/>

FGM is illegal in Guinea under Article 265 of the Penal Code. The law sentences death to the perpetrator if the girl dies within 40 days after the FGM.<ref name=unlaw09>[https://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/egm/vaw_legislation_2009/Expert%20Paper%20EGMGPLHP%20_Berhane%20Ras-Work%20revised_.pdf LEGISLATION TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE OF FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION (FGM)] Berhane Ras-Work, United Nations (May 21, 2009)</ref> Article 6 of the Guinean Constitution, which outlaws cruel and inhumane treatment, could be interpreted to include these practices, should a case be brought to the Supreme Court. Guinea signed the Maputo Protocol in 2003 but has not ratified it.<ref name=USStateDep/>

Article 305 of Guinea's penal code also bans FGM, but nobody has yet been sentenced under any of Guinea's FGM-related laws.<ref name=fgmgui2011/> In Guinea, instead of stopping FGM, the trend is towards medicalization of FGM, where the mutilation is advertised under hygienic conditions by medically trained staff, who see FGM practice an additional source of income. Per the above 2005 survey, 27% of girls were cut by medically trained staff.

===Guinea-Bissau===
Female genital mutilation is present in [[Guinea-Bissau]], and have been estimated at a 50% prevalence rate in 2000.<ref name="brighamandwomens1"/> A law banning the practice nationwide was adopted by Parliament in June 2011 with 64 votes to 1. At the time, 45% of women aged 15 to 49 years were affected by FGM. According to a survey, 33% of women favoured a continuation of genital cutting, but 50% of the overall population wanted to abandon the practice.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/guineabissau_59787.html |title=New law prohibits practice of female genital mutilation in Guinea-Bissau &#124; At a glance: Guinea-Bissau |publisher=UNICEF |date=13 September 2011 |access-date=4 June 2018 |archive-date=2 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402105449/https://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/guineabissau_59787.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Kenya===
[[File:Josephine Kulea for TRS.webm|thumb|Campaigner [[Josephine Kulea]] discussing FGM amongst the [[Samburu people]] in northern Kenya (2015)]]
Female genital mutilation is present in [[Kenya]].<ref name="brighamandwomens1"/> The 2014 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) estimated the national prevalence of FGM to be 21% among women age 15–49, down from 27% in the 2008/09 survey and 32 percent in the 2003 survey.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=http://dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/FR308/FR308.pdf|title=Kenya DHS 2014|publisher=dhsprogram.com}}</ref> The prevalence of FGM in 2014 varied widely by age, location, ethnic group, and religion. Prevalence of FGM increases with age. It is lowest among women ages 15–19 at 11.4%, and highest among women aged 45–49 at 40.9%. This trend underscores the declining trend in FGM over time.<ref name=":0" /> In March 2020, the percentage of women and girls aged 15 to 49 living in Kenya who had undergone FGM was reportedly still 21%.<ref name="Global response"/>{{rp|21}}

By region, prevalence in 2014 was highest in the former provinces of North Eastern (97.5%), Nyanza (32.4%), Rift Valley (26.9%), and Eastern (26.4%), and lower in Central (16.5%), Coast (10.2%), Nairobi (8.0%), and Western (0.8%). It is more common in rural areas (25.9%) than urban (13.8%).<ref name=":0" /> By ethnic group, FGM is most prevalent among women in the Somali (93.6%), Samburu (86.0%), Kisii (84.4%), and Maasai (77.9%) ethnic groups. By religion, it is more prevalent in Muslim women (51.1%) and women listing no religion (32.9%) and less prevalent in Roman Catholic (21.5%) and Protestant or other Christian women (17.9%).<ref name=":0" />

In 2001 Kenya enacted the Children's Act, under the provisions of which FGM was criminalized when practiced on girls younger than 18.<ref name="fgmken2011">[http://www.giz.de/Themen/de/dokumente/giz-fgm-EN-kenia-2011.pdf Female Genital Mutilation in Kenya] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131003050431/http://www.giz.de/Themen/de/dokumente/giz-fgm-EN-kenia-2011.pdf |date=2013-10-03 }} Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany (September 2011)</ref> The practice was made illegal nationwide in September 2011.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/society/sarah-boseley-global-health/2011/sep/08/women-africa "FGM: Kenya acts against unkindest cut"], The Guardian, 8 September 2011.</ref>

===Liberia===
Female genital mutilation is prevalent in [[Liberia]].<ref name="brighamandwomens1"/> Genital mutilation is a taboo subject in Liberia. It is difficult to get accurate data on FGM prevalence rate. The FGM procedure is mandatory for initiation of women into the secret Liberia and Sierra Leone society called the [[Sande society]], sometimes called Bondo. A 2007 demographic survey asked women if they belonged to Sande society. It was assumed that those who were part of Sande society had undergone FGM. Based on this estimation method, the prevalence of FGM in Liberia has been estimated as 58%.<ref name=fgmlib2011>[http://www.giz.de/Themen/de/dokumente/giz-fgm-EN-liberia-2011.pdf Female Genital Mutilation in Liberia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131003050438/http://www.giz.de/Themen/de/dokumente/giz-fgm-EN-liberia-2011.pdf |date=2013-10-03 }} Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany (September 2011)</ref> Liberia has consented to international charters such as CEDAW as well as Africa's Maputo Protocol. National legislation explicitly making FGM punishable by law has yet to be passed.<ref name=unlaw09/><ref name=fgmlib2011/> As FGM was less prevalent among younger women in a 2015 study, this suggested a decline in the practice.<ref name="CUL_Prevalence_FGM_Jul2015">{{cite book|last1=Alison MacFarlane|display-authors=etal|title=Prevalence of Female Genital Mutilation in England and Wales: National and local estimates|date=July 2015|publisher=[[City University London]]|location=London|isbn=9781900804936|page=10|url=https://www.city.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/282388/FGM-statistics-final-report-21-07-15-released-text.pdf|access-date=10 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180121004826/https://www.city.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/282388/FGM-statistics-final-report-21-07-15-released-text.pdf|archive-date=21 January 2018}}</ref>

=== Libya===
Female genital mutilation is discouraged in [[Libya]] and as of 2007 had been practiced only in remote areas by migrants from other African countries.<ref>[[#Border|UK Border Agency]], p. 38</ref>

===Malawi===
Female genital mutilation is practiced in Malawi mostly in the following districts. Southern Malawi: Mulanje, Thyolo, Mangochi and parts of Machinga and Chiradzuro District. In the Northern part of Malawi: Nkhatabay. This custom is common among the Tonga tribe, Yao tribe and Lomwe tribe. It is a custom which has been there for generations. In some villages it is deeply rooted compared to others. Every FGM camp has its own degree of how deep they want to conduct the custom but the motive is the same. It is shrouded in silence. Not even the government authorities can trace the roots because the high powers are given to the local authorities of the village and clan.<ref>[[#Border|UK Border Agency]], p. 40</ref>

===Mali===
Female genital mutilation is prevalent in [[Mali]].<ref name="brighamandwomens1"/> The WHO gives a prevalence of 85.2% for women aged 15–49 in 2006 in Mali.<ref name="who.int"/> In a 2007 report,<ref name=fgmmali2007/> 92% of all Mali women between the ages of 15 and 49 had been subjected to FGM. The rates of FGM are lower only among the Sonrai (28%), the Tamachek (32%) and the Bozo people (76%). Nearly half are Type I, another half Type II.<ref name=fgmmali2007>[http://www.giz.de/Themen/en/dokumente/en-fgm-countries-mali.pdf Female Genital Mutilation in Mali] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131003050446/http://www.giz.de/Themen/en/dokumente/en-fgm-countries-mali.pdf |date=2013-10-03 }} Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany (November 2007)</ref> The prevalence varies with religion in Mali; FGM is prevalent in 92% of Muslim women, 76% of Christians.<ref name=unicefstat2010/>

About 64% of the women of Mali believe FGM is a religious requirement.<ref name=FGM2013/> In 2002, Mali created a government program aimed at discouraging FGM (''Ordinance No. 02-053 portant creation du programme national de lutte contre la pratique de l’excision'' [Ordinance creating a National Program to Fight the Practice of Female Genital Mutilation]).<ref>[https://www.k4health.org/sites/default/files/pub_bo_GG_appendA.pdf "Featured Laws and Policies"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304001625/https://www.k4health.org/sites/default/files/pub_bo_GG_appendA.pdf |date=2016-03-04 }}. in ''A Tool for Advancing Reproductive Rights Law Reform''. [[Center for Reproductive Rights]] (2006)</ref> There is no specific legislation criminalizing FGM.<ref name=unlaw09/><ref name=fgmmali2007/>

===Mauritania===
Female genital mutilation is prevalent in [[Mauritania]].<ref name="brighamandwomens1"/> According to 2001 survey, 71% of all women aged between 15 and 49 had undergone FGM. A 2007 demographic cluster study found no change in FGM prevalence rate in Mauritania.<ref name=unlaw09/><ref name=fgmmau2011>[http://www.giz.de/Themen/de/dokumente/giz-fgm-EN-mauritania-2011.pdf Female Genital Mutilation in Mauritania] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131003050515/http://www.giz.de/Themen/de/dokumente/giz-fgm-EN-mauritania-2011.pdf |date=2013-10-03 }} Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany (September 2011)</ref> Type II FGM is most frequent. About 57% of Mauritania women believe FGM is a religious requirement.<ref name=FGM2013/> Mauritania is 99% Muslim. The FGM prevalence rate varies by ethnic groups: 92% of Soninke women are cut, about 70% of Fulbe and Moorish women, but only 28% of Wolof women have undergone FGM.<ref name=fgmmau2011/> Mauritania has consented to international charters such as CEDAW as well as Africa's Maputo Protocol. Ordonnance n°2005-015 on child protection restricts FGM.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20140819090145/http://www.africanchildforum.org/clr/Legislation%20Per%20Country/Mauritania/mauritania_childjustice_2005_fr.pdf REPUBLIQUE ISLAMIQUE DE MAURITANIE]. African Child Forum</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.zonta.org/Portals/0/PDFs/UNICEFLegislativeReformAbandonmentFGMCAugust2010.pdf |title=UNICEF Legislative Reform Abandonment FGMC |access-date=2014-08-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819090939/https://www.zonta.org/Portals/0/PDFs/UNICEFLegislativeReformAbandonmentFGMCAugust2010.pdf |archive-date=2014-08-19 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Niger===
Female genital mutilation is present in [[Niger]].<ref name="brighamandwomens1"/> In a 2006 survey, about 2% of Niger women had undergone FGM.<ref name=FGM2013/> In 1998, Niger reported a 4.5% prevalence rate.<ref>[http://www.glow-boell.de/media/de/txt_rubrik_2/FGM_Statistic_UNICEF_2005.pdf FGM/C – 2005 Statistics] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131003044533/http://www.glow-boell.de/media/de/txt_rubrik_2/FGM_Statistic_UNICEF_2005.pdf |date=2013-10-03 }} UNICEF, p. 32.</ref> This survey data is potentially incorrect because, adjusted for age group, the women who claimed to have experienced FGM at the previous survey still are, albeit in a different age group. The 2006 survey implies more women had never experienced FGM than previously reported. The DHS surveyors claim the adoption of criminal legislation and fear of prosecution may explain why Niger women did not want to report having been circumcised.<ref>[http://www.measuredhs.com/pubs/pdf/FR193/FR193-NI06.pdf Enquête Démographique et de Santé et à Indicateurs Multiples 2006] République du Niger; page 281 (in French)</ref> A WHO report estimates the prevalence rate of FGM in Niger to be 20%.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20130921053613/https://apps.who.int/dsa/cat98/fgmbook.htm Female Genital Mutilation: An overview] WHO, Geneva</ref> Other sources, including a UNICEF 2009 report, claim FGM rates are high in Niger.<ref>[http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/niger_49292.html Ten villages unite to say 'no’ to female genital mutilation/cutting in Niger] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116042906/https://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/niger_49292.html |date=2018-11-16 }} UNICEF (2009)</ref><ref>[http://www.engenderhealth.org/files/pubs/maternal-health/report/section/niger.pdf NIGER] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924000743/http://www.engenderhealth.org/files/pubs/maternal-health/report/section/niger.pdf |date=2015-09-24 }} Nathalie Maulet, UNFPA (2007)</ref><ref>[http://www.irinnews.org/printreport.aspx?reportid=48483 NIGER: Legal ban on female circumcision widely ignored] IRIN, UN News Service (2004)</ref> A law banning FGM was passed in 2003 by the Niger government.<ref>[http://www.unicef.org/wcaro/WCARO_Niger_Factsheet-11.pdf Priorities in child survival, education and protection – Niger] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170620210815/https://www.unicef.org/wcaro/WCARO_Niger_Factsheet-11.pdf |date=2017-06-20 }} UNICEF (2007)</ref>

===Nigeria===
{{Main|Female genital mutilation in Nigeria}}
A 2008 demographic survey found 30% of all [[Nigeria]]n women have been subjected to FGM.<ref name="fgmnigeria2011">[http://www.giz.de/Themen/de/dokumente/giz-fgm-EN-nigeria-2011.pdf Female Genital Mutilation in Nigeria] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131003050444/http://www.giz.de/Themen/de/dokumente/giz-fgm-EN-nigeria-2011.pdf |date=2013-10-03 }} Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany (September 2011)</ref> This contrasts with 25% reported by a 1999 survey, and 19% by 2003 survey. This suggests no trend, unreliable past or most recent survey data in some regions, as well as the possibility that a number of women are increasingly willing to acknowledge having undergone FGM. Another possible explanation for higher 2008 prevalence rate is the definition of FGM used, which included Type IV FGMs. In some parts of Nigeria, the vagina walls are cut in new born girls or other traditional practices performed – such as the ''angurya'' and ''gishiri'' cuts – which fall under Type IV FGM classification of the World Health Organization.<ref name="fgmnigeria2011" /> Over 80% of all FGMs are performed on girls under one year of age. The prevalence varies with religion in Nigeria; FGM is prevalent in 31% of Catholics, 27% of Protestant and 7% of Muslim women.<ref name="unicefstat2010" /> FGM was banned throughout the country in 2015.<ref name="theguardian1" /><ref name="reuters1" />

===Republic of the Congo===
FGM is not commonly practiced in the Republic of the Congo,<ref>[https://www.refworld.org/docid/46fb72fe23.html Republic of the Congo: The practice of female genital mutilation (FGM), particularly whether a woman can be forced to undergo FGM against her will and that of her parents; the consequences of refusing to undergo FGM; the possibility of filing a complaint and state protection available (June 2006)]. Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada</ref><ref>[http://archive.ipu.org/wmn-e/fgm-prov-c.htm Female genital mutilation: Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire]. Archive.ipu.org. Retrieved on 2019-08-28.</ref> but some sources estimate its prevalence at 5%.<ref name="brighamandwomens1"/>

=== Rwanda===
Female genital mutilation is not practiced in [[Rwanda]].<ref>[[#Border|UK Border Agency]], p. 49</ref>

===Senegal===
Female genital mutilation is present in [[Senegal]].<ref name="brighamandwomens1"/> According to 2005 survey, FGM prevalence rate is 28% of all women aged between 15 and 49.<ref name=fgmsen2011>[http://www.giz.de/Themen/de/dokumente/giz-fgm-EN-senegal-2011.pdf Female Genital Mutilation in Senegal] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131003050544/http://www.giz.de/Themen/de/dokumente/giz-fgm-EN-senegal-2011.pdf |date=2013-10-03 }} Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany (September 2011)</ref> There are significant differences in regional prevalence. FGM is most widespread in the Southern Senegal (94% in Kolda Region) and in Northeastern Senegal (93% in Matam Region). FGM rates are lower in other regions: Tambacounda (86%), Ziguinchor (69%), and less than 5% in Diourbel and Louga Regions. Senegal is 94% Muslim. The FGM prevalence rate varies by religion: 29% of Muslim women have undergone FGM, 16% of Animists, and 11% of Christian women.<ref name=unicefstat2010/><ref name=fgmsen2011/>

A law that was passed in January 1999 makes FGM illegal in Senegal.<ref>[http://2001-2009.state.gov/g/wi/rls/rep/crfgm/10107.htm "Senegal: Report on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) or Female Genital Cutting (FGC)"], Released by the Office of the Senior Coordinator for International Women's Issues, US Department of State.</ref> President Diouf had appealed for an end to this practice and for legislation outlawing it. The law modifies the Penal Code to make this practice a criminal act, punishable by a sentence of one to five years in prison. A spokesperson for the human rights group RADDHO (The African Assembly for the Defense of Human Rights) noted in the local press that "Adopting the law is not the end, as it will still need to be effectively enforced for women to benefit from it. Senegal ratified the Maputo Protocol in 2005.<ref name=USStateDep/>

===Sierra Leone===
Female genital mutilation is prevalent in [[Sierra Leone]].<ref name="brighamandwomens1"/> According to a 2008 survey, 91% of women in Sierra Leone between the ages of 15 and 49 have undergone FGM. The highest rate of prevalence is in the Northern Sierra Leone (97%).<ref name=fgmsile2011>[http://www.giz.de/Themen/de/dokumente/giz-fgm-EN-sierraleone-2011.pdf Female Genital Mutilation in Sierra Leone] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131003050512/http://www.giz.de/Themen/de/dokumente/giz-fgm-EN-sierraleone-2011.pdf |date=2013-10-03 }} Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany (September 2011)</ref> Type II is most common, but Type I is known as well as Type III. In a 2013 report, researchers first conducted verbal surveys followed by clinical examination. They found that the verbal disclosure were not completely reliable, and clinical examination showed greater extent of FGM. These researchers report 68% Type II and 32% Type I in Sierra Leone women.<ref name="b2013"/>

Like Liberia, Sierra Leone has the traditional secret society of women, called Bondo or [[Sande society]], which uses FGM as part of the initiation rite. 70% of the population is Muslim, 20% Christian, and 10% as traditional religions.<ref name=fgmsile2011/> The predominantly Christian [[Sierra Leone Creole|Creole]] people are the only ethnicity in Sierra Leone not known to practice FGM.<ref name="Bassir, Olumbe 1954">[Bassir, Olumbe (July 1954). "Marriage Rites among the Aku (Yoruba) of Freetown". Africa: Journal of the International African Institute. 24 (3): 251–256]</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.28toomany.org/static/media/uploads/Country%20Images/PDF/sierra_leone_country_profile_v2_(october_2018).pdf|title=FMG in Sierra Leone|publisher=28TooMany, Registered Charity: No. 1150379|access-date=2021-12-22|archive-date=2021-12-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211222125403/https://www.28toomany.org/static/media/uploads/Country%20Images/PDF/sierra_leone_country_profile_v2_(october_2018).pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/4b20f02bc.html |title=Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Sierra Leone: The practice of female genital mutilation (FGM); the government's position with respect to the practice; consequences of refusing to become an FGM practitioner in Bondo Society, specifically, if a daughter of a practitioner refuses to succeed her mother, 27 March 2009, SLE103015.E|publisher=Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada}}</ref> There is no federal law against FGM in Sierra Leone; and the ''Soweis'' – those who do FGM excision – wield considerable political power during elections.<ref name=unlaw09/>

===Somalia===
FGM is almost universal in [[Somalia]], and many women undergo [[infibulation]], the most extreme form of female genital mutilation.<ref>[https://www.28toomany.org/country/somalia/ Somalia28 Too Many]. 28toomany.org.</ref> According to a 2005 WHO estimate, about 97.9% of Somalia's women and girls underwent FGM. This was at the time the world's highest prevalence rate of the procedure.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/topics/fgm/prevalence/en/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090716094114/http://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/topics/fgm/prevalence/en/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 16, 2009 |title=Prevalence of FGM |publisher=Who.int |date=2010-12-09 |access-date=2010-12-30}}</ref> A 2010 UNICEF report also noted that Somalia had the world's highest rate of Type III FGM, with 79% of all Somali women having undergone the procedure; another 15% underwent Type II FGM.<ref name="prb.org"/> Article 15 of the [[Constitution of Somalia|Federal Constitution]] adopted in August 2012 prohibits female circumcision, stating: "Circumcision of girls is a cruel and degrading practice, and is tantamount to torture. The circumcision of girls is prohibited".<ref name="Frspc">{{cite web|title=The Federal Republic of Somalia – Provisional Constitution |url=http://www.somaliweyn.com/pages/news/Aug_12/Somalia_Constitution_English_FOR_WEB.pdf |access-date=13 March 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131228121925/http://www.somaliweyn.com/pages/news/Aug_12/Somalia_Constitution_English_FOR_WEB.pdf |archive-date=28 December 2013}}</ref><ref name="28TM 2018">{{Cite web |url=https://www.28toomany.org/static/media/uploads/Law%20Reports/the_law_and_fgm_v1_(september_2018).pdf |title=The law and FGM. An overview of 28 African countries |publisher=28 Too Many |date=September 2018 |access-date=11 May 2020 |archive-date=30 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200630164830/https://www.28toomany.org/static/media/uploads/Law%20Reports/the_law_and_fgm_v1_(september_2018).pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>{{rp|24}} However, as of March 2020 there are no laws and no known prosecutions of FGM in Somalia.<ref name="Global response"/>{{rp|22}}

==== Somaliland and Puntland ====
[[File:Hope on the horizon.webm|thumb|2018 [[International Planned Parenthood Federation|IPPF]] item on FGM effects and campaigns in Somaliland]]
The prevalence rate varies considerably by region and is reportedly on the decline in the northern part of the country. [[Somaliland]] in the northwest is a self-proclaimed independent state and ''de facto'' functioning as such since 1991, but internationally recognised as part of Somalia,<ref name="28TM 2018"/>{{rp|24}} while [[Puntland]] in the northeast has self-proclaimed autonomy within Somalia since 1998.

According to the UNICEF Somaliland Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey report (final version published in 2014), the prevalence of FGM in Somaliland in 2011 was 99.1% amongst women aged 15–49. Most of these women had been cut as girls between the ages of 4 and 14, with 85% of them having undergone Type III. However, 69% of women aged 15–49 who had heard of FGM believed it should be discontinued, while 29% wanted it to continue. Only 27.7% of Somaliland girls aged 4–14 were reportedly cut in 2011, indicating a strong decline in the practice. Younger women were also more likely to oppose FGM than older women.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://mics-surveys-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/MICS4/Eastern%20and%20Southern%20Africa/Somalia%20%28Somaliland%29/2011/Final/Somalia%20%28Somaliland%29%202011%20MICS_English.pdf |title=Somaliland Final Report, March 2014 |work=Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2011 |publisher=UNICEF & Somaliland Ministry of National Planning and Development |date=March 2014 |access-date=11 May 2020}}</ref> In an announcement on the preliminary report in April 2013, UNICEF in conjunction with the Somali authorities stated that the FGM prevalence rate among 1- to 14-year-old girls in the autonomous northern Puntland and Somaliland regions had dropped to 25% following a social and religious awareness campaign.<ref name="Jpsfgmd">{{cite news|title=Somalia: Female genital mutilation down|url=http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2013/04/16/somalia-female-genital-mutilation-down.html|access-date=17 May 2013|newspaper=Associated Press via The Jakarta Post|date=16 April 2013}}</ref> A bill criminalising FGM was proposed in the Somaliland parliament in 2018;<ref name="28TM 2018"/>{{rp|31}} as of August 2019, it has not passed yet.<ref name="Goldsmith">{{Cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-somaliland-women-fgm/village-by-village-the-quest-to-stop-female-genital-cutting-in-somaliland-idUSKCN1VJ0C8 |title=Village by village, the quest to stop female genital cutting in Somaliland |author=Belinda Goldsmith |publisher=Reuters |date=29 August 2019 |access-date=11 May 2020}}</ref> Also in 2018, religious authorities issued a fatwa to condemn the two most severe forms of FGM, but it allowed mixed interpretations on lesser forms of FGM.<ref name="Goldsmith"/> With only limited government support, health workers from the Somaliland Family Health Association (SOFHA) were campaigning to end the practice by educating citizens village by village.<ref name="Goldsmith"/> In January 2020, the Somaliland Ministry of Religious Affairs announced the formation of a committee consisting of nine clerics to "[deal] with the issue of female genital mutilation, which needs to be in line with Islamic law", while stating that the ministry is "committed to combating female genital mutilation".<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.somalidispatch.com/featured/somaliland-announces-anti-fgm-committee/ |title=Somaliland Announces Anti-FGM Committee |work=Somali Dispatch |date=3 January 2020 |access-date=11 May 2020}}</ref> British-Somali anti-FGM campaigner Nimco Ali reacted by saying that especially "religious leaders in the Ministry of Religion and Welfare, who may not agree to an outright ban on all types of FGM", were complicating eradication efforts.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://news.trust.org/item/20200204184052-gevx3/ |title=OPINION: FGM - from taboo to headline news, but what now? |author=Nimco Ali |publisher=Reuters |date=6 February 2020 |access-date=11 May 2020}}</ref>

===South Africa===
While [[South Africa]] is not listed among the countries with a high prevalence of FGM, the practice is present among certain communities in South Africa.<ref>[[#Border|UK Border Agency]], p. 55</ref> FGM is practiced among the [[Venda people|Venda]] community in north-east South Africa, at about eight weeks or less after childbirth.<ref name="africlaw1">[https://africlaw.com/2012/06/07/female-genital-mutilation-in-south-africa/ Female genital mutilation in South Africa]. AfricLaw (2012-06-07). Retrieved on 2019-08-28.</ref> It is also present among immigrant communities.<ref name="africlaw1"/>

===South Sudan===
Female genital mutilation is present in [[South Sudan]], but its exact prevalence is unknown. A 2015 UNICEF report claimed 1% of women aged 15–49 had been subjected to FGM, but as of May 2018 there were no recent data confirming this figure. FGM has been reported to be practiced in some Christian and Muslims communities, and has been noted in some refugee camps in [[Upper Nile State]]. South Sudanese law has banned female genital mutilation, but the government has not enacted a clear plan to eradicate the phenomenon.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.28toomany.org/static/media/uploads/Law%20Reports/south_sudan_law_report_v1_(may_2018).pdf |title=South Sudan: the law and FGM |work=28 Too Many 2018 |publisher=Thomas Reuters Foundation |date=May 2018 |access-date=29 June 2018 |archive-date=29 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180629074305/https://www.28toomany.org/static/media/uploads/Law |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Sudan===
The prevalence of FGM in [[Sudan]] is 90%.<ref name="applications.emro.who.int">{{cite web |url=http://applications.emro.who.int/docs/High_Level_Exp_Meet_Rep_2013_EN_14808.pdf |title=Facts about Female genital mutilation |publisher=Saving the Lives of Mothers & Children |access-date=30 March 2024}}</ref> Until 2020, only six of the eighteen [[states of Sudan]] had laws against FGM. In 2020, the new [[government of Sudan]] of Prime Minister [[Abdalla Hamdok]] passed a law to outlaw FGM.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Walsh|first=Declan|date=2020-04-30|title=In a Victory for Women in Sudan, Female Genital Mutilation Is Outlawed|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/30/world/africa/sudan-outlaws-female-genital-mutilation-.html|access-date=2020-05-03|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

Before the [[Sudanese Revolution]], the 32nd Article of the [[Constitution of Sudan]] promised that the "state shall combat harmful customs and traditions which undermine the dignity and the status of women."<ref>{{cite web |title=Sudan's Constitution of 2005 |url=https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Sudan_2005.pdf?lang=en |website=Constitute Project |access-date=20 June 2019}}</ref>  Sudan was the first country to outlaw it in 1946, [[Anglo-Egyptian Sudan|under the British]]. Type III was prohibited under the 1925 Penal Code, with less severe forms allowed. Outreach groups have been trying to eradicate the practice for 50 years, working with NGOs, religious groups, the government, the media and medical practitioners. Arrests have been made but no further action seems to have taken place.<ref name="USStateDep" /> Sudan signed the Maputo Protocol in June, 2008 but no ratification has yet been deposited with the African Union.

===Tanzania===
According to 2015–16 survey in [[Tanzania]],<ref name="ReferenceB"/> FGM prevalence rate is 10% of all women aged between 15 and 49 and 4.7% for those aged 15–19. In contrast, the 1996 survey reported 17.6, suggesting a drop of 7.6% over 20 years or unwillingness to disclose. Type II FGM was found to be most common. There are significant differences in regional prevalence; FGM is most widespread in Manyara (81%), Dodoma (68%), Arusha (55%), Singida (43%) and Mara (38%) regions.<ref name=fgmtanz2011>[http://www.giz.de/Themen/de/dokumente/giz-fgm-EN-tansania-2011.pdf Female Genital Mutilation in Tanzania] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131003050530/http://www.giz.de/Themen/de/dokumente/giz-fgm-EN-tansania-2011.pdf |date=2013-10-03 }} Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany (September 2011)</ref> The practice varies with religion, with reported prevalence rates of 20% for Christian and 15% of Muslim women.<ref name=unicefstat2010/>

Section 169A of the Sexual Offences Special Provisions Act of 1998 prohibits FGM in Tanzania. Punishment is imprisonment of from five to fifteen years or a fine not exceeding 300,000 shillings (approximately US$250) or both. Tanzania ratified the Maputo Protocol in 2007. As with Kenya, Tanzania 1998 Act protects only girls up to the age of 18 years. The FGM law is being occasionally implemented, with 52 violations have been reported, filed and prosecuted. At least 10 cases were convicted in Tanzania.<ref name=unlaw09/>

===Togo===
Female genital mutilation is practiced in [[Togo]]. In a 2014 UNICEF report, the prevalence is 1.8% in girls 15–19.<ref name="unfpa.org"/> The WHO puts its prevalence at 5.8% in 2006.<ref name="who.int"/> Other sources cite 12%<ref name="ReferenceA"/> and 50%<ref name="brighamandwomens1"/> as prevalence. Type II is usually practiced.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> On October 30, 1998, the National Assembly unanimously voted to outlaw the practice of FGM. Penalties under the law can include a prison term of two months to ten years and a fine of 100,000 francs to one million francs (approximately US$160 to 1,600). A person who had knowledge that the procedure was going to take place and failed to inform public authorities can be punished with one month to one year imprisonment or a fine of from 20,000 to 500,000 francs (approximately US$32 to 800). Togo ratified the Maputo Protocol in 2005.<ref name=USStateDep/>

===Uganda===
[[File:Campaign road sign against female genital mutilation (cropped) 2.jpg|thumb|250px|Road sign near [[Kapchorwa]], [[Uganda]], 2004]]
Anyone convicted of carrying out FGM is subject to 10 years in prison. If the life of the patient is lost during the operation a life sentence is recommended.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8406940.stm "Uganda Bans Female Genital Mutilation"], ''BBC''. 10 December 2009.</ref> In 1996, a court intervened to prevent the performance of FGM under Section 8 of the Children Statute, which makes it unlawful to subject a child to social or customary practices harmful to the child's health. Uganda signed the Maputo Protocol in 2003 but has not ratified it.<ref>[http://www.ugpulse.com/articles/daily/news.asp?about=Uganda%20asked%20to%20ratify%20Women’s%20rights%20protocol&ID=7249 Uganda Government News: Uganda asked to ratify Women’s rights protocol], ''UGPulse'', November 27, 2008</ref> In early July 2009, President Yoweri Museveni stated that a law would soon be passed prohibiting the practice, with alternative livelihoods found for its practitioners.<ref name="Kampala_2007_07_02">[http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/12/686709 "Museveni condemns genital cutting"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605162331/http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/12/686709 |date=2011-06-05 }}, ''The New Vision'', Kampala, 2 July 2007.</ref>
The anti FGM act 2010 is currently available for reference. The speaker of Parliament Ms Rebecca Kadaga recently gave Sebei sub-region districts ultimatum to produce working plans to end [https://www.education.co.ug/2020/07/28/henode-development-programme-female-genital-mutilation/ Female Genital Mutilation]{{Dead link|date=December 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} in the area.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-07-28|title=Kadaga lauds NGO on advocacy for girls|url=https://www.education.co.ug/2020/07/28/henode-development-programme-female-genital-mutilation/|access-date=2020-07-28|website=Education News Uganda|language=en-US}}{{Dead link|date=February 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

==Asia==
Anti-FGM organizations in Asia have complained that global attention on eradicating FGM goes almost entirely to Africa.<ref name="Batha">{{Cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-fgm-conference/in-parts-of-asia-and-middle-east-female-genital-mutilation-a-hidden-ritual-idUSKBN15E0KF |title=In parts of Asia and Middle East, female genital mutilation a hidden ritual |last=Batha |first=Emma |work=Reuters |date=30 January 2017 |access-date=4 August 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.stopfgmmideast.org/background/unicefs-limited-numbers-female-genital-mutilation-much-more-widespread/ |title=No "African problem" |author=Piecha, Oliver M. |publisher=Stop FGM Middle East |date=1 December 2013 |access-date=5 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180805204117/http://www.stopfgmmideast.org/background/unicefs-limited-numbers-female-genital-mutilation-much-more-widespread/ |archive-date=5 August 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Consequently, few studies have been done into FGM in Asian countries, complicating anti-FGM campaigns due to a lack of data on the phenomenon. Indian activist [[Masooma Ranalvi]], who underwent FGM as a 7-year-old, was quoted as saying: "[...]The entire discourse on FGM up to now has centred on Africa. Africa of course needs attention but maybe there are other places where the focus can be spread to."<ref name="Batha"/>

===Bahrain===
Female genital mutilation is present in [[Bahrain]] among immigrant populations.<ref name="irinnews.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.irinnews.org/InDepthMain.aspx?InDepthId=15&ReportId=62465 |title=In-Depth: Razor's Edge – The Controversy of Female Genital Mutilation |publisher=Irinnews.org |date=2005-03-01 |access-date=2015-11-14}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|pmid=12159278 |year=1993 |last1=Gilbert |first1=D. |title=For the sake of purity (And control). Female genital mutilation |journal=Links (New York, N.Y.) |volume=9 |issue=5 |pages=6–8, 30 }}</ref> There are currently no laws that expressly prohibit female genital mutilation and no data is available regarding the prevalence of the issue.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=World Organisation Against Torture |title=Rights of the Child in Bahrain |date=1 October 2001 |url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/46c1902c0.html |access-date=30 March 2024}}</ref> However, there are recorded cases of various victims being at high risk of getting mutilated.<ref>{{Cite web |last=McKinney |first=CJ |date=13 March 2020 |title=Legal battle to stop Home Office dispatching a 10-year-old for female genital mutilation |url=https://freemovement.org.uk/legal-battle-to-stop-home-office-dispatching-a-10-year-old-for-female-genital-mutilation/}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://archive.ipu.org/wmn-e/fgm-prov-b.htm | title=Female genital mutilation: Belgium, Benin, Botswana, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi }}</ref>

===Brunei===
According to reports, Type I and Type IV FGC, including symbolic FGC and clitoral hood removal, are most likely practised in Brunei.<ref>[http://www.bt.com.bn/news-national/2012/06/16/female-circumcision-cultural-practice "Female circumcision is cultural practice"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140520173717/http://www.bt.com.bn/news-national/2012/06/16/female-circumcision-cultural-practice |date=2014-05-20 }}, The Brunei Times, 16 June 2012.</ref> According to Brunei's Ministry of Religious Affairs, female circumcision—which involves the removal of the clitoral hood—is a "sunat," or required religious rite for Muslim women.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.orchidproject.org/about-fgc/where-does-fgc-happen/brunei/ | title=Brunei }}</ref> There are no laws against FGM, and there have been no major studies, but one researcher found it is performed on babies shortly after birth, aged 40 to 60 days.<ref>Batha, Emma (13 October 2016) [http://news.trust.org/item/20161013000332-s9awv/ FACTBOX – The hidden cut: female genital mutilation in Asia]. News.trust.org.</ref>

===India===
{{main|Female genital mutilation in India}}
The practice of FGM constitutes a criminal offense under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012; Indian Penal Code, 1860 and Criminal Procedure Code, 1973.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.india.com/news/agencies/ipc-pocso-enough-to-deal-with-female-genital-mutilation-govt-2379132/|title=IPC, POCSO enough to deal with female genital mutilation: Govt|first=PTI|last=Feeds|date=4 August 2017|work=India.com}}</ref>  It is practiced primarily in the Ismaili Shia Muslim [[Dawoodi Bohra|Bohra]] community with estimates suggesting 90% of them undergo FGM.<ref name="hindustantimes.com"/><ref>Dasgupta, Debarshi (December 2011) [http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?279088 The Yin, Wounded – A primitive rite for Bohra women sees its first murmurs of protest], ''Outlook India''</ref> There are about 2 million Bohras in India. In a survey, over 70% Bohra respondents said an untrained professional had performed the procedure on them. Female genital cutting is being practiced in Kerala was found in August 2017 by [[Sahiyo]] reporters. Apart from the mental trauma, the women also said it also led to physical complications.{{citation needed|date=August 2017}}

On May 9, 2017, the [[Supreme Court of India]] sought a response from the centre and four states (Maharashtra, Delhi, Gujarat and Rajasthan) on the validity of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) when Public Interest Litigation by some Bohra women to ban the practice.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/sc-seeks-govt-response-to-plea-seeking-ban-on-female-genital-mutilation/story-NpLEnSLmg7wcQHnsboUlQI.html|title=SC seeks govt response to plea seeking ban on female genital mutilation|date=8 May 2017|work=Hindustan Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.livelaw.in/sc-issues-notice-on-pil-seeking-complete-ban-on-female-genital-mutilation-read-petition/|title=SC Issues Notice On PIL Seeking Complete Ban On Female Genital Mutilation [Read Petition] – Live Law|date=8 May 2017}}</ref> On July 9, 2018, [[Attorney General of India]] [[K. K. Venugopal]] reiterated the Indian government's position that FGM was a violation of a person's fundamental rights and that its practice resulted in serious health complications for the girl concerned.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/supreme-court-questions-practice-of-female-genital-mutilation-5252532/|title=SC questions practice of female genital mutilation, says it violates 'integrity' of a girl child|date=9 July 2018|newspaper=Indian Express}}</ref>

===Indonesia===
Female genital mutilation Type I and IV is prevalent in [[Indonesia]];<ref>Corbett, Sara (January 20, 2008) [https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/20/magazine/20circumcision-t.html A Cutting Tradition]. ''New York Times''</ref><ref name="ahin">{{Cite news |last=Haworth |first=Abigail |date=2012-11-18 |title=The day I saw 248 girls suffering genital mutilation |url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2012/nov/18/female-genital-mutilation-circumcision-indonesia |access-date=2024-03-23 |work=The Observer |language=en-GB |issn=0029-7712}}</ref><ref>Darwin, Muhadjir et al. (2004) [http://www.hawaii.edu/hivandaids/Male%20and%20Female%20Genital%20Cutting%20Among%20Yogyakartans%20and%20Madurans.pdf Male and Female Genital Cutting among Yagyakartans and Madurans] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140812063405/http://www.hawaii.edu/hivandaids/Male%20and%20Female%20Genital%20Cutting%20Among%20Yogyakartans%20and%20Madurans.pdf |date=2014-08-12 }}, Gadjah Mada University, Indonesia</ref><ref name="Female Circumcision in Indonesia">{{cite web|title=Female Circumcision in Indonesia|url=http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNACU138.pdf|website=usaid.gov|publisher=United States Agency for International Development|access-date=26 April 2015}}</ref> 49% of girls are mutilated by age 14,<ref name=":82"/> and 97.5%<ref name="Female Circumcision in Indonesia"/> of the surveyed females from Muslim families (Muslim females are at least 85%<ref name="sp2010">{{cite web |url=http://sp2010.bps.go.id/index.php/site/tabel?tid=321&wid=0 |title=Penduduk Menurut Wilayah dan Agama yang Dianut |date=15 May 2010 |work=Sensus Penduduk 2010 |publisher=Badan Pusat Statistik |location=Jakarta, Indonesia |trans-title=Population by Region and Religion |access-date=26 April 2015 |quote=Religion can be divided into Muslim, Protestant, Catholic, Hindu, Buddhist, Hu Khong Chu, and Other Religion.}} Muslim 207176162 (87.18%), Christian 16528513 (6.96), Catholic 6907873 (2.91), Hindu 4012116 (1.69), Buddhist 1703254 (0.72), Khong Hu Chu 117091 (0.05), Other 299617 (0.13), Not Stated 139582 (0.06), Not Asked 757118 (0.32), Total 237641326</ref> of females in Indonesia) are mutilated by age 18 (55 million females as of 2018). In certain communities of Indonesia, mass female circumcision (''khitanan massal'') ceremony are organized by local Islamic foundations around Prophet Muhammad's birthday. Some FGM are Type IV done with a pen knife, others are Type I done with scissors. Two Indonesian nationwide studies in 2003 and 2010 found over 80% of the cases sampled involved cutting, typically of newborns through the age of 9. Across the sites, among all the children aged 15–18, 86–100% of the girls were reported already circumcised.<ref name=ahin/><ref>[http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNACU138.pdf Female Circumcision in Indonesia] Population Council and USAID, September 2003; pp. 24–27</ref>

Historical records suggest female circumcision in Indonesia started and became prevalent with the arrival of Islam in the 13th century as part of its drive to convert people to Islam. In islands of Indonesia, where partial populations converted to Islam in the 17th century, FGM has been prevalent in Muslim females only.<ref name=b1/><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Feillard |first1=A. |last2=Morcoes|first2=L. |year=1998|url=http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/arch_0044-8613_1998_num_56_1_3495 |title=Female Circumcision in Indonesia: To Islamize in Ceremony or Secrecy|journal= Archipel |volume= 56|issue =56| pages =337–367|doi=10.3406/arch.1998.3495 }}</ref> In 2006, FGM was banned by the government but FGM/C remained commonplace for women in Indonesia, which houses the world's largest Muslim population.<ref>[http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=90366 "INDONESIA: Female genital mutilation persists despite ban"], IRIN Global, 2 September 2010.</ref> In 2010, the Indonesian Health Ministry issued a decree outlining the proper procedure for FGM, which activists claim contradicted the 2006 ruling prohibiting clinics from performing any FGM.<ref>Sagita, Dessy (June 23, 2011) "Female circumcision decree must be revoked: NGOs". ''The Jakarta Globe ''</ref>

In 2013, the [[Indonesian Ulema Council]] ruled that it favors FGM, stating that although it is not mandatory, it is still “morally recommended”.<ref>Hariyadi, Mathias (24 January 2013) [http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Indonesian-Ulema-in-favour-of-female-circumcision:-a-human-right-26948.html Indonesian Ulema in favour of female circumcision: a "human right"’], ''Asia News'', Jakarta</ref> The Ulema has been pushing Indonesian government to mutilate girls, claiming it is "part of Islamic teachings".<ref>[http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2013/01/22/mui-pushes-govt-circumcise-girls.html MUI pushes government to circumcise girls] ''The Jakarta Post'' (January 22, 2013)</ref> Some Indonesian officials, in March 2013, claimed cutting and pricking type circumcision is not FGM.<ref>[http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/03/25/asia-pacific/female-circumcision-not-mutilation-jakarta/#.UksSxSi5N5g Female circumcision not mutilation: Jakarta] Agence France Presse, The Japan Times (March 25, 2013)</ref> In 2014 the government criminalized all forms of FGM after it repealed exceptions to the laws.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/09/26/indonesia-seeks-end-female-genital-mutilation|title=Indonesia Seeks End to Female Genital Mutilation|date=26 September 2016}}</ref>

According to 2016 report by UNICEF, 49% of Indonesian girls of age below 14 had already undergone FGM/C by 2015.<ref>[http://data.unicef.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/FGMC-2016-brochure_250.pdf UNICEF Data on FGM/C] UNICEF, page 4</ref>

The Government Regulation Number 28 of 2024 regulates the abolition of female genital mutilation (FGM) practice in Indonesia. The Government Regulation regulates that "Efforts for the reproductive system health of infants, toddlers and preschool children as referred to in Article 101 paragraph (1) letter A are at least in the form of: A. abolish the practice of female circumcision.”<ref>{{cite news|title=Pemerintah Hapus Praktik Sunat Perempuan dengan Aturan PP Nomor 28 Tahun 2024, Apa Alasannya?|url=https://gaya.tempo.co/read/1898688/pemerintah-hapus-praktik-sunat-perempuan-dengan-aturan-pp-nomor-28-tahun-2024-apa-alasannya|newspaper=Tempo|date=1 August 2024 |last1=Andryanto |first1=S. Dian }}</ref>

=== Iran ===
FGM is criminalized by the Islamic Penal Code of 2013.<ref>{{Cite web|title=مرکز پژوهشها - قانون مجازات اسلامی|url=https://rc.majlis.ir/fa/law/show/845048|access-date=2020-11-26|website=rc.majlis.ir|archive-date=2021-02-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224203355/https://rc.majlis.ir/fa/law/show/845048|url-status=dead}}</ref> Article 663 explicitly mentions the following: "Mutilating or injuring either side of a woman's genitals shall carry the [[Diya (Islam)|Diya]] penalty equal to half of the full Diya. Mutilating or injuring parts of the genitals shall have a proportionate penalty based on the level of injury." Article 269 of the Islamic Penal Code of 1991<ref>{{Cite web|title=قانون مجازات اسلامی ایران/کتاب ۳ - قصاص - ویکی‌نبشته|url=https://fa.wikisource.org/wiki/%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%88%D9%86_%D9%85%D8%AC%D8%A7%D8%B2%D8%A7%D8%AA_%D8%A7%D8%B3%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%85%DB%8C_%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86/%DA%A9%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%A8_%DB%B3_-_%D9%82%D8%B5%D8%A7%D8%B5#%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%AF%D9%87_%DB%B2%DB%B6%DB%B9|access-date=2020-11-26|website=fa.wikisource.org|archive-date=2020-11-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127033747/https://fa.wikisource.org/wiki/%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%88%D9%86_%D9%85%D8%AC%D8%A7%D8%B2%D8%A7%D8%AA_%D8%A7%D8%B3%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%85%DB%8C_%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86/%DA%A9%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%A8_%DB%B3_-_%D9%82%D8%B5%D8%A7%D8%B5#%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%AF%D9%87_%DB%B2%DB%B6%DB%B9|url-status=dead}}</ref> criminalizes "intentional mutilation or amputation" without explicitly mentioning FGM.

National data on FGM in Iran are unknown. Various studies have been conducted on prevalence in provinces and counties, suggesting significant regional differences.<ref name="OrchidIran">{{cite web |url=http://orchidproject.org/country/iran/ |title=Iran |publisher=[[Orchid Project]] |access-date=4 August 2018}}</ref> FGM is known to be prevalent in four provinces: [[West Azerbaijan Province]] (mostly the Kurdish populated southern part), [[Kurdistan Province]] and [[Kermanshah Province]] in the Kurdish-dominated northwest, and [[Hormozgan Province]] and islands near it in the south.<ref name="Ahmady20">[[#Ahmady|Ahmady]], p. 20</ref>

FGM in Iran is primarily associated with Sunni Muslims following the [[Shafi‘i]] [[madhhab]], especially those living in certain Sorani Kurdish-populated, and to a lesser extent Azerbaijani-populated, rural areas in northwestern Iran,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/04/female-genital-mutilation-iran-fgm|title=Female genital mutilation practised in Iran, study reveals|last=Dehghan|first=Saeed Kamali|date=2015-06-04|website=the Guardian|language=en|access-date=2018-04-12}}</ref> adjacent to the Sorani Kurdish-speaking regions in northeastern Iraq where FGM also has a relatively high presence compared to the non-Kurdish areas around it. There is strong disparity even within the Kurdish communities, and the prevalence may differ considerably from one village to the next.<ref name="Ahmady14">[[#Ahmady|Ahmady]], p. 14</ref> Unlike the [[Iraqi Kurdistan]] government, which has implemented a relatively successful anti-FGM campaign, official representatives as well as nationalist individuals or groups tend to deny FGM even exists in Iran.<ref name="Ahmady14"/> In the southern province of Hormozgan, FGM is mostly practiced by Sunnis, but also a small minority of Shias near them.<ref name="Ahmady20"/>

The issue is rarely discussed in public; the national Shia religious establishment claims it as an exclusively Sunni practice in which it should not get involved, and generally sees no reason to try to end it. It is also rarely the subject of research in academia, with the government neither permitting nor funding any public engagement projects for the affected regions.<ref name="Ahmady15">[[#Ahmady|Ahmady]], p. 15</ref>

In 2016, Susie Latham reported that FGC had been abandoned around the capital of the south-western province Khuzestan in the 1950s.<ref>{{cite journal | doi = 10.1080/17496535.2016.1167227 | volume=10 | issue=2 | title=The campaign against Female Genital Cutting: empowering women or reinforcing global inequity? | year=2016 | journal=Ethics and Social Welfare | pages=108–121 | author=Susie, Latham | s2cid=147525152 }}</ref> Research by Kameel Ahmady (2005–2015) also revealed the practice had been abandoned in several other parts of Iran, such as among Shia Kurdish women in parts of Kermanshah and [[Ilam Province]].<ref name="Ahmady20"/>

Some studies estimate the Type I and II FGM among Iraqi migrants and other Kurdish minority groups to be variable, ranging from 40% to 85%.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.stopfgmmideast.org/countries/iran/ |title=Iran |publisher=Stopfgmmideast.org |access-date=2015-11-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190830140805/http://www.stopfgmmideast.org/countries/iran/ |archive-date=2019-08-30 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>Golnaz Esfandiari (2009-03-10). "Female Genital Mutilation Said To Be Widespread In Iraq's, Iran's Kurdistan". Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Saleem|first1=R. A.|last2=Othman|first2=N.|last3=Fattah|first3=F. H.|last4=Hazim|first4=L.|last5=Adnan|first5=B. |title= Female Genital Mutilation in Iraqi Kurdistan: description and associated factors|journal= Women & Health|volume= 53|issue= 6|pages= 537–51|pmid=23937728|year= 2013|doi= 10.1080/03630242.2013.815681|s2cid= 23962583}}</ref>
[[File:Prevalence of FGM Iran by province in 2014.svg|300px|thumb|2014 prevalence of female genital mutilation in Iran by province:<ref name="Ahmady27"/>
{{Legend|#FF2500|50–70%}}
{{Legend|#FF9900|15–30%}}
{{Legend|#FEFEE4|No data}}]]
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ FGM in Iran by province<ref name="Ahmady27">[[#Ahmady|Ahmady]], p. 27</ref>
|-
! Province !! 2009 !! 2010 !! 2011 !! 2012 !! 2013 !! 2014
|-
| [[Hormozgan Province]] || – || – || 68% || 66% || 62% || 60%
|-
| [[Kermanshah Province]] || – || 31% || 28% || 25% || 20% || 18%
|-
| [[Kurdistan Province]] || – || 29% || 28% || 23% || 20% || 16%
|-
| [[West Azerbaijan Province]] || 39% || 36% || 32% || 32% || 25% || 21%
|}
Assuming FGM had no significant presence in other provinces, this would amount to a national prevalence of c. 2% in Iran in 2014.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ FGM in Iran by county
|-
! County !! Prevalence !! Notes !! Source
|-
| [[Ravansar County]] || 55.7% || || Tahereh Pashaei et al.<ref name="OrchidIran"/>
|-
| [[Minab County]] || 70% || || Khadivzadeh et al.<ref name="OrchidIran"/>
|-
| [[Qeshm County]] || 7.2% (Shia Muslims)<br />70% (Sunni Muslims) || FGM in decline || <ref name="OrchidIran"/>
|}

===Iraq===
[[File:FGM prevalence UNICEF 2013 Iraq.png|thumb|upright=1.35|alt=map|Prevalence of FGM in Iraq for women aged 15–49 using UNICEF "Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting, 2013, from [http://www.unicef.org/media/files/FGCM_Lo_res.pdf]. More recent 2016 survey: [http://www.unicef.org/mena/MENA-KAP_Survey_Key_Findings_HCWA_UNICEF_Final.pdf].
{{Legend|#FF0000|55–65%}}
{{Legend|#0000FF|15–25%}}
{{Legend|#00FF00|Less than 3%}}]]

Female genital mutilation is prevalent in [[Iraqi Kurdistan]], with an FGM rate of 72% according to the 2010 WADI report<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stopfgmmideast.org/countries/iraq/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190102232709/http://www.stopfgmmideast.org/countries/iraq/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=2019-01-02 |title=» Iraq |publisher=Stopfgmmideast.org |access-date=2015-11-14}}</ref> for the entire region and exceeding 80% in [[Garmian Region|Garmyan]] and New Kirkuk. In [[Erbil Governorate]] and [[Sulaymaniyah|Suleymaniya]], Type I FGM is common; while in Garmyan and New Kirkuk, Type II and III FGM are common.<ref>[http://www.stopfgmkurdistan.org/study_fgm_iraqi_kurdistan_en.pdf "Female Genital Mutilation in Iraqi Kurdistan – A Study"], WADI, accessed 15 February 2010.</ref><ref>{{cite journal | author = Burki T | year = 2010 | title = Reports focus on female genital mutilation in Iraqi Kurdistan | journal = The Lancet | volume = 375 | issue = 9717| page = 794 | doi=10.1016/s0140-6736(10)60330-3 | pmid = 20217912| s2cid = 9620322 | doi-access = free }}</ref> There was no law against FGM in Iraqi Kurdistan, but in 2007 a draft legislation condemning the practice was submitted to the Regional Parliament, but was not passed.<ref name="stopfgmkurdistan.org">[http://www.stopfgmkurdistan.org/html/english/updates/update001e.htm "Draft for a Law Prohibiting Female Genital Mutilation is submitted to the Kurdish Regional Parliament"], Stop FGM in Kurdistan, accessed 21 November 2010.</ref> A 2011 Kurdish law criminalized FGM practice in Iraqi Kurdistan <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2012/08/29/iraqi-kurdistan-law-banning-fgm-not-being-enforced |title=Iraqi Kurdistan: Law Banning FGM Not Being Enforced |publisher=Human Rights |access-date=2015-11-14|date=2012-08-29 }}</ref> and this law is not being enforced.<ref>[https://www.hrw.org/news/2012/08/29/iraqi-kurdistan-law-banning-fgm-not-being-enforced Iraqi Kurdistan: Law Banning FGM Not Being Enforced] Human Rights Watch, August 29, 2012</ref>

A field report by Iraqi group PANA Center, published in 2012, shows 38% of females in Kirkuk and its surrounding districts areas had undergone female circumcision. Of those females circumcised, 65% were Kurds, 26% Arabs and rest Turkmen. On the level of religious and sectarian affiliation, 41% were Sunnis, 23% Shiites, rest Kaka’is, and none Christians or Chaldeans.<ref>[http://pukmedia.com/EN/EN_Direje.aspx?Jimare=1890 Memorandum to prevent female genital mutilation in Iraq] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010103717/http://pukmedia.com/EN/EN_Direje.aspx?Jimare=1890 |date=2017-10-10 }} PUK, Kurdistan (May 2, 2013)</ref> A 2013 report finds FGM prevalence rate of 59% based on clinical examination of about 2000 Iraqi Kurdish women; FGM found were Type I, and 60% of the mutilation were performed to girls in 4–7 year age group.<ref name=Yasin>{{cite journal | doi = 10.1186/1471-2458-13-809 | pmid=24010850 | pmc=3844478 | volume=13 | page=809 | title=Female genital mutilation among Iraqi Kurdish women: a cross-sectional study from Erbil city | year=2013 | journal=BMC Public Health| last1=Yasin | first1=Berivan A. | last2=Al-Tawil | first2=Namir G. | last3=Shabila | first3=Nazar P. | last4=Al-Hadithi | first4=Tariq S. | doi-access=free }}</ref> See [[Asuda]], a Kurdistan NGO. The highest prevalence rates of FGM are in Kirkuk (20%), Sulaymaniyah (54%) and Erbil (58%).

=== Israel ===
Female Genital Mutilation is present in Israel; it is currently found among Ethiopian Jewish individuals of that country. Traditionally, it was a practice among the [[Negev Bedouin]] Arabs, but studies and reports had stated that by 2009, the practice among that community had been stopped .<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19170838/| title=Disappearance of female genital mutilation from Bedouin population of Southern Israel | date=2009 | pmid=19170838 | last1=Halila | first1=S. | last2=Belmaker | first2=R. H. | last3=Abu Rabia | first3=Y. | last4=Froimovici | first4=M. | last5=Applebaum | first5=J. | journal=The Journal of Sexual Medicine | volume=6 | issue=1 | pages=70–73 | doi=10.1111/j.1743-6109.2008.01036.x }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://equalitynow.org/fgmc_in_middle_east/ |title=FGM in the Middle East }}</ref> Many reports state that it has been completely eradicated by Israeli Government.<ref>A-75-279-Submission-Israel-en.pdf (unwomen.org)</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Halila |first1=Suhil |last2=Belmaker |first2=R. H. |last3=Rabia |first3=Yunis Abu |last4=Froimovici |first4=Miron |last5=Applebaum |first5=Julia |date=2009-01-01 |title=Disappearance of Female Genital Mutilation from the Bedouin Population of Southern Israel |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1743609515322293 |journal=The Journal of Sexual Medicine |volume=6 |issue=1 |pages=70–73 |doi=10.1111/j.1743-6109.2008.01136.x |pmid=19170838 |issn=1743-6095}}</ref>

===Jordan===
Residents of [[Arabah|Wadi Araba]] village in southern [[Jordan]] are known to practice FGM. The practice is foreign to the rest of the country, experts speculate that this practice was introduced through descendants of tribes that came from neighbouring [[Gaza Strip|Gaza]] and [[Beer Sheba]].<ref>[http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Culture/Arts/Nov/13/The-Jordanian-town-that-still-circumcises-women.ashx#axzz2g5h5CT28 The Jordanian town that still circumcises women] Rana Sabbagh-Gargour, The Star (Lebanon)</ref><ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/femalecircumcision/femalecirc_1.shtml Female circumcision/genital cutting] BBC Guide, United Kingdom (2008)</ref>

===Malaysia===
Female genital mutilation Type I is prevalent in [[Malaysia]], where 93%<ref>{{cite news|author=Paluch, Gabrielle |url=https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/apr/01/thailand-muslim-south-authorities-blind-eye-fgm-who |title=In Thailand's Muslim south, authorities turn a blind eye to FGM &#124; Global development |newspaper=The Guardian |date=2015-04-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia-pacific/2015/03/female-genital-cutting-thailand-south-150309083458995.html |title=Female genital cutting in Thailand's south |publisher=Al Jazeera English |date=2015-04-02 |access-date=2015-11-14}}</ref> of females from Muslim families (about 9 million females) have been mutilated.<ref name=md2012>Dahlui (May 10, 2012) [https://web.archive.org/web/20131004225752/http://spm.um.edu.my/news/20120503-female-circumcision-My-USM/index.php The Practice of Female Circumcision in Malaysia], University of Malaya</ref><ref>[http://epostersonline.s3.amazonaws.com/rcog2013/rcog2013.4df0243.NORMAL.pdf Knowledge and acceptance of Female Circumcision] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304040023/http://epostersonline.s3.amazonaws.com/rcog2013/rcog2013.4df0243.NORMAL.pdf |date=2016-03-04 }}, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (2013)</ref><ref>{{Cite journal| title = The practice of female circumcision among Muslims in Kelantan, Malaysia|vauthors=Rahman Isa A, Shuib R, Shukri Othman M | date = May 1999| volume = 7| issue = 13| journal = Reproductive Health Matters| pages = 137–144| doi = 10.1016/S0968-8080(99)90125-8| doi-access = free}}</ref> It is widely considered as a female sunnah tradition (''sunat perempuan''), typically in the old days done by midwife (''mak bidan'') and now by medical physician. It is either a minor prick or cutting off a small piece of the highest part of clitoral hood and foreskin (Type I).<ref name=timalay>[http://www.theislamicmonthly.com/a-tiny-cut-female-circumcision-in-south-east-asia/ "A Tiny Cut": Female Circumcision in South East Asia] The Islamic Monthly (March 12 20313)</ref> Malaysian women claim religious obligation (82%) as the primary reason for female circumcision, with hygiene (41%) and cultural practice (32%) as other major motivators for FGM prevalence.<ref name=md2012/><ref name=timalay/>

Malaysia is a multicultural society. FGM is only prevalent in the Muslim community, and not among minority Buddhist and Hindu communities.<ref name=timalay/><ref>{{cite journal|year=2012|title=Female circumcision (FC) in Malaysia: Medicalization of a religious practice|journal=Int. J. Behav. Med.|volume=19|page=S7|url=http://repository.um.edu.my/103914/| last1=Dahlui|first1=M|last2=Choo|first2=WY|last3=Wong|first3=YL|issue=Suppl 1 |access-date=2019-08-28|archive-date=2019-08-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190828125042/http://repository.um.edu.my/103914/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Malaysia has no laws in reference to FGM.<ref>[http://www.ipu.org/wmn-e/fgm-prov-m.htm "Legislation and other national provisions"], Inter-Parliamentary Union, accessed 21 November 2010.</ref> The Malaysian government sponsored 86th conference of Malaysia's Fatwa Committee National Council of Islamic Religious Affairs held in April 2009 decided that female circumcision is part of Islamic teachings and it should be observed by Muslims, with the majority of the jurists in the Committee concluding that female circumcision is obligatory (''wajib''). The ''fatwa'' noted harmful circumcision methods are to be avoided.<ref>[http://www.e-fatwa.gov.my/fatwa-kebangsaan/hukum-pemotongan-genitalia-wanita-female-genital-mutilation Hukum Pemotongan Genitalia Wanita (Female Genital Mutilation)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004215351/http://www.e-fatwa.gov.my/fatwa-kebangsaan/hukum-pemotongan-genitalia-wanita-female-genital-mutilation |date=2013-10-04 }} Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia, Rasmi Fatwa, Government of Malaysia (2009)</ref> In 2012, Malaysian government health ministry proposed guidelines to reclassify and allow female circumcision as a medical practice.<ref>[http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-12-07/an-malaysia-debate-over-female-circumcision/4416298 Malaysia storm over female circumcision] ABC News Australia (December 7, 2012)</ref>

===Maldives===
Female genital mutilation is practiced in [[Maldives]].<ref name="smh.com.au"/><ref>Amir, Hasan (2011). [http://calhoun.nps.edu/public/bitstream/handle/10945/10724/11Dec_Amir.pdf?sequence=1 Islamism and radicalism in the Maldives]. U.S. Naval Postgraduate School. pp. 59–62</ref> Maldives' Attorney General Husnu Suood claims FGM was eradicated from Maldives by the 1990s, but the practice of female circumcision in Maldives is reviving because of Islamic fatwas from religious scholars in Maldives who preach that it as compulsory.<ref>[http://www.haveeru.com.mv/news/28292 Attorney General: Practice of female circumcision gaining momentum in Addu] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131002121555/http://www.haveeru.com.mv/news/28292 |date=2013-10-02 }} Haveeru, Maldives (December 12, 2009)</ref> Religious leaders have renewed their calls for FGM in 2014.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://minivannews.com/politics/figh-academy-vp-endorses-female-genital-mutilation-77037 |title=Figh Academy VP endorses female genital mutilation |work=Minivan News |date=2014-02-06 |access-date=2015-11-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150405223848/http://minivannews.com/politics/figh-academy-vp-endorses-female-genital-mutilation-77037 |archive-date=2015-04-05 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Oman===
The practice is very prevalent in [[Oman]].<ref name="meforum1">Osten-Sacken, Thomas von der and Uwer, Thomas (2007)  [http://www.meforum.org/1629/is-female-genital-mutilation-an-islamic-problem "Is Female Genital Mutilation an Islamic Problem?"], ''Middle East Quarterly'', pp. 29–36.</ref> A 2013 article by journalist Susan Mubarak describes FGM practice in Oman, and claims the practice is very common in [[Dhofar Governorate|Dhofar]] in the southwest. The author went on to say that a previous article on the topic received both positive feedback for spreading awareness of what some considered a "horrific tradition", as well as negative feedback from others for "hanging Dhofar's dirty washing for the world to see and criticising a practice that they believe is purely Islamic", commenting that she "paid little attention to these criticisms because I know the practice is harmful and primitive", and "our religion neither encourages the practice nor condemns it."<ref name="muscatdaily.com"/>

According to a small survey by human rights activist and statistician Habiba Al Hinai conducted in October 2013 and published in January 2014, 78% of 100 women interviewed living in the capital city of [[Muscat]] had undergone FGM. These women came from all parts of the country, each region showing a very high prevalence, and even though fewer women from Muscat itself had undergone FGM, they were still in the majority. Her findings contradicted the common belief that FGM was only widespread in the south.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wluml.org/news/new-study-oman-shows-high-prevalence-fgm-all-over-country |title=New study in Oman shows high prevalence of FGM all over the country &#124; Women Reclaiming and Redefining Cultures |publisher=Wluml.org |date=22 January 2014 |access-date=6 August 2018 |archive-date=18 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181018192824/http://www.wluml.org/news/new-study-oman-shows-high-prevalence-fgm-all-over-country |url-status=dead }}</ref> Type I is mostly performed in southern Oman and typically performed within a few weeks of a girl's birth, while Type IV is observed in other parts of northern Oman.<ref>[http://www.theweek.co.om/printCon.aspx?Cval=6181 FOCUS ON FGM] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131002091951/http://www.theweek.co.om/printCon.aspx?Cval=6181 |date=2013-10-02 }} Victoria Cuthbert, The Week (Oman), (April 25, 2012)</ref>

FGM otherwise is not practice in Oman neither is considered prominent by the World Health Organization.<ref>{{Cite report|last=Kabiru|first=Caroline|date=2020|title=Improving the documentation of female genital mutilation or cutting (FGM/C) abandonment interventions and their evaluations|doi=10.31899/rh11.1047|doi-access=free}}</ref>

===Pakistan===
Female genital mutilation is uncommon in Pakistan, as most Pakistanis follow the [[Hanafi]] and Jafari schools of thought, which do not support FGM, according to sources dated to the 1990s and 2000s.<ref name="unfpa1">[http://www.unfpa.org/gender/practices2.htm Mutilation/Cutting: Promoting Gender Equality], UNFPA, accessed 5 February 2011.</ref> However, FGM is widespread among minorities such as the [[Musta'li Ismailism#The Tayyibi and the Hafizi|Bohra Muslims]] of Pakistan<ref name="Gibeau, A. M. 1998"/><ref>{{cite journal|pmid=12858919|year=2000|last1=Magoha|first1=G. A.|title=Current global status of female genital mutilation: A review|journal=East African Medical Journal|volume=77|issue=5|pages=268–72|last2=Magoha|first2=O. B.|doi=10.4314/eamj.v77i5.46631|doi-access=free}}</ref> and the [[Siddi#Pakistan|Sheedi Muslim community of Pakistan]], which is considered to be of Arab-African origins.<ref>[http://www.irinnews.org/fr/report/94534/pakistan-low-awareness-of-hidden-fgm-c-practices PAKISTAN: Low awareness of hidden FGM/C practices] IRIN, Karachi, 2011</ref> The practice is also found in Muslim communities near Pakistan's Iran-Balochistan border.<ref>[http://blogs.tribune.com.pk/story/15979/female-genital-mutilation-many-pakistani-womens-painful-secret/ Female Genital Mutilation: Many Pakistani women’s painful secret] Farahnaz Zahidi, February 6, 2013</ref>

===Palestine===
{{Expand section|date=November 2014}}
Female genital mutilation is present in [[State of Palestine|Palestine]] according to an UNFPA FAQ.<ref>{{cite web |title=Female genital mutilation (FGM) FAQ "Where is FGM Practiced?" |url=https://www.unfpa.org/pcm/node/9481#where_practiced |website=www.unfpa.org |language=en}}</ref> However, a 2017 UNFPA report finds that the evidence of FGM/C is lacking, while noting the practice remains legal and unreported.<ref>https://palestine.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/Gender%20Justice%20and%20The%20Law.pdf</ref>

===Philippines===
Female genital mutilation is prevalent in parts of the [[Philippines]].<ref name=casalin>[https://web.archive.org/web/20141129023751/http://som.adzu.edu.ph/research/pdf/2008-06-25-135433casalin%2Cs..pdf Female Circumcision Among Yakan in Basilan, Philippines] Sittinurussamsi A. Calsalin, Ateneo de Zamboanga University (April 2008)</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Gilbert | first1 = D. | title = For the sake of purity (and control). Female genital mutilation | journal = Links | volume = 9 | issue = 5 | pages = 6–8, 30 | year = 1993 | pmid = 12159278}}</ref><ref>Maria Kontoyannis and Christos Katsetos, Female genital mutilation, Health Sciences Journal, Vol 4, Issue 1 (2010)</ref> The communities that practice FGM call it ''Pag-Sunnat'', sometimes ''Pag-Islam'', and include Tausugs of [[Mindanao]], Yakan of [[Basilan]] and other Muslim communities of Philippines. FGM is typically performed on girls between a few days old and age 8. Type IV FGM with complications has been reported.<ref name=casalin/><ref>[http://ejournals.ph/article.php?id=6955 Muslim Women and Circumcision: "A Study of Intergenerational Practice and Its Continuity In Southern Philippines"] Olga Czarina Velayo Belisario, WMSU Research Journal, Vol 28, No 1 (2009)</ref>

===Qatar===
{{Expand section|date=November 2014}}
Female genital mutilation is present in [[Qatar]].<ref name="gulfnews.com">[http://gulfnews.com/opinions/columnists/female-genital-mutilation-a-brutal-violation-of-rights-1.1036052 Female genital mutilation: a brutal violation of rights] Asma Malik, Gulf News (June 15, 2012)</ref><ref name="irinnews.org"/>

===Saudi Arabia===
Female genital mutilation is present in [[Saudi Arabia]].<ref name=Birch/><ref name="fgmnetwork.org"/> It is simultaneously reported to be traditionally practiced and to occur in immigrant groups within that country, with both Saudi and foreign girls and women reporting to have been cut.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/9/5/e024684 |pmid=31154295 |doi=10.1136/bmjopen-2018-024684 |title=Survey on female genital mutilation/Cutting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia |date=2019 |last1=Rouzi |first1=Abdulrahim A. |last2=Berg |first2=Rigmor C. |last3=Alamoudi |first3=Rana |last4=Alzaban |first4=Faten |last5=Sehlo |first5=Mohammad |journal=BMJ Open |volume=9 |issue=5 |pages=e024684 |hdl=10037/15765 |hdl-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Almeer |first1=Hashim H |last2=Almulla |first2=Ali A |last3=Almugahwi |first3=Abdulelah A |last4=Alzaher |first4=Mohamad Z |last5=Alshammasi |first5=Mustafa M |last6=Menezes |first6=Ritesh G |title=Female Genital Mutilation in Saudi Arabia: A Systematic Review |journal=Cureus |date=2021 |volume=13 |issue=11 |pages=e19300 |doi=10.7759/cureus.19300 |doi-access=free |pmid=34900477 |pmc=8649978 }}</ref> New research from 2020 estimated that 1 in 5 Saudi girls and women had undergone Female Genital Mutilation.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20190606-almost-1-in-5-women-in-saudi-subject-to-fgm/amp/|date=June 6, 2019| title= Almost 1 in 5 women in Saudi subject to FGM}}</ref> FGM is most prevalent in Saudi regions following [[Shafi'i]] school within the Sunni sect of Islam, such as [[Hejaz]], [[Tihamah]] and [['Asir Province|Asir]].<ref>{{cite report|last1=Berg|first1=R. C.|last2=Denison|first2=E.|last3=Fretheim|first3=A|title=Psychological, Social and Sexual Consequences of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C): A Systematic Review of Quantitative Studies |pmid=29320049|date= June 2010|publisher=Knowledge Centre for the Health Services at The Norwegian Institute of Public Health}}</ref><ref>[http://2001-2009.state.gov/g/wi/rls/rep/9276.htm FGM Prevalence]. US Department of State (2001)</ref><ref>Al-Sharabasi, Ahmad (1980), Yas'alunak fi al-din wal-hayat, 4th Edition, II, p. 31; also see I: 253–255</ref> In a clinical study published in 2008, Alsibiani and Rouzi provide evidence of the practice in Saudi Arabia.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Alsibiani|first1=S. A.|last2=Rouzi|first2=A. A. |title=Sexual function in women with female genital mutilation|journal=Fertility and Sterility|volume=93|issue=3|pages=722–4|pmid=19028385|year=2010|doi=10.1016/j.fertnstert.2008.10.035|doi-access=free}}</ref> A 2010 study conducted at a Jeddah hospital into the incidence of clitoral cysts found that a minimum of 46.9% (and a possible maximum of 90.7%) of cases had undergone FGM.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Rouzi, A. A|title=Epidermal clitoral inclusion cysts: Not a rare complication of female genital mutilation|journal=Human Reproduction (Oxford, England)|volume=25|issue=7|pages=1672–4|pmid=20495206|year=2010|doi=10.1093/humrep/deq126|doi-access=free}}</ref> A 2012 study reports, that of the Saudi women who had FGM, Type III was more common than Type I or II.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Berg|first1=R. C.|last2=Denison|first2=E. |title=Does Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) Affect Women's Sexual Functioning? A Systematic Review of the Sexual Consequences of FGM/C|journal=Sexuality Research and Social Policy|volume=9|pages=41–56|doi=10.1007/s13178-011-0048-z|year=2012|s2cid=71396042}}</ref>

A 2018 survey of 365 households conducted in [[Ḥaʼil|Hali]], [[Al Qunfudhah|Al-Qunfudhah governorate]], western Saudi Arabia found a prevalence of FGM of 80.3%, 59.4% of which had undergone FGM at the age 7 years or younger, and almost always by a doctor (91.4%).<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Milaat |first1=Waleed Abdullah |last2=Ibrahim |first2=Nahla Khamis |last3=Albar |first3=Hussain Mohammed |date=2018-03-01 |title=Reproductive health profile and circumcision of females in the Hali semi-urban region, Saudi Arabia: A community-based cross-sectional survey |journal=Annals of Saudi Medicine |volume=38 |issue=2 |pages=81–89 |doi=10.5144/0256-4947.2018.81 |pmc=6074365 |pmid=29620540}}</ref>

A 2019 survey of women attending obstetrics and gynaecology clinics at [[King Abdulaziz University|King Abdulaziz University Hospital]], Jeddah, found that of the 963 women surveyed, 175 (18.2%) had undergone FGM.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Rouzi |first1=Abdulrahim A |last2=Berg |first2=Rigmor C |last3=Alamoudi |first3=Rana |last4=Alzaban |first4=Faten |last5=Sehlo |first5=Mohammad |date=2019 |title=Survey on female genital mutilation/cutting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia |journal=BMJ Open |language=en |volume=9 |issue=5 |pages=e024684 |doi=10.1136/bmjopen-2018-024684 |issn=2044-6055 |pmc=6549616 |pmid=31154295}}</ref>

===Singapore===
Female genital mutilation is practiced by the Malay Muslim community in [[Singapore]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Marranci|first1=Gabriele|title=Female circumcision in multicultural Singapore: The Hidden Cut|journal=The Australian Journal of Anthropology|date=February 2014|doi=10.1111/taja.12070|volume=26|issue=2|pages=276–292}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Taha|first1=Sya|title="A Tiny Cut": Female Circumcision in South East Asia|url=http://www.theislamicmonthly.com/a-tiny-cut-female-circumcision-in-south-east-asia/|website=The Islamic Monthly|access-date=19 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150409002048/http://theislamicmonthly.com/a-tiny-cut-female-circumcision-in-south-east-asia/|archive-date=9 April 2015|url-status=live|date=12 March 2013}}</ref> Malay Muslims typically carry out the practice on girls before the age of two. Many Malay Muslims, especially the older generations, believe FGM reduces women's libido and decreases the risk of sex outside marriage.<ref>Tan, Yvette (21 November 2016) [https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-37819753 Why female genital mutilation still exists in modern Singapore]. ''BBC''.</ref>

===Sri Lanka===
Female genital mutilation is practiced by the [[Islam in Sri Lanka|Muslim minority]] in Sri Lanka.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Senanayake|first1=Renuka|title=Sri Lanka – Culture: Mothers Watch as Daughters are Circumcised|url=http://www.ipsnews.net/1996/08/sri-lanka-culture-mothers-watch-as-daughters-are-circumcised/|website=Inter Press Service News Agency|publisher=IPS|access-date=9 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150809043802/http://www.ipsnews.net/1996/08/sri-lanka-culture-mothers-watch-as-daughters-are-circumcised/|archive-date=9 August 2015|date=19 August 1996}}</ref>

===Syria===
Circumstantial evidence suggests FGM exists in [[Syria]].<ref name=Birch/><ref name="fgmnetwork.org"/> A 2012 conference confirmed that FGM is observed in Syria.<ref name="gulfnews.com"/>

===Thailand===
Female genital mutilation is practiced by the Muslim population in the south of Thailand.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Paluch|first1=Gabrielle|title=Female genital cutting in Thailand's south|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia-pacific/2015/03/female-genital-cutting-thailand-south-150309083458995.html|website=Al Jazeera|publisher=Al Jazeera Media Network|access-date=20 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150709150321/http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia-pacific/2015/03/female-genital-cutting-thailand-south-150309083458995.html|archive-date=9 July 2015|date=2 April 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Merli|first1=Claudi|title=Sunat for girls in southern Thailand: its relation to traditional midwifery, male circumcision and other obstetrical practices.|journal=Finnish Journal of Ethnicity and Migration|date=2008|volume=3|issue=2|pages=32–41|url=http://dro.dur.ac.uk/5302/1/5302.pdf|access-date=11 August 2015}}</ref>

===Turkey===
Though there is little hard evidence of the practice of FGM in Turkey, circumstantial evidence suggests FGM exists in the southern Turkey where the majority of the population is Kurdish.<ref name=Birch/><ref>[http://www.khrp.org/khrp-news/human-rights-documents/briefing-papers/doc_download/218-the-practice-of-female-genital-mutilation-fgm-in-the-kurdish-regions.html The Practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in the Kurdish Regions] Acharya (2009), Kurdish Human Rights Project</ref>

===United Arab Emirates===
The WHO mentions a study that documents FGM in the [[United Arab Emirates]], but does not provide data.<ref name="irinnews.org"/><ref>[http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2008/9789241596442_eng.pdf "Eliminating Female Genital Mutilation: An interagency statement"], World Health Organization, 2008, p. 30.</ref> The practice has been banned in Government hospitals and clinics,<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Marzouqi |first=Wafa Al |date=2011-07-23 |title=Fatal traditions: Female circumcision in the UAE |url=https://www.thenationalnews.com/lifestyle/fatal-traditions-female-circumcision-in-the-uae-1.429959 |access-date=2024-05-18 |website=The National |language=en}}</ref> but is reportedly still prevalent in rural and urban UAE.<ref name="Kvello_2003">{{Cite conference |first = Ane |last = Kvello |author2 = Sayed L |author3 = Sundby J |title = Concerning female circumcision in the United Arab Emirates: Is clitoridectomy in a traditional context an assault against women? |book-title = FOKO 2003 – ABSTRACTS |publisher = University of Oslo |date = 2003-09-06 |url = http://www.med.uio.no/iasam/inthel/foko/invitation.html |access-date = 2011-09-07 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20050426235323/http://www.med.uio.no/iasam/inthel/foko/invitation.html |archive-date = 2005-04-26 |url-status = dead}}</ref> FGM is traditionally practiced in some of the local Emirati tribes at the same time as within migrant groups from countries in which the practice is widespread. <ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.stopfgmmideast.org/countries/other-gulf-countries/#:~:text=In%20addition%20to%20local%20tribes,customers%20also%20from%20other%20countries | title=» United Arab Emirates }}</ref> In a 2011 survey, 34% of Emirati female respondents said FGM had been performed on them, and explained the practice to customs and tradition.<ref name=tnuae11>[http://www.thenational.ae/lifestyle/fatal-traditions-female-circumcision-in-the-uae#full Fatal traditions: Female circumcision in the UAE] Wafa Al Marzouqi (Jul 23, 2011), The National, United Arab Emirates</ref> FGM is a controversial topic in UAE, and people argue about whether it is an Islamic requirement or a tribal tradition. A significant number of UAE nationals follow in the footsteps of their parents and grandparents without questioning the practice.<ref name=":4" />

===Yemen===
According to a 2008 UNICEF report, 30% prevalence;<ref name="applications.emro.who.int"/> in addition to the adult prevalence, UNICEF reports that 20% of women aged 15–49 have a daughter who had the procedure in [[Yemen]].<ref name="fgmnetwork.org"/><ref name="irinnews.org"/><ref>[http://www2.unicef.org/infobycountry/yemen_statistics.html At a glance: Yemen – Statistics] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181222185037/https://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/yemen_statistics.html |date=2018-12-22 }}, UNICEF, accessed 5 February 2011.</ref> In 4 of Yemen's 21 governorates, according to a 2008 report, the FGM prevalence rates exceed 80%: [[Al Hudaydah Governorate|al-Hudaydah]] (97%), [[Hadhramaut Governorate|Hadhramaut]] (97%), [[Al Mahrah Governorate|al-Mahrah]] (97%) and [['Adan Governorate|Adan]] (82%); [[Sana'a Governorate]], which includes the capital of Yemen, has a prevalence rate of 46%.<ref name="YEMEN 2008">[http://www.irinnews.org/report/79025/yemen-government-body-moves-to-stem-female-genital-mutilation YEMEN: Government body moves to stem female genital mutilation] IRIN, A news service of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (2008)</ref> Type II FGM was most common, accounting for 83% of all FGMs. Type I FGMs accounted for 13%.<ref name="YEMEN 2008"/>

Yemeni tradition is to carry out the FGM on a newborn, with 97% of FGM being done within the first month of a baby girl. In 2001, Yemen banned FGM in all private and public medical facilities by a government decree, but not homes. The Yemeni government did not enforce this decree. In 2009, conservative Yemeni parliamentarians opposed the adoption of a nationwide criminal law against FGM.<ref>[http://www.giz.de/Themen/de/dokumente/giz-fgm-EN-jemen-2011.pdf Female Genital Mutilation in Yemen] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131003050537/http://www.giz.de/Themen/de/dokumente/giz-fgm-EN-jemen-2011.pdf |date=2013-10-03 }} Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany (September 2011)</ref> In 2010, the Ministry of Human Rights of Yemen launched a new study to ascertain over 4 years if FGM is being practiced in Yemen, then propose a new law against FGM.<ref>[http://www.irinnews.org/report/88058/yemen-new-fgm-c-law-possible-within-four-years-minister YEMEN: New FGM/C law possible "within four years" – minister] IRIN, A news service of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (2010)</ref> A 2013 UNICEF report claims Yemen's FGM prevalence rate have not changed in last 30 years.<ref>[http://www.unicef.org/esaro/5440_13066.html Overwhelming opposition to female genital mutilation/cutting, yet millions of girls still at risk] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180809060653/https://www.unicef.org/esaro/5440_13066.html |date=2018-08-09 }} UNICEF (July 2013)</ref>

== Europe ==
=== Overview ===
The [[Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence]] (also known as the Istanbul Convention), which came into force on 1 August 2014, defines and criminalises the practice in Article 38:<ref>{{cite web | title = 13 Countries sign new Convention in Istanbul | url = http://www.unric.org/en/violence-against-women/27000-13-countries-sign-new-convention-in-istanbul | website = unric.org | publisher = [[UNRIC|United Nations Regional Information Centre (UNRIC)]] | access-date = 28 May 2015 | archive-url = https://archive.today/20140811233514/http://www.unric.org/en/violence-against-women/27000-13-countries-sign-new-convention-in-istanbul | archive-date = 11 August 2014 | url-status = dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence | url = http://www.conventions.coe.int/Treaty/EN/Treaties/Html/210.htm | website = conventions.coe.int | publisher = [[Council of Europe]] | date = 2011 | access-date = 28 May 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (treaty signatures) | url = http://www.conventions.coe.int/Treaty/Commun/ChercheSig.asp?NT=210&CM=&DF=&CL=ENG | website = conventions.coe.int | publisher = [[Council of Europe]] | date = May 2011 | access-date = 28 May 2015 }}</ref>
{{Blockquote|Article 38 – Female genital mutilation
Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to ensure that the following intentional conducts are criminalised:
{{ordered list|type=lower-latin
 | excising, infibulating or performing any other mutilation to the whole or any part of a woman’s labia majora, labia minora or clitoris;
 | coercing or procuring a woman to undergo any of the acts listed in point a;
 | inciting, coercing or procuring a girl to undergo any of the acts listed in point a.
}}}}

;Pre-migratory FGM
In the early 21st century, the increase in immigration for individuals from countries where FGM is commonly practiced has made FGM a noticeable phenomenon in European societies that has raised concerns. FGM prevalence rates have been difficult to quantify among immigrants to European countries.<ref name=Leye2006>{{Cite journal | last1= Leye | first1= Els | last2= Powell | first2= Richard A. | last3= Nienhuis | first3= Gerda | last4= Claeys | first4= Patricia | last5= Temmerman | first5= Marleen | title = Health care in Europe for women with genital mutilation | journal = [[Health Care for Women International]] | volume = 27 | issue = 4 | pages = 362–378 | publisher = [[Taylor and Francis]] | doi = 10.1080/07399330500511717 | pmid= 16595367 | date = March 2006 | s2cid= 28127824 }}</ref> A 2005 case study which investigated FGM in groups of migrant women from [[Northern Africa]] to European regions like Scandinavia, noted that a majority of these women had FGM before their migration to Europe.<ref name=Elgaali2005>{{cite journal|last1=Elgaali|first1=Mahoud | last2= Strevens | first2= Helena | last3= Mårdh | first3= Per-Anders |title= Female genital mutilation – an exported medical hazard |journal= [[The European Journal of Contraception & Reproductive Health Care]] |year=2005|volume=10 | issue =2|pages=93–97 | publisher = [[Informa]] | doi = 10.1080/13625180400020945 |pmid = 16147813|s2cid=22453587 }}</ref> A 2016 epidemiological study by Van Baelen et al. estimated that, based on 2011 census data, more than 500,000 girls and women living in the [[European Union]], [[Norway]] and [[Switzerland]] had undergone FGM before migrating to those European countries. Half of these girls and women were living in the [[United Kingdom]] or [[France]]; one in two was born in [[East Africa]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Van Baelen |first1=Luk |last2=Ortensi |first2=Livia |last3=Leye |first3=Els |date=21 September 2016 |title=Estimates of first-generation women and girls with female genital mutilation in the European Union, Norway and Switzerland |journal=The European Journal of Contraception & Reproductive Health Care |publisher=Informa |volume=21 |issue=6 |pages=474–482 |doi=10.1080/13625187.2016.1234597 |pmid=27652839 |s2cid=8666229 }}</ref>

;Post-migratory FGM
It has also been established that African communities in European countries continue the practice of FGM on their daughters after migrating to Europe. For instance in [[Sweden]], a study by [[Karolinska Institutet]] concluded that about a third of families migrated from countries with an FGM culture wanted to continue mutilating in their new countries.<ref name=dn_2014-06-24>{{cite news|title=En av tre familjer vill fortsätta omskära|url=http://www.dn.se/nyheter/varlden/en-av-tre-familjer-vill-fortsatta-omskara/|access-date=25 June 2014|newspaper=[[Dagens Nyheter]]|date=24 June 2014 }}</ref>

;Practice within Europe
While FGM is associated with immigrant communities when occurring within the continent, it can also be present among some hidden, minority religious or enclave groups that are local to some countries. For example in [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], the phenomenon is reported to be present among Muslims of the [[Avars (Caucasus)|Avar]] community.<ref>{{citation |title=FGM in Europe in detail| date=17 March 2020 |url=https://equalitynow.org/resource/fgm-in-europe-in-detail/#:~:text=GEORGIA%20%E2%80%93%20Type%20I%20FGM%2FC,a%20further%2017%2C691%20at%20risk.}}</ref> It is also present in the Muslim Dagestani community of [[Russia]].

===France===
Between 1979 and 2004, a total of 29 FGM court cases were brought before criminal courts, mostly from the mid-1990s onwards and with aggravated sentences.<ref>{{cite book |date= 2013 |title= Current situation of female genital mutilation in France |url= http://bookshop.europa.eu/en/current-situation-of-female-genital-mutilation-in-france-pbMH3213138/ |location= Vilnius, Lithuania |publisher= [[European Institute for Gender Equality]] |isbn= 9789292182489 }} [http://eige.europa.eu/sites/default/files/documents/Current%20situation%20and%20trends%20of%20female%20genital%20mutilation%20in%20France_EN.pdf Pdf]</ref> By 2013, more than 100 people had been convicted of FGM.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Smith|first1=Joan|title=Convictions for female genital mutilation. France-100 UK-Nil|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/convictions-for-female-genital-mutilation-france-100-uk-nil-8722934.html|publisher=The Independent Newspaper|access-date=7 October 2014}}</ref> FGM is a criminal offense punishable by 10 years or up to 20 years in jail if the victim is under 15 years of age.<ref name=guardian_10February2014/> The law requires anyone to report any case of mutilation or planned mutilation. In 2014 it was reported that about 100 people in France had been jailed.<ref name=guardian_10February2014/> Not only the person carrying out the mutilation is sentenced, parents organising the crime face legal proceedings as well.<ref name=guardian_10February2014>{{cite news|last1=Wilsher|first1=Kim|title=France's tough stance on female genital mutilation is working, say campaigners|url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/feb/10/france-tough-stance-female-genital-mutilation-fgm|access-date=26 June 2014|newspaper=The Guardian|date=10 February 2014}}</ref>

===Germany===
According to women's right organization [[Terre des Femmes]] in 2014, there were 25,000 victims in [[Germany]] and a further 2,500 were at risk of being mutilated.<ref name=diewelt_06.02.14>{{cite news|last1=Réthy|first1=Laura|title=Wo beschnittene Frauen ihre Würde zurückerlangen|url=https://www.welt.de/politik/deutschland/article124568990/Wo-beschnittene-Frauen-ihre-Wuerde-zurueckerlangen.html|access-date=25 June 2014|work=[[Die Welt]]|publisher=[[Axel Springer AG]]|date=6 February 2014}}</ref> In 2018, the estimate had increased to {{Val|65000}}. A further {{Val|15500}} were at risk of having the mutilation done to them which represented an increase of 17% on the previous year.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.welt.de/newsticker/news2/article179875242/Frauen-In-Deutschland-65-000-Frauen-und-Maedchen-von-Genitalverstuemmelung-betroffen.html|title=Frauen: In Deutschland 65.000 Frauen und Mädchen von Genitalverstümmelung betroffen|last=WELT|date=2018-07-24|work=DIE WELT|access-date=2018-09-02}}</ref>

According to the [[Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth|BMFSFJ]] most of the victims originated in Eritrea, Indonesia, Somalia, Egypt and Ethiopia.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.netzwerk-integra.de/startseite/studie-fgm/|title=Eine empirische Studie zu weiblicher Genitalverstümmelung in Deutschland (PDF download)|website=Netzwerk INTEGRA – Deutsches Netzwerk zur Überwindung weiblicher Genitalverstümmelung|page=22 (Section 3.3.1)|language=de-DE|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170220003826/https://www.netzwerk-integra.de/startseite/studie-fgm/|archive-date=20 February 2017|access-date=2019-01-19}}</ref>

===Ireland===
AkiDwA, an NGO providing a network for [[Immigration to Ireland|immigrant women in Ireland]], estimated in 2016 that between 3,000 and 5,000 girls and women in the country had been subjected to FGM.<ref name="seanad20161026">{{cite web |title=Female Genital Mutilation |url=https://www.kildarestreet.com/sendebates/?id=2016-10-26a.32 |website=Seanad debates |publisher=KildareStreet.com |access-date=28 November 2019 |date=26 October 2016}}</ref> A 2012 act of the [[Oireachtas]] (parliament) criminalises FGM ([[Extraterritorial jurisdiction in Irish law|including outside the state]]) and removal of a person from the state for the purposes of FGM; the maximum prison sentence for each is 14 years.<ref>{{cite web |title=Criminal Justice (Female Genital Mutilation) Act 2012 [revised] |url=http://revisedacts.lawreform.ie/eli/2012/act/11/revised/en/html |website=Revised Acts |publisher=[[Law Reform Commission (Ireland)|Law Reform Commission]] |access-date=28 November 2019 |date=27 November 2017}}; {{cite web |title=Criminal Justice (Female Genital Mutilation) [Act 11 of 2012 / Bill 7 of 2011] |url=https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/bills/bill/2011/7/ |website=Bills |publisher=Oireachtas |access-date=28 November 2019 |language=en-ie |date=2011-01-18 }}</ref> The first conviction was in November 2019, for a September 2016 offence by the father and mother of a girl aged 21 months,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Ryan |first1=Órla |title=Parents found guilty in Ireland's first female genital mutilation trial |url=https://www.thejournal.ie/female-genital-mutilation-trial-dublin-ireland-2-4908946-Nov2019/ |access-date=28 November 2019 |work=TheJournal.ie |date=28 November 2019 |language=en}}; {{cite web |last1=O'Donnell |first1=Orla |title=Parents found guilty in female genital mutilation trial |url=https://www.rte.ie/news/courts/2019/1128/1095777-female-genital-mutilation/ |access-date=28 November 2019 |website=RTÉ |date=28 November 2019 |language=en}}</ref> who were sentenced to 5 years 6 months and 4 years 9 months in prison.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gaffney |first1=Sharon |title=Couple sentenced over female genital mutilation of baby daughter in 2016 |url=https://www.rte.ie/news/courts/2020/0127/1111201-fgm-court/ |access-date=27 January 2020 |work=RTÉ News |date=27 January 2020}}</ref> The [[Health Service Executive]] has responsibility for raising awareness of the health and legal risks, and liaises with AkiDwA.<ref name="byrne20190409">{{cite web |last1=Byrne |first1=Catherine |title=Female Genital Mutilation |url=https://www.kildarestreet.com/wrans/?id=2019-04-09a.660& |website=Dáil Éireann: Written answers |publisher=KildareStreet.com |access-date=28 November 2019 |date=9 April 2019}}</ref> The [[Irish Family Planning Association]] runs a clinic for FGM survivors.<ref name="byrne20190409"/>

On a ''[[Prime Time (Irish TV programme)|Prime Time]]'' report on FGM broadcast on 8 February 2018,<ref>{{cite web |title=Female Genital Mutilation |url=https://www.rte.ie/news/player/2018/0209/21315946-female-genital-mutilation/ |website=Prime Time |publisher=RTÉ |access-date=28 November 2019 |language=en |date=8 February 2018}}</ref> Ali Selim of the [[Islamic Cultural Centre of Ireland]] said "female circumcision" should be allowed with medical approval.<ref name="it20180219">{{cite news |last1=McGarry |first1=Patsy |title=Ali Selim: 'I condemn FGM. I totally apologise for the confusion' |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/religion-and-beliefs/ali-selim-i-condemn-fgm-i-totally-apologise-for-the-confusion-1.3396787 |access-date=28 November 2019 |newspaper=The Irish Times |date=19 February 2018 |language=en}}</ref> Protesting students in Selim's [[Arabic]]-language class at [[Trinity College Dublin]] (TCD) were offered an alternative lecturer, while [[Trinity College Dublin Students' Union|TCD Students' Union]] called for his part-time post to be terminated.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Davis |first1=Seana |title=Alternative teacher offered to students following complaints about Dr. Ali Selim |url=http://trinitynews.ie/2018/02/parallel-arabic-classes-to-be-run-following-complaints-against-dr-ali-selim/ |access-date=28 November 2019 |work=Trinity News |date=13 February 2018}}</ref> On 12 February [[Umar Al-Qadri]] of the separate [[Al-Mustafa Islamic Cultural Centre Ireland]] issued a [[fatwa]] against FGM.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Libreri |first1=Samantha |title=Islamic centre issues fatwa against FGM |url=https://www.rte.ie/news/2018/0212/940233-fgm/ |access-date=28 November 2019 |website=RTÉ |date=12 February 2018 |language=en}}</ref> On 18 February Selim apologised for not clearly distinguishing medically necessary interventions from FGM, and condemned the latter.<ref name="it20180219"/> TCD later made Selim [[Layoff|redundant]] on the grounds of course reorganisation and low student demand; in September 2019 the [[Labour Court]] awarded him compensation for [[unfair dismissal]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=McCárthaigh |first1=Seán |title=Dr Ali Selim awarded €7.5k for unfair dismissal from Trinity College Dublin |url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/dr-ali-selim-awarded-75k-for-unfair-dismissal-from-trinity-college-dublin-951100.html |access-date=28 November 2019 |work=Irish Examiner |date=16 September 2019 |language=en}}</ref>

===Italy===
After a few cases of infibulation practiced by complaisant medical practitioners within the African immigrant community came to public knowledge through media coverage, the Law n°7/2006 was passed on 1/9/2006, becoming effective on 1/28/2006, concerning "Measures of prevention and prohibition of any female genital mutilation practice"; the Act is also known as the ''Legge Consolo'' ("Consolo Act") named after its primary promoter, Senator Giuseppe Consolo. Article 6 of the law integrates the Italian Penal Code with Articles 583-''Bis'' and 583-''Ter'', punishing any practice of female genital mutilation "not justifiable under therapeutical or medical needs" with imprisonment ranging from 4 to 12 years (3 to 7 years for any mutilation other than, or less severe than, clitoridectomy, excision or infibulation).<ref name="parlamento.it">[http://www.parlamento.it/leggi/06007l.htm Italian Law n°7 1/9/2006, ''Disposizioni concernenti la prevenzione e il divieto delle pratiche di mutilazione genitale femminile''], accessed 23 March 2009.</ref>

The penalty can be reduced up to {{frac|2|3}} if the harm caused is of modest entity (i.e., if partially or completely unsuccessful), but may also be elevated up to {{frac|3}} if the victim is a minor or if the offense has been committed for profit. An Italian citizen or a foreign citizen legally resident in Italy can be punished under this law even if the offense is committed abroad; the law will as well afflict any individual of any citizenship in Italy, even illegally or provisionally. The law also mandates any medical practitioner found guilty under those provisions to have his/her medical license revoked for a minimum of six up to a maximum of ten years.<ref name="parlamento.it"/>

===Netherlands===
[[File:Actuele cijfers meisjesbesnijdenis in Nederland - Pharos.webm|thumb|2019 Pharos report summary on the Netherlands with English subtitles]]
FGM is considered mutilation and is punishable as a criminal offense under Dutch law. There is no specific law against FGM: the act is subsumed under the general offense of inflicting harm (''"mishandeling"'' in Dutch, art. 300–304 Dutch Criminal Code). The maximum penalty is a prison sentence of 12 years. The sentence can be higher if the offender is a family member of the victim. It is also illegal to assist or encourage another person to perform FGM. A Dutch citizen or a foreign citizen legally resident in the Netherlands can be punished even if the offense is committed abroad. Doctors have the obligation to report suspected cases of FGM and may break patient confidentiality rules if necessary.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Female genital mutilation|url=https://www.denhaag.nl/en/in-the-city/health-care/female-genital-mutilation.htm|website=www.denhaag.nl|access-date=2020-05-29|archive-date=2020-08-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807010620/https://www.denhaag.nl/en/in-the-city/health-care/female-genital-mutilation.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Norway===
FGM is punishable as a criminal offense under Norwegian law even if the offense is committed abroad.<ref>{{cite web | title = Laws of the world on female genital mutilation | url = http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/population/fgm/fgm.htm | website = hsph.harvard.edu | publisher = [[Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health]] | date = 2 February 2010 | access-date = 28 May 2015 | archive-date = 29 November 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111129032826/http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/population/fgm/fgm.htm | url-status = dead }}</ref>

===Russia===
FGM is not a crime in Russia.<ref name="Litvinova">{{Cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-women-fgm/female-circumcision-in-moscow-clinic-sparks-complete-shock-idUSKCN1NW265 |title=Female circumcision in Moscow clinic sparks 'complete shock' |last=Litvinova |first=Daria |work=Reuters |date=27 November 2018 |access-date=7 December 2018}}</ref> A study on female genital mutilation practiced in [[Dagestan]], made public in 2016 by Legal Initiative for Russia (also known as Russia Justice Initiative<ref name="Litvinova"/>), revealed that FGM is widespread in [[Dagestan]]. The girls undergo mutilation in early age, up to three years old. The practice has been publicly approved in the predominantly [[Muslim]] region of [[Dagestan]] by religious leaders such as [[Mufti]] [[Ismail Berdiyev]].<ref>{{cite news | title = Outrage in Russia after religious leaders back female genital mutilation | url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/08/18/outrage-in-russia-after-religious-leaders-back-female-genital-mu/ | newspaper = The Telegraph | date = 16 August 2016 | access-date = 25 August 2016 | last1 = Oliphant | first1 = Roland }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = Female mutilation in the Caucasus | url = http://jam-news.net/Publication/Get/en-US/1953 | publisher = JAMnews | date = 22 August 2016 | access-date = 25 August 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160828180124/http://jam-news.net/Publication/Get/en-US/1953 | archive-date = 28 August 2016 | url-status = dead | df = dmy-all }}</ref> Later an Orthodox Christian priest also backed the cleric.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-37115746|title=Russia furore over FGM in mainly Muslim Dagestan|date=18 August 2016|work=BBC}}</ref> The Russia Justice Initiative estimated that tens of thousands of Muslim women had undergone FGM, especially in the remote mountain villages of Dagestan, but investigators from the Prosecutor General's office reported they had not found any evidence of the practice.<ref name="Litvinova"/> That year, dissident [[United Russia]] MP [[Maria Maksakova Jr.|Maria Maksakova-Igenbergs]]<ref>Maksakova and her husband and fellow MP [[Denis Voronenkov]] fled to Kyiv, Ukraine in October 2016, where the latter was murdered in March 2017.</ref> introduced a bill criminalising FGM, but its status was unclear as of 2018.<ref name="Litvinova"/>

In late November 2018, [[Meduza]] exposed the Moscow-based Best Clinic as running advertisements offering 'female circumcision' to girls between the ages of 5 and 12. The clinic since removed the advertisements and stated that "clitoridectomy, a surgical procedure, is being performed only on medical grounds", denying that it was performed on female patients under the age of 18. By contrast, the Ministry of Health declined to comment on the matter, saying that female circumcision is, in fact, "not a medical procedure", and therefore "not in their competence".<ref name="Litvinova"/>

===Spain===
The Criminal Code states that sexual mutilation, such as FGM, is a criminal offense punishable by up to 12 years in jail, even if the offence is committed abroad.{{Citation needed|date=September 2019}}

===Sweden===
{{Main|Honor-related violence in Sweden}}
{{#section-h:Honor-related violence in Sweden|Female genital mutilation}}

===United Kingdom===
{{main|Female genital mutilation in the United Kingdom}}
FGM was made a criminal offence by the [[Prohibition of Female Circumcision Act 1985]].<ref name=Kerjab>Kerbaj, Richard (16 March 2009). [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article5913979.ece "Thousands of girls mutilated in Britain"]{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}, ''The Times''.</ref> This was superseded by the [[Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003]], and (in Scotland) by the [[Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation (Scotland) Act 2005]]. Taking a UK citizen or permanent resident abroad for the purpose of FGM is a criminal offence whether or not it is lawful in the country the girl is taken to.<ref>{{cite web | title = Notes on some overseas countries' laws | url = http://www.fgmnetwork.org/legisl/interntl/overseas.php | website = fgmnetwork.org | publisher = The Female Genital Cutting Education and Networking Project | access-date = 28 May 2015 }}</ref> Since April 2014, all NHS hospitals will be able to record if a patient has undergone FGM or if there is a family history of this, and by September 2014, all acute hospitals will have to report this data to the Department of Health, on a monthly basis.<ref>{{cite news|title=Female genital mutilation: Hospitals to log victims |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-26049733 |access-date= 28 May 2015|work=News|publisher=BBC|date= 6 February 2014 }}</ref> Despite FGM being illegal since 1985 the authorities are yet to prosecute even one case successfully.{{specify|have there been trials with no convictions? How many?|date=January 2018}}

The number of women aged 15–49 resident in England and Wales born in FGM practicing regions having migrated to the UK was {{val|182000}} in 2001 and increased to {{val|283000}} in 2011.<ref name="CUL_Prevalence_FGM_Jul2015_p5" /> The number of women born in the [[Horn of Africa]], where FGM is nearly universal and the most severe types of FGM, infubulation, is commonly practiced, increased from {{val|22000}} in 2001 to {{val|56000}} in 2011, an increase of {{val|34000}}.<ref name="CUL_Prevalence_FGM_Jul2015_p5">{{cite book|last1=Alison MacFarlane|display-authors=etal|title=Prevalence of Female Genital Mutilation in England and Wales: National and local estimates|date=July 2015|publisher=[[City University London]]|location=London|isbn=9781900804936|page=5|url=https://www.city.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/282388/FGM-statistics-final-report-21-07-15-released-text.pdf|access-date=10 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180121004826/https://www.city.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/282388/FGM-statistics-final-report-21-07-15-released-text.pdf|archive-date=21 January 2018}}</ref>

The number of women of all ages having undergone FGM rituals was estimated to be {{val|137000}} in 2011.<ref name="CUL_Prevalence_FGM_Jul2015_p5"/> The number of women of ages 15–49 having undergone FGM rituals was estimated to {{val|66000}} in 2001 and there was an increase to {{val|103000}} in 2011.<ref name="CUL_Prevalence_FGM_Jul2015_p5"/> Additionally, approximately 10,000 girls aged under 15 and 24,000 women over 50, who have migrated to England and Wales, are likely to have undergone FGM.<ref>{{cite web | title = New research: 137,000 women and girls in England and Wales affected by FGM | url = http://www.equalitynow.org/sites/default/files/Prevalence_of_FGM_in_England_and_Wales.pdf | access-date = 5 January 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151002035838/http://www.equalitynow.org/sites/default/files/Prevalence_of_FGM_in_England_and_Wales.pdf | archive-date = 2 October 2015 | url-status = dead | df = dmy-all }}</ref>

The city with the highest prevalence of FGM in 2015 was [[London]], at a rate of 28.2 per 1000 women aged 15–49, by far the highest.<ref name="CUL_Prevalence_FGM_Jul2015_p21">{{cite book|last1=Alison MacFarlane|display-authors=etal|title=Prevalence of Female Genital Mutilation in England and Wales: National and local estimates|date=July 2015|publisher=[[City University London]]|location=London|isbn=9781900804936|page=21|url=https://www.city.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/282388/FGM-statistics-final-report-21-07-15-released-text.pdf|access-date=10 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180121004826/https://www.city.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/282388/FGM-statistics-final-report-21-07-15-released-text.pdf|archive-date=21 January 2018}}</ref> The borough with the highest rate was [[Southwark]], at 57.5 per 1000 women, while mainly rural areas of the UK had prevalence rate below 1 per 1000.<ref name="CUL_Prevalence_FGM_Jul2015_p21" />

The first successfully convicted case of FGM was in 2019, when a 37-year-old Ugandan mother from [[Leyton]] in [[East London]] had been arrested for mutilating her 3-year-old daughter; she was sentenced to 11 years in jail. <ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-47502089.amp | title=Mother jailed for female genital mutilation on three-year-old | date=8 March 2019 }}</ref>

In 2024, the second publicised case of this practice was of a 40-year-old Kenyan Muslim mother, Amina Noor from [[Harrow, London|Harrow]], [[North London]]. She was convicted of taking her daughter in 2006 (when she was 22 and her daughter, aged 3) to Kenya for FGM; while it was the second completely convicted case in the UK, it was the first one in which a person had abducted their daughter to undergo the practice. It was also revealed that Amina was also subjected to this phenomenon when she was a child, aged 6. As of February, she was jailed for 7 years. <ref>{{cite web | url=https://news.sky.com/story/amina-noor-woman-jailed-for-seven-years-for-handing-over-british-girl-in-kenya-for-female-genital-mutilation-13072682 | title=Amina Noor jailed for handing over British girl in Kenya for female genital mutilation }}</ref>

==North America==

===Canada===
There is some evidence to indicate that FGM is practiced in Ontario and across Canada among immigrant and refugee communities.<ref>{{cite web|title=FGM in Canada|url=http://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/policy-female-genital-mutilation-fgm/4-fgm-canada|website=Ontario Human Right Commission|access-date=7 October 2014}}</ref> FGM is considered child assault and prohibited under sections 267 ([[assault causing bodily harm]]) or 268 ([[aggravated assault]], including wounding, maiming, disfiguring) of the [[Criminal Code (Canada)|Criminal Code]].<ref>{{citation|title=Female genital mutilation and health care – an exploration of the needs and roles of affected communities and health care providers in Canada|author=Federal Interdepartmental Working Group on Female Genital Mutilation|publisher=Health Canada|year=1999}}
*[http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/ShowDoc/cs/C-46/bo-ga:l_VIII Canada's Criminal Code ( R.S., 1985, c. C-46 )] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605061506/http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/ShowDoc/cs/C-46/bo-ga:l_VIII |date=2011-06-05 }}</ref>

===United States===
{{main|Female genital mutilation in the United States}}
The [[Centers for Disease Control]] estimated in 1997 that 168,000 girls living in the United States had undergone FGM, or were at risk.<ref name=DuPont1998p85>Cullen-DuPont, Kathryn (1998). "Female genital mutilation" in ''Encyclopedia of Women's History in America''. Da Capo Press, [https://books.google.com/books?id=oIro7MtiFuYC&pg=PA85 p. 85]. {{ISBN|9781438110332}}</ref> [[Khalid Adem]], a Muslim who had moved from Ethiopia to Atlanta, Georgia, became the first person to be convicted in the US in an FGM case; he was sentenced to ten years in 2006 for having severed his two-year-old daughter's clitoris with a pair of scissors.<ref>[http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-11-01-georgia_x.htm "Man gets 10-year sentence for circumcision of 2-year-old daughter"], Associated Press, 1 November 2006.</ref> Performing the procedure on anyone under the age of 18 became illegal in the U.S. in 1997 with the ''Federal Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation Act''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Zabus |first1=Chantal |editor1-last=Marsden |editor1-first=Peter |editor2-last=Davis |editor2-first=Geoffrey V. |title=Towards a Transcultural Future: Literature and Human Rights in a 'post'-colonial World |date=2004 |publisher=Rodopi |location=Amsterdam and New York |page=110|chapter=Between Rites and Rights: Excision on Trial in African Women's Texts and Human Contexts}}</ref> However, in 2018, the act was stuck down as unconstitutional by US federal district judge [[Bernard A. Friedman]] in [[Michigan]], who argued that the federal government did not have authority to enact legislation outside the "Interstate commerce" clause.<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/nov/22/us-is-moving-backwards-female-genital-mutilation-ruling-a-blow-to-girls-at-risk | title='US is moving backwards': Female genital mutilation ruling a blow to girls at risk| newspaper=The Guardian| date=2018-11-22| last1=McVeigh| first1=Karen}}</ref> As part of the ruling, Friedman also ordered that charges be dropped against 8 people who had mutilated the genitals of 9 girls.<ref>{{cite news
|url=https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2018/11/20/judge-dismisses-key-count-genital-mutilation-case/2066855002/|title=Genital mutilation ban ruled unconstitutional; judge drops charges against sect|newspaper=Detroit News|date=Nov 21, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.nationalreview.com/news/michigan-judge-strikes-down-federal-female-genital-mutilation-ban/|title=Michigan Judge Strikes Down Federal Female-Genital-Mutilation Ban|magazine=National Review|date=Nov 20, 2018}}</ref>  The Department of Justice decided not to appeal the ruling;<ref name="appeal">{{Cite web|url=https://reason.com/2019/04/15/justice-department-decides-not-to-appeal-court-ruling-striking-down-federal-law-banning-female-genital-mutilation/|title=Justice Department Decides Not to Appeal Court Ruling Striking Down Federal Law Banning Female Genital Mutilation|date=2019-04-15|website=Reason.com|language=en-US|access-date=2019-04-16}}</ref> however, the US House of Representatives has appealed it.<ref name="Congress appealing">{{Cite web |url=https://www.speaker.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Nagarwala-Motion-to-Intervene-As-Filed.pdf |title=Nagarwala Motion to Intervene As Filed |access-date=2019-12-12 |archive-date=2019-05-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190506080118/https://www.speaker.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Nagarwala-Motion-to-Intervene-As-Filed.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> As of August 2019, 35 [[U.S. states]] have made specific laws that prohibit FGM, while the remaining 15 states had no specific laws against FGM.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web | url=https://www.theahafoundation.org/female-genital-mutilation/fgm-legislation-by-state/ | title=FGM Legislation by State| date=27 March 2018}}</ref> States that do not have such laws may use other general statutes, such as assault, battery or [[child abuse]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://theahafoundation.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/FGMLAWS_2013011.pdf |title=Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) Statutes in the United States & United Kingdom| access-date=March 19, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515174555/http://theahafoundation.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/FGMLAWS_2013011.pdf |archive-date=May 15, 2013 }}</ref> The ''Transport for Female Genital Mutilation Act'' was passed in January 2013, and prohibits knowingly transporting a girl out of the U.S. for the purpose of undergoing FGM.<ref>Hassan, Yasmeen (3 January 2013). [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/yasmeen-hassan/new-wins-speed-gains_b_2403941.html "As Global Consensus Accelerates, Obama Strengthens Federal Law Protecting Girls in the Fight Against Female Genital Mutilation"],''The Huffington Post''.</ref>

[[Matter of Kasinga|Fauziya Kasinga]], a 19-year-old member of the [[Tchamba]]-Kunsuntu tribe of Togo, was granted asylum in 1996 after leaving an [[arranged marriage]] to escape FGM; this set a precedent in US immigration law because it was the first time FGM was accepted as a form of persecution.<ref>Dugger, Celia W. (16 June 1996) [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C05E1DB1439F935A25755C0A960958260 "June 9–15; Asylum From Mutilation"],''The New York Times''.</ref><ref>[https://www.justice.gov/eoir/efoia/kasinga7.pdf "In re Fauziya KASINGA, file A73 476 695], U.S. Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review, decided 13 June 1996.
</ref><ref>Dugger, Celia W. (15 April 1996) [https://www.nytimes.com/1996/04/15/nyregion/woman-s-plea-for-asylum-puts-tribal-ritual-on-trial.html "Woman's Plea for Asylum Puts Tribal Ritual on Trial"], ''The New York Times''.</ref>

In 2016, the [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention|Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)]] released a report compiled with data from 2010 to 2013. The 2013 study estimated 513,000 girls and women in the United States were either victims of FGM or at risk of FGM, with {{frac|1|3}} under age 18.<ref name=":2">{{cite web|url=http://www.prb.org/Publications/Articles/2015/us-fgmc.aspx|title=Women and Girls at Risk of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting in the United States|website=www.prb.org|access-date=2017-10-20|archive-date=2018-03-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180313054259/http://www.prb.org/Publications/Articles/2015/us-fgmc.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref> The marked increase in the number of girls and women at risk of FGM in the United States was attributed to an increase in the total number of immigrants from countries where FGM is most common, not an increase in the frequency of the practice.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last1=Goldberg|first1=Howard|last2=Stupp|first2=Paul|last3=Okoroh|first3=Ekwutosi|last4=Besera|first4=Ghenet|last5=Goodman|first5=David|last6=Danel|first6=Isabella|date=2016|title=Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting in the United States: Updated Estimates of Women and Girls at Risk, 2012|journal=Public Health Reports|volume=131|issue=2|pages=340–347|doi=10.1177/003335491613100218|pmc=4765983|pmid=26957669}}</ref>

There had been, however, tiny pockets of anecdotal evidence of FGM being practiced within the local [[White Americans|White American]] population, especially within rural, traditionally strict and conservative Christian families dating back to the 70s, 80s and 90s. A notable community that practiced  FGM was the [[Evangelicalism|Christian Evangical]] group; the procedure was done predominantly by doctors to prevent homosexuality, prostitution and masturbation. Modern studies were not certain to whether or not the practice still happens in certain parts of the local population. Nevertheless, almost every incident of this phenomenon is associated with many African immigrant groups. One notable White American victim who spoke out her experience was a woman from [[Kentucky]] named Jennifer, who was forced to undergo Female Genital Mutilation by her parents as a small child.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://equalitynow.medium.com/female-genital-mutilation-in-white-conservative-america-46084d2cffb | title=Female Genital Mutilation in white, conservative America | date=31 March 2020 }}</ref><ref>https://www.reuters.com/article/world/us-woman-says-strict-christian-parents-subjected-her-to-fgm-idUSKCN1RD2LH/</ref>

== Latin America ==

=== Colombia, Ecuador and Panama ===
The first indigenous tribe in Latin America known to practice FGM was the [[Emberá people]], living in the [[Chocó Department]] of [[Colombia]] and across the border in the [[Panama]]nian part of the [[Darién Gap]]. Superstition held that a girl's clitoris had to be cut to prevent it from growing to become a [[penis]].<ref name="Aljazeera Colombia"/> It is thought that the tradition is only a couple of centuries old, having been introduced by African slaves brought to Colombia during Spanish colonial rule.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-04-19 |title=Eliminating FGM: The Embera Tribe's Story |url=https://www.panoramas.pitt.edu/health-and-society/eliminating-fgm-embera-tribes-story |access-date=2022-09-29 |website=Panoramas |language=en}}</ref> The tradition was extremely secretive and taboo until a 2007 incident, in which a girl died as a result of FGM. The incident caused much controversy, raised awareness and stimulated debate about ending the practice altogether. In 2015, it was reported that of the approximately 250,000 members of the tribe, 25,000 (10%) had decided to discontinue female genital mutilation, with a community leader saying they hoped to eradicate it by 2030.<ref name=Moloney>{{cite web|last1=Moloney|first1=Anastasia|title=Colombia's Embera tribe hopes to eradicate FGM by 2030|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-colombia-girls-fgm-idUSKBN0LA2FX20150206|website=Reuters|access-date=6 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150714145347/https://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/06/us-colombia-girls-fgm-idUSKBN0LA2FX20150206|archive-date=14 July 2015|date=6 February 2015}}</ref> In 2017, retired prosecutor Victor Martinez claimed that FGM was also practiced amongst tribes in the [[Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta]], such as the [[Arhuaco]] and [[Kogi people]], and amongst tribes in [[La Guajira Department]].<ref name="Aljazeera Colombia">{{Cite news |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/aljazeeracorrespondent/2017/09/fgm-latin-america-colombia-embera-tribe-170919053458243.html |title=FGM in Latin America: Colombia's Embera tribe |work=Aljazeera |date=7 October 2017 |access-date=5 May 2020 |archive-date=6 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200506010846/https://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/aljazeeracorrespondent/2017/09/fgm-latin-america-colombia-embera-tribe-170919053458243.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> As of March 2020, there is no law in Colombia that specifically prohibits FGM.<ref name="Global response">{{Cite web |url=https://www.endfgm.eu/editor/files/2020/04/FGM_Global_-_ONLINE_PDF_VERSION_-_07.pdf |title=Female genital mutilation/cutting: a call for a global response |publisher=End FGM European Network, U.S. End FGM/C Network and Equality Now |date=March 2020 |access-date=5 May 2020}}</ref>{{rp|32}}

It has been claimed that members of the Emberá people living on the Panamanian side of the border in the Darién region also practice FGM,<ref name="UNFPA Colombia 2016">{{Cite web |url=https://www.unfpa.org/news/silent-epidemic-fight-end-female-genital-mutilation-colombia |title=A silent epidemic: The fight to end female genital mutilation in Colombia |publisher=[[United Nations Population Fund]] |date=9 February 2016 |access-date=6 May 2020}}</ref> but the extent to which this is happening was unknown as of 2010 due to a lack of data.<ref name="OECD 2010">{{Cite book |date=2010 |title=Atlas of Gender and Development How Social Norms Affect Gender Equality in non-OECD Countries: How Social Norms Affect Gender Equality in non-OECD Countries |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4QQlVW1rOsIC&pg=PA124 |publisher=[[OECD]] |page=124 |isbn=9789264077478 |access-date=5 May 2020}}</ref>

It has been speculated that members of the small Emberá community living in [[Ecuador]]'s northwestern [[Esmeraldas Province]] bordering Colombia might also be practicing FGM,<ref name="UNFPA Colombia 2016"/> but as of 2010 there was no evidence of that.<ref name="OECD 2010"/>{{rp|111}}

=== Peru ===
A 2004 anthropological study by Christine Fielder and Chris King provides a detailed account of a girl's initiation ceremony involving clitoral subincision amongst the [[Shipibo-Conibo people|Shipibo people]], claiming the [[Shipibo-Conibo people|Conibo]] and [[Amahuaca]] tribes had a similar practice. They concluded that it was used as a means to control women's sexuality by depriving them of sexual pleasure and having an interest in taking lovers, and keeping women obedient to their husbands.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Fielder |first1=Christine |last2=King |first2=Chris |date=2004 |title=Sexual Paradox: Complementarity, Reproductive Conflict and Human Emergence |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9YInrVSoa9cC&pg=PA170 |pages=170–171 |publisher=Lulu.com |isbn=9781411655324 |access-date=6 May 2020}}</ref>

A 2010 [[OECD]] report claimed that one unnamed indigenous community appeared to "use this type of mutilation to mark girls' entry into puberty".<ref name="OECD 2010"/>{{rp|129}} In 2017, doctor John Chua claimed that the Shipibo people living in [[Peruvian Amazonia]] practiced FGM to make girls 'real' women, as superstition held that uncut girls could become [[lesbianism|lesbians]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/happylist/london-filmmaker-exposes-fgm-scandal-a7814071.html |title=London Doctor exposes global FGM scandal |author=John Chua |work=The Independent |date=29 June 2017 |access-date=5 May 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/fgm-native-affliction-inhabitable-continent-171004091525749.html |title=FGM: A native affliction on every inhabitable continent |author=John Chua |work=Aljazeera |date=5 October 2017 |access-date=5 May 2020}}</ref>

==Oceania==

===Australia===

In 1994 there were several anecdotal reports of FGM being practiced amongst migrant communities in Australia.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.murdoch.edu.au/elaw/issues/v9n3/spencer93_text.html|title=The Criminalisation Of Female Genital Mutilation In Queensland|publisher=Murdoch University Electronic Journal of Law|date=September 2002}}</ref> By 1997, all Australian states and territories had made FGM a criminal offence. It is also a criminal offence to take, or propose to take, a child outside Australia to have a FGM procedure performed.<ref>{{citation|title=Female Genital Mutilation: Information for Australian Health Professionals|publisher=Royal Australian College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists|year=1997}}</ref> The [[Incidence (epidemiology)|incidence]] of FGM in Australia is unknown as it is often only uncovered when women and girls are taken to hospital due to complications with the procedure.<ref>[http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20701170-2,00.html "Girls mutilated for 'tradition'"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080919172101/http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20701170-2,00.html |date=2008-09-19 }}, ''The Sunday Telegraph'', 5 November 2006.</ref> In 2015 two unnamed women became the first people in Australia to be convicted of carrying out FGM; their case was also the first time such an offense had come to trial in Australia.<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-34795203 Australia convicts two over female genital mutilation]. ''BBC'' (12 November 2015)</ref>

In 2017 the first national study by researches at the [[Westmead Children's Hospital]] in Sydney found 59 girls having attended medical staff since 2010, with many having had the most extreme form of the procedure done to them. A fifth of those had [[infibulation]], the removal of the clitoris and external genitalia with the opening sewed up. The number was deemed to strongly underestimate the true number of cases. Most of the procedures had been done overseas, but two children born in Australia had the procedure done in [[New South Wales]] and a third child born in Australia had been taken to Indonesia to have the procedure done. Of the 59 girls, only 13 had been in contact with child protection services.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-01-13/report-on-female-genital-mutilation-shows-hidden-prevalence/8180340|title=Months-old babies subjected to female genital mutilation, report finds|date=2017-01-13|work=ABC News|access-date=2018-11-09}}</ref> Most (about 90%) were identified during refugee screening and had African origin.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal|last1=Zurynski|first1=Yvonne|last2=Phu|first2=Amy|last3=Sureshkumar|first3=Premala|last4=Cherian|first4=Sarah|last5=Deverell|first5=Marie|last6=Elliott|first6=Elizabeth J.|author-link6=Elizabeth Elliott (paediatrician)|date=2017-06-01|title=Female genital mutilation in children presenting to Australian paediatricians|journal=Archives of Disease in Childhood|volume=102|issue=6|pages=509–515|doi=10.1136/archdischild-2016-311540|pmid=28082321|pmc=5466924}}</ref> The report also stated that there was no FGM registry in Australia and even when detected is not routinely reported. The two most common countries of birth for the girls were Somalia (24) and Eritrea (12).<ref name=":3" />

===New Zealand===
Under a 1995 amendment to the Crimes Act, it is illegal to perform "any medical or surgical procedure or mutilation of the vagina or clitoris of any person" for reasons of "culture, religion, custom or practice". It is also illegal to send or make any arrangement for a child to be sent out of New Zealand for FGM to be performed, assist or encourage any person in New Zealand to perform FGM on a New Zealand citizen or resident outside New Zealand convince or encourage any other New Zealand citizen or resident to go outside New Zealand to have FGM performed.<ref>[http://www.fgm.co.nz/ "Female Genital Mutilation: Information for health and child protection professionals] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181218103042/http://www.fgm.co.nz/ |date=2018-12-18 }}, New Zealand Ministry of Health, accessed 7 September 2011.</ref>

==See also==
*[[Asuda]]
*[[Female genital mutilation]]
*[[Female genital mutilation laws by country]]
*[[Prevalence of circumcision]]
*[[Religious views on female genital mutilation]]

==References==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

===Notes===
{{notelist}}

==Cited sources==
*{{cite book|ref=Ahmady|url=http://kameelahmady.com/wp-content/uploads/Kameel%20-%20EN%20Final.pdf |title=A comprehensive research study on female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) in Iran |last=Ahmady |first=Kameel |date=2015 }}
*{{cite book|url=http://www.ecoi.net/file_upload/1504_1224004793_africa-fgm-080708.pdf |title=Female Genital Mutilation|author= UK Border Agency|ref=Border|date= 2008}}

==External links==
* [http://www.africanchildforum.org/clr/Harmonisation%20of%20Laws%20in%20Africa/other-documents-harmonisation_11_en.pdf Laws on FGM in Africa] (according to a 2013 document compiled by the ''African Child Policy Forum (ACPF)'' – an independent, non-profit, pan-African organization focusing on African children)
* [https://clarionproject.org/michigan-doctor-accused-of-performing-fgm-to-claim-freedom-of-religion-defense/ Michigan Doctor Accused of Performing FGM to Claim Freedom of Religion Defense] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200408054531/https://clarionproject.org/michigan-doctor-accused-of-performing-fgm-to-claim-freedom-of-religion-defense/ |date=2020-04-08 }}

{{female genital mutilation|state=uncollapsed}}
{{Urogenital surgical and other procedures}}
{{Violence against women/end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Female genital mutilation}}
[[Category:Female genital mutilation by country|*]]