10 signatures reached
To: indigenous information network
Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation Act,
will Friday return to court as joint amicus curiae in the case where Dr wako prof, guyo jaldesa as the Petitioner, is challenging the constitutional validity of the Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation Act, simply known as the Anti-FGM Act.
Why is this important?
WHO IS AT RISK?
More than 3 million girls are estimated to be at risk for FGM annually. More than 200 million girls and women alive today have been cut in 30 countries in Africa, the Middle East and west where FGM is concentrated. The practice is most common in the Western, Eastern, and North-Eastern regions of Africa, in some countries the Middle East and west as well as among migrants from these areas. FGM is therefore a global concern.
FGM is recognized Marsabit County as a violation of the human rights of girls and women. It reflects deep-rooted inequality between the sexes, and constitutes an extreme form of discrimination against women. It is nearly always carried out on minors and is a violation of the rights of children.
Types of female genital mutilation
Female genital mutilation (FGM) comprises all procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.
In 1997, WHO classified female genital mutilation into four different types? Since then, experience with using this classification revealed the need to subdivide these categories, to capture the varieties of FGM in more detail. Severity (which here corresponds to the amount of tissue damaged) and health risk are closely related to the type of FGM performed as well as the amount of tissue that is cut.
The four major types of FGM, and their subtypes, are:
Type I. Partial or total removal of the clitoral glans (the external and visible part of the clitoris, which is a sensitive part of the female genitals, with the function of providing sexual pleasure to the woman), and/or the prepuce/clitoral hood (the fold of skin surrounding the clitoral glans). When it is important to distinguish between the major variations of Type I FGM, the following subdivisions are used:
Type Ia. Removal of the prepuce/clitoral hood only.
Type Ib. Removal of the clitoral glans with the prepuce/clitoral hood.
Type II. Partial or total removal of the clitoral glans and the labia minora (the inner folds of the vulva), with or without removal of the labia majora (the outer folds of skin of the vulva). When it is important to distinguish between the major variations of Type II FGM, the following subdivisions are used:
Type IIa. Removal of the labia minora only.
Type IIb. Partial or total removal of the clitoral glans and the labia minora (prepuce/clitoral hood may be affected).
Type IIc. Partial or total removal of the clitoral glans, the labia minora and the labia majora (prepuce/clitoral hood may be affected).
Type III. (Often referred to as infibulation). Narrowing of the vaginal opening with the creation of a covering seal. The seal is formed by cutting and repositioning the labia minora, or labia majora. The covering of the vaginal opening is done with or without removal of the clitoral prepuce/clitoral hood and glans (Type I FGM). When it is important to distinguish between variations of Type III FGM, the following subdivisions are used:
Type IIIa. Removal and repositioning of the labia minora.
Type IIIb. Removal and repositioning of the labia majora.
Type IV. All other harmful procedures to the female genitalia for non-medical purposes, for example pricking, piercing, incising, scraping and cauterization.
Deinfibulation refers to the practice of cutting open the sealed vaginal opening of a woman who has been infibulated (Type III). This is often done to allow sexual intercourse or to facilitate childbirth, and is often necessary for improving the woman’s health and well-being.
Despite the health risks, some women undergo a narrowing of their vaginal opening again after being deinfibulated, at the time of childbirth – meaning that they may undergo a series of repeated infibulations and deinfibulations throughout the life-course.
More than 3 million girls are estimated to be at risk for FGM annually. More than 200 million girls and women alive today have been cut in 30 countries in Africa, the Middle East and west where FGM is concentrated. The practice is most common in the Western, Eastern, and North-Eastern regions of Africa, in some countries the Middle East and west as well as among migrants from these areas. FGM is therefore a global concern.
FGM is recognized Marsabit County as a violation of the human rights of girls and women. It reflects deep-rooted inequality between the sexes, and constitutes an extreme form of discrimination against women. It is nearly always carried out on minors and is a violation of the rights of children.
Types of female genital mutilation
Female genital mutilation (FGM) comprises all procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.
In 1997, WHO classified female genital mutilation into four different types? Since then, experience with using this classification revealed the need to subdivide these categories, to capture the varieties of FGM in more detail. Severity (which here corresponds to the amount of tissue damaged) and health risk are closely related to the type of FGM performed as well as the amount of tissue that is cut.
The four major types of FGM, and their subtypes, are:
Type I. Partial or total removal of the clitoral glans (the external and visible part of the clitoris, which is a sensitive part of the female genitals, with the function of providing sexual pleasure to the woman), and/or the prepuce/clitoral hood (the fold of skin surrounding the clitoral glans). When it is important to distinguish between the major variations of Type I FGM, the following subdivisions are used:
Type Ia. Removal of the prepuce/clitoral hood only.
Type Ib. Removal of the clitoral glans with the prepuce/clitoral hood.
Type II. Partial or total removal of the clitoral glans and the labia minora (the inner folds of the vulva), with or without removal of the labia majora (the outer folds of skin of the vulva). When it is important to distinguish between the major variations of Type II FGM, the following subdivisions are used:
Type IIa. Removal of the labia minora only.
Type IIb. Partial or total removal of the clitoral glans and the labia minora (prepuce/clitoral hood may be affected).
Type IIc. Partial or total removal of the clitoral glans, the labia minora and the labia majora (prepuce/clitoral hood may be affected).
Type III. (Often referred to as infibulation). Narrowing of the vaginal opening with the creation of a covering seal. The seal is formed by cutting and repositioning the labia minora, or labia majora. The covering of the vaginal opening is done with or without removal of the clitoral prepuce/clitoral hood and glans (Type I FGM). When it is important to distinguish between variations of Type III FGM, the following subdivisions are used:
Type IIIa. Removal and repositioning of the labia minora.
Type IIIb. Removal and repositioning of the labia majora.
Type IV. All other harmful procedures to the female genitalia for non-medical purposes, for example pricking, piercing, incising, scraping and cauterization.
Deinfibulation refers to the practice of cutting open the sealed vaginal opening of a woman who has been infibulated (Type III). This is often done to allow sexual intercourse or to facilitate childbirth, and is often necessary for improving the woman’s health and well-being.
Despite the health risks, some women undergo a narrowing of their vaginal opening again after being deinfibulated, at the time of childbirth – meaning that they may undergo a series of repeated infibulations and deinfibulations throughout the life-course.