According to a report released on Friday by the United Nations Children’s Agency, more than 230 million women and girls have suffered female genital mutilation, with the majority of them in Africa.
In the last eight years, about 30 million people have undergone the operation, in which external genitalia are partially or completely removed, according to UNICEF’s report, which was released on International Women’s Day.
According to UNICEF, the proportion of women and girls who have undergone female genital mutilation is decreasing, but efforts to eradicate the practice are moving too slowly to keep up with rapidly rising populations.
“The practice of female genital mutilation is declining, but not fast enough,” according to the research.
The procedure, which is wrongly thought to suppress women’s sexuality, can result in severe bleeding and even death. Girls are treated to the surgery at various times, from infancy to adolescence.
Long-term effects include urinary tract infections, menstruation issues, pain, diminished sexual satisfaction, childbearing troubles, depression, low self-esteem, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
“We’re also seeing a concerning trend in which more girls are subjected to the practice at a younger age, often before their fifth birthday. “This further reduces the window for intervention,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell.
According to the report, 144 million women and girls have undergone female genital mutilation in Africa alone, with Asia and the Middle East accounting for 80 million and 6 million, respectively.
Somalia leads the list of nations where the procedure, sometimes known as female circumcision, is widespread, with 99% of the female population aged 15 to 49 having been circumcised.
Burkina Faso achieved the most substantial progress, reducing the proportion of women aged 15 to 49 who were circumcised from 80% to 30% over three decades.
The survey also revealed that four out of every ten survivors live in conflict-torn nations with strong population growth rates, and that political instability undermines attempts to prevent the practice and assist victims.
“Ethiopia, Nigeria and Sudan account for the largest numbers of girls and women who have undergone female genital mutilation in conflict-affected countries,” according to the research.
Although the report praised progress in some nations, it cautioned that the globe is falling short of meeting the United Nations’ objective of abolishing the practice globally by 2030.
“In some countries, progress would need to be 10 times faster than the best progress observed in history to reach the target by 2030,” said the report’s authors.
Nimco Ali, CEO of the Five Foundation, a UK-based organization that fights female genital mutilation, said the UNICEF estimates were “shocking” and “devastating,” adding that more funding is urgently required to eliminate the practice.
“We must use the last six years of this decade to finally get to grips with this abhorrent abuse of a girl’s human rights and save the next generation from the horrors of FGM,” the Somali-born activist, author, and female genital mutilation survivor stated in a press statement.