FGM prevalence varies worldwide, but is majorly present in some countries of Africa, Asia and Middle East, and within their diasporas. As of [update] , UNICEF estimates that worldwide million girls and women million in Africa, 80 million in Asia, 6 million in Middle East, and million in other parts of the world had been subjected to one or more types of FGM. Typically carried out by a traditional cutter using a blade, FGM is conducted from days after birth to puberty and beyond. In half of the countries for which national statistics are available, most girls are cut before the age of five.
They include removal of the clitoral hood type 1-a and clitoral glans 1-b ; removal of the inner labia 2-a ; and removal of the inner and outer labia and closure of the vulva type 3. In this last procedure, known as infibulation , a small hole is left for the passage of urine and menstrual fluid , the vagina is opened for intercourse and opened further for childbirth.
The practice is rooted in gender inequality , attempts to control female sexuality , religious beliefs and ideas about purity, modesty, and beauty. It is usually initiated and carried out by women, who see it as a source of honour, and who fear that failing to have their daughters and granddaughters cut will expose the girls to social exclusion.
There have been international efforts since the s to persuade practitioners to abandon FGM, and it has been outlawed or restricted in most of the countries in which it occurs, although the laws are often poorly enforced.
Since , the United Nations has called upon healthcare providers to stop performing all forms of the procedure, including reinfibulation after childbirth and symbolic "nicking" of the clitoral hood. Until the s, FGM was widely known in English as "female circumcision", implying an equivalence in severity with male circumcision. In countries where FGM is common, the practice's many variants are reflected in dozens of terms, often alluding to purification.
