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Combating female genital mutilation
According to estimates by the WHO, around 140 million women, girls and infants worldwide are victims of female genital mutilation (FGM). Each year three million more young girls are at risk of falling victim to the practice. Today, FGM is practised in 28 countries in Africa, in a few Arab and Asian countries, and among groups of immigrants in North America and Europe – including in Germany.
FGM violates fundamental human rights such as the right to health and the protection of physical integrity. All forms of the practice are irreversible and lead to serious psychological and physical harm.
African activists, NGOs and international organisations and treaties have for years been campaigning for this practice to be abolished worldwide. German development policy also staunchly supports this goal. The BMZ promotes the "Overcoming Female Genital Mutilation" sectoral and supraregional project by supporting local actors in combating FGM in Burkina Faso, Benin, Egypt, Guinea, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania and Sierra Leone. By educating people about the psychological and physical consequences of FGM and through dialogue the population is to be encouraged to put an end to the practice.
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