UNICEF says more than 200 million women have already been ablated

Female genital mutilation, also known as ablation, is one of the most violent practices still carried out in Africa and other parts of the world. The practice seriously undermines women's health and global organisations such as UNICEF are fighting for its complete eradication, although it is difficult because it is still a deeply rooted culture in several of the continent's peoples. The latest report from the world body states that more than 200 million women have undergone female genital mutilation.

It is a surgical procedure in which the clitoris of the female genital organs is completely removed or cut off. In many cultures, women from the time they are children suffer the consequences of this cutting, which marks them with a life without any sexual pleasure. Moreover, the operation is usually not performed under the best medical conditions, so the risks of contracting any infection or suffering any other kind of direct consequence are very high.

These risks include severe haemorrhage, problems in future births, urinary complications and increased risk of death in newborns. In addition, the procedure also affects the sexual and reproductive health of the person undergoing the procedure.

"Female genital mutilation or ablation is a procedure performed on a woman or girl in order to alter or injure her genital organs without medical justification," UNICEF says in the document.

In most cases, it is a practice that takes place in childhood or adolescence. UNICEF stresses that every year around four million girls under the age of 15 are subjected to and become victims of this mutilation. The UN also points out that one in twenty women undergoes this type of intervention.

In Africa, female genital mutilation is one of the cases that most exposes gender-based violence on the continent. Although in many societies it is a social culture rooted in different types of beliefs, it is an aggression against the sexual freedom of women that completely violates all the rights of individuals. In addition to this, the intervention also affects the sexual and reproductive health of the person who undergoes this method.

The practice of this aggression framed under the fight against violence against women is still very common on the African continent, UNICEF figures show that there has been a noticeable decrease in the number of cases. Despite progress towards the total eradication of female genital mutilation, the world organisation reminds that the process needs to continue. To this end, the institution agrees to continue to redouble efforts to prevent the practice and, where necessary, to act swiftly to address the issue.

Clitoral mutilation is currently performed in 30 countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. These territories include Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Indonesia, Iraq, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda and Yemen.

At the UN, it is also one of its main objectives and has set the year 2030 as the target date for the end of the practice. To fight against female genital mutilation, the organisation established 6 February as the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation. In the same way, it has also intervened in the legal framework of some countries to achieve progress on this issue and in some cases has succeeded in prohibiting the process and sanctioning those who engage in it.

Another method of eliminating the root of the problem has been through various programmes to get the health sector where these practices are carried out to support the cause. To this end, the UN has provided training materials, tools and guidelines for health workers to counsel mutilated women. They are also working to discourage new cases.

Although progress is still slow, in many places it has already led to an increase in the number of people declaring themselves in favour of its total elimination, and, where appropriate, many territories have recorded lower numbers than usual.