FGM: A Global human rights violation

Female genital mutilation (FGM) affects at least 230 million women and girls globally, a number that has risen sharply in recent years due to population growth and improved data collection across Asia, the Middle East, and diaspora communities worldwide.

FGM is a serious violation of several human rights, including the rights to health, security, and bodily autonomy. It is rooted in patriarchal norms and carried out for non-medical reasons, often under the guise of tradition, religion, or social acceptance. Far from being confined to one region, it is practiced in at least 94 countries across Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Europe, the Americas, and Oceania.

Legal standards against FGM

FGM is condemned under numerous international and regional human rights instruments, including:

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW): The CEDAW Committee recognizes FGM as a form of discrimination and violence against women.
Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC): Protects girls from harmful practices.
Istanbul Convention: Obligates European countries to criminalize FGM/C as gender-based violence.
Maputo Protocol (African Union): Mandates explicit legislative measures to eliminate FGM/C.
Sustainable Development Goal 5.: Commits countries to eliminate all harmful practices, including FGM/C, by 2030.

These frameworks affirm that states have a legal and moral duty to prohibit FGM and provide survivor-centered support services.

The state of the law

While growing global awareness has led to some legislative progress, significant gaps remain:

Only 59 out of 94 countries where FGM is known to be practiced have specific laws or provisions against it.
Enforcement is often weak, and laws may lack clear mandates for prevention, protection, and survivor support.
Medicalization of FGM is on the rise in many parts of the world, despite being condemned by the World Health Organization (WHO) and human rights bodies.

Countries like Sudan, Indonesia, and the U.S. have passed new laws since 2020, but others, such as The Gambia, have faced attempts to repeal protections, demonstrating the fragility of progress.

What is Equality Now doing to end FGM

Equality Now is working at multiple levels to combat FGM through a rights-based, survivor-centered, and globally coordinated strategy:

Campaigning for comprehensive prohibition and reform of outdated or loophole-ridden laws.
Opposing legal rollbacks, including supporting grassroots actors in the successful defense of the 2015 Women’s Amendment Act in The Gambia.
Amplifying survivor voices in policy advocacy, legal reform, and public discourse.
Partnering with regional movements, including the Asia Network to End FGM/C and the U.S. End FGM/C Network, to mobilize action where political will is weak.

Equality Now also works to strengthen data collection, recognizing that reliable data is key to effective policy and funding decisions.

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5 December 2025

65 pages

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Female genital mutilation