Stop FGM Now
 Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008 by Connie T.
Did you know that over 90% of women in Somalia have undergone female
circumcision, also known as female genital mutilation (FGM)? It's true - and some studies
place this number as high as 98%. The practice is usually done when the female is
a child, sometimes with no anesthesia at all.
The painful process involves cutting
and often removal of the clitoris, and often the cutting or stitching up of the labia. Over
2 million procedures are done each year: most prevalently in Egypt, though a law was just
past there against it; followed by Sudan, Ethiopia, Mali, and African countries.
If you
watched America's Next Top Model: Cycle 10 - and we really didn't - you likely know
that the beautiful Fatima was a victim of just this. The symptoms after FGM are
bleeding, shock, chronic pain, infections, trauma, higher risk for failed childbirths, and
even death.
UNICEF is working
every year to combat human rights violations against children, including FGM. For more information
on UNICEF's Child Protection program, and/or to make a secure donation, please
visit here.
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