REPORT TO WORLD HEALTH ASSEMBLY INDICATES SCALE OF PRACTICE OF FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION
More Than 85 Million Girls and Women Said to be Affected; WHO Supports Global Policies, Programs for Its Elimination
GENEVA, 5 May, 1994(World Health Organization) -- Between 85 and 114 million girls and women have been subjected to female genital mutilation, according to a new report presented to the 47th World Health Assembly, currently in session in Geneva. Most of them live in 26 African countries, a few in some Asian countries, and increasingly in Europe, Canada, Australia and the United States.
The report states that although it is believed that both mortality and morbidity following female genital mutilation are high, the available information is scant and based on partial and incomplete sources. The practice is an issue of concern for the health, well-being and human rights of women and children. It has immediate dangers for the girl child and affects her life as an adult woman. It is a reflection of discrimination against women.
An issue for discussion at the World Health Assembly is what the WHO, as the lead agency in international public health, can do to support efforts to eliminate the practice.
The report states that female genital mutilation is a deeply rooted tradition, and that discretion and tact are essential when dealing with such strongly-held beliefs. Hiroshi Nakajima, WHO Director-General, has declared "people will change their behavior only when they themselves perceive the new practices proposed as meaningful, functional and at least as effective as the old ones. Therefore, what we must aim for is to convince people, including women, that they can give up a specific practice without giving up meaningful aspects of their own cultures.
Although female genital mutilation is not required by any religion, many women believe that this custom is necessary to make them accepted by their community, and they are unaware that these mutilations are not practiced in most of the world. Indeed, many people in the societies concerned do not naturally see the link between genital mutilation suffered by a woman in her childhood and the pain, infections and health complications she may suffer in her later years.
For the past 15 years, the role of the WHO has included technical and financial support for national surveys, for training of health workers and for grassroots initiatives. Member States of the organization are called upon to establish national policies and programs, that, through partnerships of government, local community organizations and international agencies, will effectively bring the practice of female genital mutilation to an end.
