International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation [fr]

1. What is female genital mutilation?

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) involves the partial or total removal of external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. It is internationally recognized as a violation of the rights of women and girls.

An estimated 200 million women and girls in the world today have undergone FGM. And 4.6 million girls could be victims of FGM by 2030.

Victims of FGM face short- and long-term health complications such as chronic pain, infections, increased risk of HIV transmission, anxiety and depression, complications during childbirth, infertility, and in the worst case, death.

In 2012, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted the first-ever resolution against female genital mutilation, which calls for intensified international efforts to end it.

In 2015, FGM is included under target 5.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals, calling for the elimination of all harmful practices such as child marriage and female genital mutilation.

2. Unite, Fund, and Act

This year, the UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme on Eliminating Female Genital Mutilation and the Inter-African Committee on Traditional Practices (IAC) jointly launch the 2021 theme: "No Time for Global Inaction, Unite, Fund, and Act to End Female Genital Mutilation."

Supported by France, the Joint Programme, currently implementing Phase III, works with communities to transform social norms from within, while partnering with Governments to promote laws banning the practice and to ensure that girls have access to quality services for child protection and sexual and reproductive health.

France’s actions

France is committed to defending the rights of girls and women. It has made gender equality a priority of its diplomatic action.

It was the first European country to penalize the practice of female genital mutilation. In 2019, during its presidency of the G7 and the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, it took firm and committed action against this scourge.
It is also the first country of asylum for victims of excision.

At the United Nations, since 2006, together with the Netherlands, it has been presenting resolutions to the General Assembly on intensifying efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women.

France supports civil society actors as well as funds such as the French Muskoka Fund and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) which are committed to the eradication of FGM.

France has also announced a contribution of 6.2 million euros, between 2020 and 2022, to the International Fund for Survivors of Sexual Violence created by Nobel Peace Prize laureates Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad.

Finally, as co-chair, alongside Mexico, France will place the fight against sexual violence at the heart of the Generation Equality Forum that it will host in the first half of 2021.

For this important day of mobilization around the world, we are participating in the campaign against female mutilation with the hashtag #EndFMG and #Act2EndFGM in order to put an end to this barbaric practice against women and girls.

France defends and will defend the rights of women and girls everywhere in the world.