Human race has witnessed extensive paths of modernization and success from the day of its emergence, everything from means of transportation and communications to infrastructural development and health services undergone dramatic changes from the earlier days of civilizations to the modern world of today’s time. Science and technology not only increases the life style and status of the humankind but also boosted the overall health of the human race which further increases the birth rate and minimizes the rate of death as well. However, despite of the tremendous growth in every frontier many things never changed such as tribal behavior, misconceptions, barbaric rituals and several unnecessary and unwanted cultural and religious traditions. Female genital mutilation or sometime referred as FGM is one of the most barbaric ritual that still practiced in major parts of Africa, some parts of Asian Peninsula and few parts of South American Tribal regions. Despite of the efforts from several International organizations which includes, UNO, WHO, UNICEF, The Desert Flower Foundation, Daughters of Eve, AWO, this horrific tradition still continues, in declining numbers though. UNICEF along with UNFPA launched a program in 2008 to counter this cruelty in African subcontinent involving 15-targeted countries. UN declared 6th February as International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation in December 20 2012 by adopting a resolution known as A/RES/67/146. This article is focused on the various efforts and events promoted by the UN for the coming 6th February which Is the International Day of Zero Tolerance to FGM. Moreover, a brief detail about the FGM including its’ causes and measures to prevent FGM is also covered in the below paragraphs as well.
FGM is a process of mutilating, removing or cutting the female genital parts with the intention of following ancestral, religious or cultural traditions. The process is performed without any standard medical procedure or safety measures, generally the head woman of the tribe or sometimes mothers of victims perform this inhuman procedure. There is no anesthesia or anything to prevent the girl from the pain during the process and even no medication or ointment are provided for the quick healing of the mutilated part as well. The procedure of FGM involves different types of techniques including infibulations, excision, clitoridectomy, incising and piercing. The infibulations process involves a seal covering created with the genital parts itself while, excision procedure involves removing the labia and clitoris fully or partially. Clitoridectomy is the process of removing clitoris of a girl whereas; the rest methods of FGM are even more gruesome, whatever me be the procedure these kinds of acts are complete violation of women rights. Female Mutilation not only hurt a girl physically but also hurts her psychologically as well; in addition, the risks of infections and fertility disorders are quite common in such cases.
It is still not very clear that when and where the ritual of FGM started however, experts consider FGM as a thousand year old practice. FGM is not a result of common universal belief or tradition but it involves several factors behind its practice. A reason often considered as a main cause behind FGM is to control the sexual behavior of a girl so that her father and relatives can live with pride in the society. The male dominated society wanted to distract the women from fantasizing about sex or even enjoy a sexual act and therefore started FGM, states another theory. Many tribal societies adopted FGM as their cultural and ancestral ritual, failure to which may cause serious problems for the whole society that’s’ what they believed. Many people adopted it as a religious tradition while in many other societies it was a technique of converting girls into women.
According to the UN, a very large number of girls and women are living under this condition, involving more than 25 countries around the world. The problem may become more severe in the absence of concrete correctional measures; therefore, its is the duty of every country and every individuals to support the movement of banishing this inhuman practice for the last time. With the vision of promoting justice, encouraging equality and protecting women rights, UN calls 6 February as International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation. The coming 6th Feb will be the day to fight against female mutilation and raising your voice in support of the humanity.