Female genital cutting happens in 28 African countries.
FGC prevalence in Africa
It also happens in the Middle East, in Yemen, Oman and UAE. It happens in parts of Asia, including Indonesia, Malaysia and Kurdistan. Increasingly, FGC is a problem in countries with diaspora communities, including much of Europe, the USA and Australia.
Map of global FGC prevalence
3 millions girls a year are cut in Africa alone, says the UN.
The age at which a girl is cut can vary according to where she lives. In some countries a girl may be cut during infancy, in others she may be 15 or even an adult (Unicef Innocenti Digest 2005).
Nahid Toubia says ‘most commonly, girls experience FGM between four and eight years of age.’
In Europe around 500,000 girls are thought to be at risk of FGC, says the End FGM Europe campaign.
In Indonesia, prevalence rates are unknown, but even with a low estimate of 20% (USAID) and a population of 250 million, it could be many more.
Up to 140 million women are living around the world with the after-effects of being cut. We are working to ensure that this number does not increase, and to try to enable those women who have already been cut to take the positive choice not to cut their own daughters.
