News

Somali survivors of female genital mutilation advocate to change minds – and lives

26 February 2024
UNFPA and UNICEF’s Joint Programme on the Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation works with grassroots activists to encourage communities to abandon the practice. © UNFPA Somalia
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News

Dropping the knife: One woman joins the fight for women’s rights in the Gambia

06 February 2017
Aja Babung Sidibeh used to gather girls for the FGM ritual. She comes from a family considered custodians of the tradition. © UNFPA/Kasandi Mulaa
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News

In Colombia, efforts to end FGM are empowering women to be leaders

01 February 2017
Solani Zapata, a member of her region's indigenous council, says talking about FGM sparked conversations about women's role in society. © UNFPA/Daniel Baldotto
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News

Local Egyptian heroine aims to end “huge” suffering caused by FGM

18 July 2016
More than nine in 10 adult women in Egypt have been subjected to female genital mutilation (FGM). In rural Upper Egypt, Hoda Hamed is trying to end the practice. © UNFPA Egypt/Sima Diab
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News

Gender equality key to ending dangerous and discriminatory practices

16 March 2015
Kenyan activist Betty Naisenya Lolgisoi with UNFPA Deputy Executive Director Kate Gilmore at a United Nations panel on ending practices harmful to women and girls. © UNFPA/Lin Gao
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News

A silent epidemic: The fight to end female genital mutilation in Colombia

09 February 2016
In 2007, it was revealed that FGM has long been widely practiced among Colombia's Emberá people. © UNFPA Colombia
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Video

Abandoning FGM: Amina and Desta’s story

March 19, 2015

Learn about female genital mutilation from the sisters Amina and Desta. UNFPA and UNICEF lead the Joint Programme on Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting, the largest global programme to accelerate the abandonment of female genital mutilation.

Video

Joint Programme on Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting video

February 24, 2010

Examines the practice of FGM/C and strategies employed by UNFPA and UNICEF to encourage communities to abandon it. The two agencies, working closely with governments, NGOs, religious leaders and small community groups, aim to bring about an end to the practice.

Video

Senegal: Beyond Tradition

March 17, 2011

Dialyma's father had forbidden his mother to cut his daughter.  The grandmother cut Dialyma against her wishes.  Now her father has joined a growing movement fighting to end female genital mutilation. He says change must come from the grassroots.