Abandoning Female Genital Cutting

More than 130 million girls and women worldwide have undergone female genital cutting (FGC), and each year nearly 2 million more girls are at risk. FGC is a traditional practice that involves cutting or altering the female genitalia as a rite of passage or for other sociocultural reasons. While some research indicates that many women who undergo FGC do not have health problems as a result of the procedure, for others, the practice can have serious health consequences.