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<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://www.unfpa.org/news/5-ways-female-genital-mutilation-undermines-health-women-and-girls">https://www.unfpa.org/news/5-ways-female-genital-mutilation-undermines-health-women-and-girls</a><br>
Website Link Includes 2 Videos.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">FGM – 5 WAYS FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION UNDERMINES THE HEALTH OF WOMEN & GIRLS<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:15.0pt"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:robotoregular;color:gray"><img border="0" width="680" height="434" id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image001.jpg@01D51EDC.BF2D67C0" alt="https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/styles/news_detail_style/public/news/HargeisaFGM_UNFPA_Jul17_0890_newsbanner.jpg?itok=92erOwOW"></span><span lang="EN" style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:robotoregular;color:gray"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:15.0pt"><span lang="EN" style="font-family:robotoregular;color:#0D0D0D">Midwifery students at the Hargeisa Institute of Health Sciences in Somaliland learn how to assist in case of childbirth complications caused by female
genital mutilation. © UNFPA/Georgina Goodwin<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:15.0pt"><span lang="EN" style="font-family:robotoregular;color:gray"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.25in"><b><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:roboto_condensedbold;color:gray">20 May 2019 - UNITED NATIONS, New York –</span></b><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:robotoregular;color:gray">
“I have met many women who have suffered tremendously during labour,” said Dr. Kenza Aden, a general practitioner in Djibouti. This is because most of her patients – like about 78 per cent of girls and women aged 15-49 in Djibouti – have undergone
</span><a href="https://www.unfpa.org/female-genital-mutilation" target="_self"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:robotoregular;color:#1C97C8;text-decoration:none">female genital mutilation</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:robotoregular;color:gray">
<span lang="EN">(FGM). <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.25in"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:robotoregular;color:gray">“I’ve even seen women bleeding to death,” she continued. “And that’s why I’m scared of getting married and having children.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.25in"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:robotoregular;color:gray">Dr. Aden is herself a survivor of FGM – the practice of partially or totally removing the external female genitalia, or causing injury
to female genital organs, for non-medical reasons. Practised around the world and affecting 200 million women and girls alive today, it is a manifestation of deeply entrenched
</span><a href="https://www.unfpa.org/gender-equality" target="_self"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:robotoregular;color:#1C97C8;text-decoration:none">gender inequality</span></a><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:robotoregular;color:gray">. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.25in"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:robotoregular;color:gray">All women and girls have the right to the highest attainable standard of health. Those who are subjected to FGM have this fundamental
right denied them, along with the range of other </span><a href="https://www.unfpa.org/human-rights"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:robotoregular;color:#1C97C8;text-decoration:none">human rights</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:robotoregular;color:gray">
<span lang="EN">that FGM violates.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.25in"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:robotoregular;color:gray">The harm FGM causes to girls’ and women’s health is manifold.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:15.0pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:3.0pt;margin-left:0in">
<span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:robotobold;color:#404040">1. FGM is a serious injury that can be deadly<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.25in"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:robotoregular;color:gray">When girls are cut, they face the immediate risk of haemorrhage, shock, serious injury, a range of infections – and even death, when
haemorrhage or infection are especially severe. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.25in"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:robotoregular;color:gray">Tanzanian human rights activist Rhobi Samwelly, who was cut at 13, describes bleeding so much that she passed out – for so long that
everyone thought she would die. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.25in"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:robotoregular;color:gray">“I was unconscious for three hours,” she recalled. “I heard a woman say, ‘I’m not sure her brain will wake up properly.’” The year
before, Rhobi’s friend had bled to death after being subjected to FGM. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.25in"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:robotoregular;color:gray">Infection and tetanus threaten girls’ lives when unsterile or rusty tools are used to cut their flesh – with the risk especially high
when the same tool is used to cut multiple girls. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:15.0pt"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:robotoregular;color:gray"><img border="0" width="680" height="434" id="Picture_x0020_2" src="cid:image002.jpg@01D51EDC.BF2D67C0" alt="https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/medicalization_indonesia_embed_680.jpg"></span><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:robotoregular;color:gray"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:15.0pt"><b><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:robotoregular;color:#0D0D0D">In Indonesia, where 49 per cent of girls under 14 have undergone FGM, medicalized FGM is offered as part of the standard package
of care for newborn baby girls – even as midwives like this one may advise new parents of its negative health consequences. © UNFPA Indonesia<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:15.0pt"><b><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:robotoregular;color:#0D0D0D"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:15.0pt"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:robotoregular;color:#0D0D0D">In Indonesia, where 49 per cent of girls under 14 have undergone FGM, medicalized FGM is offered as part of the standard package
of care for newborn baby girls – even as midwives like this one may advise new parents of its negative health consequences. © UNFPA Indonesia<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:15.0pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:3.0pt;margin-left:0in">
<span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:robotobold;color:#404040">2. FGM performed by medical practitioners is never safe or beneficial<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.25in"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:robotoregular;color:gray">In some places, FGM may be performed by health care providers – community health workers, midwives, nurses or doctors. It may even
be offered to new parents as part of a standard package of care for newborn girls. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.25in"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:robotoregular;color:gray">UNFPA estimates that
</span><a href="https://www.unfpa.org/resources/female-genital-mutilation-fgm-frequently-asked-questions#who_performs" target="_self"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:robotoregular;color:#1C97C8;text-decoration:none">one in five girls</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:robotoregular;color:gray">
<span lang="EN">subjected to FGM were cut by trained health care providers, and in some countries, it’s more than three in four.
</span></span><a href="https://www.unfpa.org/resources/brief-medicalization-female-genital-mutilation" target="_self"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:robotoregular;color:#1C97C8;text-decoration:none">Medicalized FGM</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:robotoregular;color:gray">
<span lang="EN">is most common in the Sudan, where midwives are the main practitioners, and Egypt, where it is usually performed by doctors. And in
</span></span><a href="https://www.unfpa.org/resources/brief-medicalization-female-genital-mutilation" target="_self"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:robotoregular;color:#1C97C8;text-decoration:none">seven of eight countries</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:robotoregular;color:gray">
<span lang="EN">where over 10 per cent of girls subjected to FGM are cut by health care providers, medicalization of FGM is increasing. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.25in"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:robotoregular;color:gray">Medicalized FGM may or may not ensure a sterile environment or use of anaesthetic. That does not make it safe or beneficial for girls,
however. It remains a grievous injury with a host of serious short- and long-term health risks – and no medical justification. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.25in"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:robotoregular;color:gray">Trained health professionals who perform FGM are violating girls’ and women’s rights – and doing harm, in contravention to the fundamental
principles of medical ethics. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.25in"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:robotoregular;color:gray">Meanwhile, the authority, power and respect accorded to medical practitioners mean that medicalization may perpetuate this human rights
violation by lending FGM a false sense of security or legitimacy.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:15.0pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:3.0pt;margin-left:0in">
<span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:robotobold;color:#404040">3. FGM can cause a lifetime of serious health problems and pain<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.25in"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:robotoregular;color:gray">Girls and women who undergo FGM often experience long-term health consequences including scarring, cysts, abcesses and other tissue
damage, infertility, and increased susceptibility to infections. They may experience difficulty and pain when they menstruate, urinate or have sexual intercourse. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.25in"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:robotoregular;color:gray">Women who have undergone infibulation – where the labia are cut and sewn together to drastically narrow the vaginal opening – have
to be cut open again to enable sexual intercourse and childbirth. And some who experience urinary retention, a common side effect of infibulation, have likened the excruciating pain they feel every time they urinate to the feeling of salt being rubbed into
an open wound.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:15.0pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:3.0pt;margin-left:0in">
<span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:robotobold;color:#404040">4. FGM can cause life-threatening childbirth complications <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.25in"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:robotoregular;color:gray">FGM can cause serious and even life-threatening complications during
</span><a href="https://www.unfpa.org/maternal-health" target="_self"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:robotoregular;color:#1C97C8;text-decoration:none">childbirth</span></a><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:robotoregular;color:gray">.
Scar tissue may not stretch enough to accommodate a newborn, making delivery even more painful than is usual, and making it more likely that the woman will need a Caesarean section or other emergency interventions.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.25in"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:robotoregular;color:gray">The risk of prolonged, obstructed labour is heightened for women who have undergone FGM. Without timely medical intervention, obstructed
labour can cause debilitating </span><a href="https://www.unfpa.org/obstetric-fistula" target="_self"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:robotoregular;color:#1C97C8;text-decoration:none">obstetric fistula</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:robotoregular;color:gray">
<span lang="EN">and also puts mother and baby at risk of dying. Women who experienced infibulation – whose scars had to be cut open to enable sexual intercourse, and now again for them to give birth – face the greatest risks of prolonged and obstructed labour. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.25in"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:robotoregular;color:gray">Several of the countries with a high prevalence of FGM also have some of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:15.0pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:3.0pt;margin-left:0in">
<span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:robotobold;color:#404040">5. FGM can have lasting consequences for girls’ and women’s mental health</span><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:robotoregular;color:gray"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.25in"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:robotoregular;color:gray">The psychological impact of FGM can be devastating and long-lasting. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.25in"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:robotoregular;color:gray">Girls may feel deeply betrayed by the parents who insisted they be subjected to FGM. “I felt so much bitterness against my mother,”
said Dr. Aden, recalling her experience of being cut at age 6. “No one told me anything. … I felt betrayed.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.25in"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:robotoregular;color:gray">In young children, that loss of trust and confidence can lead to behavioural problems alongside the psychological pain. As girls grow
up and marry, the sexual dysfunction caused by FGM may put stress on their marriages. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.25in"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:robotoregular;color:gray">And over the long term, FGM can leave serious psychological scars. Girls and women who experienced it may suffer anxiety, depression,
memory loss, sleep disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.25in"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:robotoregular;color:gray">“I am now a dead person,” said Malika, a young mother from Ethiopia's Afar region, after recounting the pain and trauma she suffered
when she was cut, on her wedding night, and again when she gave birth.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.25in"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:robotoregular;color:gray">Malika’s experience led her to decide not to subject her own daughter to FGM. But across the word, there are 68 million other girls
still at risk of FGM between now and 2030. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.25in"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:robotoregular;color:gray">This November, the global community will convene at the
</span><a href="http://www.nairobisummiticpd.org/" target="_blank"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:robotoregular;color:#1C97C8;text-decoration:none">Nairobi Summit</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:robotoregular;color:gray">
<span lang="EN">on </span></span><a href="https://www.unfpa.org/news/explainer-what-icpd-and-why-does-it-matter" target="_self"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:robotoregular;color:#1C97C8;text-decoration:none">ICPD25</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:robotoregular;color:gray">
<span lang="EN">to accelerate efforts to drive sustainable development forward by advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights, gender equality and women’s empowerment. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.25in"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:robotoregular;color:gray">Ending FGM and other harmful practices that undermine the health and rights of women and girls is at the heart of this agenda. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.25in"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:robotoregular;color:gray">Meanwhile, the
</span><a href="https://www.unfpa.org/unfpa-unicef-joint-programme-eliminate-female-genital-mutilation" target="_self"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:robotoregular;color:#1C97C8;text-decoration:none">UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme on the
Elimination of FGM</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:robotoregular;color:gray">
<span lang="EN">is working in 17 high-prevalence countries to accelerate action to eliminate the practice, through a holistic approach combining protection and care services, advocacy and community engagement to change the social norms that perpetuate FGM.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.25in"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:robotoregular;color:gray">And 68 million girls depend on that accelerated action to maintain their physical integrity, safeguard their health and uphold their
human rights.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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