World Health Organization: Female Genital Cutting

Female Genital Mutilation Dept: The World Health Organization estimates that 140 million women and girls around the world have experienced female genital mutilation FGM . In December the UN unanimously passed a resolution banning the practice, according to The Chronicle Herald. Girls forced to undergo FGM, sometimes called female genital cutting, have some or all of their external genitalia the labia and clitoris cut off. In some cases the vaginal opening is also sewn almost closed. FGM is performed on girls anywhere from infancy to puberty, depending on the culture and the array of blades in the United Nations photo looks like a museum display of historical weapons: dirty and corroded, and none seem sharp. They don t look like surgical instruments unfortunately that exactly what they are. These dull, rusty knives are used to ritually slice off the genitalia of young girls in Sierra Leone. Although FGM is concentrated in 28 countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East, the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada says the problem affects women here, too. We spoke with two Canadian experts on FGM Dorothy Shaw and Victoria Davis about FGM, its impact on Canada, and why ending it takes more than outrage and laws. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.