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Female genital mutilation (FGM) is the ritual removal of some or all of the external female genitalia. Typically conducted by a traditional circumciser using a razor blade or knife (with or without anaesthesia), FGM is concentrated in 27 African countries, Yemen and Iraqi Kurdistan, and is also found elsewhere in Asia, the Middle East and among diaspora communities around the world. The procedures take place from within days of birth to puberty, and include removal of the clitoral glans, removal of the inner labia and, in the most severe form, removal of the inner and outer labia and closure of the vulva. In this last procedure, a small hole is left for the passage of urine and menstrual blood, and the vagina is opened for intercourse and childbirth. Health effects can include infections, cysts, childbirth complications and fatal bleeding. Over 130 million women and girls have undergone FGM in the 29 countries in which it is concentrated. Rooted in gender inequality, ideas about female purity and attempts to control women's sexuality, the practice is usually initiated and carried out by women, who fear that failing to have their daughters and granddaughters cut will expose the girls to social exclusion. (Full article...)
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