The Ambassadors News column: #1 defining Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)  & deconstructing the language

This column is a space for the End FGM European Network Ambassadors to share their voices, perspectives, and expertise on issues linked to female genital mutilation (FGM), gender equality, human rights, and community advocacy. Through articles written by our Youth and Senior Ambassadors, readers will discover reflections, experiences, and discussions on topics chosen by the ambassadors themselves, highlighting the diversity of perspectives and the collective commitment to ending FGM and advancing the rights of women and girls.

Volume#1 - Defining Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)  –  deconstructing the  language

To eradicate Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), we must master its complexity. This first issue aims to re-visit the basics, make our ideas and terms consistent, and to break down the social theories that explain why this FGM continues and how it can be eradicated.

1. Defining FGM: A Medical and Legal Boundary

The World Health Organisation (WHO) provides the standard global definition: FGM comprises all procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.

• Type I (Clitoridectomy): Partial/total removal of the clitoris

• Type II (Excision): Removal of the clitoris with the labia minora

• Type III (Infibulation): Narrowing of the vaginal orifice with a covering seal

• Type IV: All other harmful procedures (pricking, piercing, cauterisation)

2. The Theoretical Framework: Why does FGM persist?

Understanding FGM requires moving beyond the "backward tradition" narrative. Current research focuses on two major theories:

- Social Convention Theory (Gerry Mackie): FGM is viewed as a coordination problem. Parents perform it not because they want to harm their daughters, but to ensure their "marriageability" within a community where the practice is a prerequisite for social inclusion 

- Patriarchal Control and "Bodily Integrity" Theory: FGM acts as an institutionalised mechanism to control female sexuality, ensuring pre-marital chastity and marital fidelity. It is a physical manifestation of male-dominated social hierarchies

3. Chronology and Myths: What the Archives Reveal

- Ancient Egypt (c. 400 BCE): The earliest accounts come from Herodotus and Strabo. Examinations of Egyptian mummies (16th Dynasty) have revealed traces of clitoridectomy, proving that the practice predates both Islam and Christianity

- Western Medical Context (1860–1870): In London, surgeon Isaac Baker Brown advocated for clitoridectomy to "cure" epilepsy and hysteria. This historical interlude serves as a reminder that FGM has also been a deviation of patriarchal Western medicine 

- The International Turning Point (1979): The World Health Organisation (WHO) Khartoum Seminar marked the first official rupture, where African opinion leaders classified the practice of FGM as harmful, moving the subject from private taboo to a global public health priority. This historic seminar helped turn something that was rarely discussed openly into a recognised global issue, especially in health and human rights discussions.

4. Field story or testimony: archive of victories – key stakeholders, men, women and girls from FGM affected communities and beyond) 

For this first issue we have chosen to shed lights on one of the early dissenters, key players in the global movement for the eradication of female genital mutilation. We want to name the Inter-African Committee (IAC) on traditional harmful practices.

The Inter-African Committee (IAC) on traditional practices affecting the health of women and children was formed in 1984 following the 1979 seminar in Khartoum, Sudan, marking a major push by African activists. The IAC aims to bring legal and social changes about harmful practices, particularly Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), by educating stakeholders, including health workers and traditional practitioners, raising awareness at all levels of policy. IAC has made major contributions in advocating for the recognition and integration of FGM in various United Nations and regional human rights treaties, statements and declarations of significant UN conferences on women and girls. For instance:

1990: United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (article 24.3):

1990: African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child;

1990: IAC General Assembly adopted the terminology female genital mutilation and its acronym FGM to replace the euphemism ‘female circumcision’. FGM has since been in usage by United Nations ECOSOC, African governments, African women and the international public.

1993: United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women (Res. 48/104, 48 U.N. GAOR)

1995: United Nations 4th World Conference on Women (Beijing)

1997: Joint WHO/UNFPA/UNICEF Statement for the elimination of FGM (updated in 2008);

1999: United Nations Resolution, ECOSOC, A/RES/53/117 on FGM;

2003: IAC held an international conference entitled “Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation” in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, which led to 3 significant achievements:

1. The adoption of the 6th of February by the UN as an International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)
2. A call on African heads of state for their active commitment to the elimination of female genital mutilation (FGM)
3. Joining efforts between different actors and stakeholders to coordinate their approaches and harmonise activities under the coordination of the IAC

2003: Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, on the Rights of Women (referred to as the Maputo Protocol).

5. Call to action 

Ending FGM is everyone’s business, as FGM is a human rights issue, a gender-based violence perpetrated against women and girls, across the globe! You can do something about it:

- Support our 2026 Campaign: #CareInAction2EndFGM

- Learn about FGM with our online platform: End FGM E-Campus

- Subscribe to our newsletter

- Follow us on social media: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, X

6. Resources & links

- How to Talk About FGM: using respectful & non-stigmatising language | End FGM (available in 10 different European languages)

- Herodotus, The Histories, Book II: The first historical mention of circumcision and excision practices in Ancient Egypt.

- Mackie, G. (1996), "Ending Footbinding and Female Genital Cutting: A Convention Account," American Sociological Review. (The foundational study on how social norms collapse historically).

- World Health Organization (WHO), Report of the Khartoum Seminar on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children, 1979.

- Dorkenoo, E. (1994), Cutting The Rose: Female Genital Mutilation: The Practice and its Prevention. (A seminal work by one of the movement's pioneers).

- UNICEF (2013), Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting: A statistical overview and exploration of the dynamics of change. (The most comprehensive historical database on shifting trends).

- Black, J.A. & Debelle, G.D. (1995), "Female genital mutilation in Britain," British Medical Journal. (Regarding the historical context of FGM within European medicine)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

This article has been written by our Youth Ambassador, Passie Kengne Kuetche. With a background in international law and children’s rights, she actively works to end FGM and promote human rights. She combines advocacy with strategic action for lasting social change.