FGM = Female Genital Mutilation = Female Circumcision
FGC = Female Genital Cutting = Female Circumcision
From:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Female_genital_cuttingAmnesty International estimates that over 130 million women worldwide have been affected by some form of FGM, with over 3 million girls at risk of undergoing FGM every year. FGM is mainly practised in 28 different African countries.[36] It is common in a band that stretches from Senegal in West Africa to Ethiopia on the East coast, as well as from Egypt in the north to Tanzania in the south; see Map. It is also practised by some groups in the Arabian peninsula. The country where FGM is most prevalent is Egypt, followed by Sudan, Ethiopia, and Mali. Egypt recently passed a law banning FGM.[37]
Map: Estimated Prevalence of Female Genital Cutting (FGC) in Africa. Data based on uncertain estimates.Whilst FGM is widely practised out in the open by Africans of varied faiths, it is practised in secrecy in some parts of the Middle East and Balkans. In the Arabian peninsula, Types I and II FGM are usually performed, often referred to as Sunna circumcision especially among Afro-Arabs (ethnic groups of African descent are more likely to prefer infibulation). The practice occurs particularly in northern Saudi Arabia, southern Jordan, and northern Iraq (Kurdistan) [38][39]. In the Iraqi village of Hasira, a recent study found that 60 percent of the women and girls reported having undergone FGM[38]. Before the study, there had been no solid proof of the prevalence of the practice. There is also circumstantial evidence to suggest that FGM is practised in Syria and Kurdistan.[39][40] In Oman, a few communities still practice FGM; however, experts believe that the number of such cases is small and declining annually. In the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, it is practiced mainly among foreign workers from East Africa and the Nile Valley. On the other hand, a 2009 study suggested that FGM had virtually disappeared among the Negev Bedouin due to modernisation process under Israeli rule.[41]
The practice can also be found among a few ethnic groups in South America[36]. In Indonesia, the practice is common in several districts; almost all are Type I or Type IV, the latter usually involving the pricking of blood release. Sometimes the procedures are merely symbolic, and no actual cutting is done.[42]
Among traditional Europeans, FGM is inherited only in aborigine Gedje tribe of central Serbia. As a result of immigration, the practice has also spread to Europe, Australia and the United States. Some tradition-minded families have their daughters undergo FGM whilst on vacation in their home countries. As Western governments become more aware of FGM, legislation has come into effect in many countries to make the practice of FGM a criminal offense. In 2006, Khalid Adem became the first man in the United States to be prosecuted for circumcising his daughter.