Female Genital Mutilation in Africa: Scale, Impact, and the Path to Elimination
Special Report
Executive Overview
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) remains one of the most persistent violations of the rights of girls and women globally. In 2026 alone, an estimated 4.5 million girls, many under the age of five, are at risk of undergoing the practice. More than 230 million girls and women worldwide are currently living with its lifelong physical, psychological, and social consequences.
Africa bears a significant share of this burden. While progress has been made in several countries, FGM remains deeply entrenched in parts of the continent, sustained by gender inequality, harmful social norms, weak enforcement of laws, and growing challenges such as medicalisation and legal backlash.
The International Day of Zero Tolerance for FGM, marked on 6 February 2026, comes at a critical moment. The global theme, “Towards 2030: No End to FGM Without Sustained Commitment and Investment,” underscores a clear reality: progress is fragile, uneven, and reversible without coordinated, long-term action.
Understanding FGM
FGM involves the partial or total removal of external female genitalia for non-medical reasons. It has no health benefits and is internationally recognised as a serious human rights violation. The practice is rooted in attempts to control girls’ and women’s bodies and sexuality, often justified through tradition, social pressure, or false beliefs about purity, marriageability, and morality.
FGM is usually carried out on girls before puberty, though in some communities it is performed in infancy or early childhood. According to UN Women and UNICEF, the procedure can result in severe and sometimes life-threatening harm, including chronic pain, infections, psychological trauma, infertility, and increased risks during childbirth. FGM-related deaths were reported in Kenya and Sierra Leone in 2024, highlighting its ongoing lethality.
The African Context: Scale and Patterns
Africa remains one of the regions most affected by FGM. In countries such as Ethiopia, approximately three-quarters of women and girls aged 15 to 49 have undergone some form of the practice. High prevalence is also documented in parts of the Horn of Africa, West Africa, and sections of East Africa.
However, the African experience is not uniform. Several countries, including Burkina Faso, Liberia, and Kenya, have recorded measurable declines in prevalence over recent decades, demonstrating that change is possible when laws, education, and community engagement align.
At the same time, population growth means that even where prevalence rates fall, the absolute number of girls at risk can continue to rise, particularly in countries with large youth populations. This demographic reality makes sustained prevention efforts essential.
Laws, Progress, and Persistent Gaps
Globally, FGM has been identified in 94 countries, yet only 58 countries currently have laws explicitly prohibiting it. In Africa, legal frameworks have expanded, but enforcement remains inconsistent.
Since 2020, several countries have strengthened their legal stance, including Sudan, which repealed laws that had previously enabled the practice. In Europe, France has strengthened its penal code, and the European Union has adopted regional legislation, reflecting the cross-border nature of FGM affecting African diaspora communities.
Despite these advances, prosecutions remain rare. Weak investigations, limited training for law enforcement and judicial actors, delays in court proceedings, and inadequate survivor protection all undermine accountability. In some contexts, survivors face stigma, intimidation, or re-traumatisation during legal processes, discouraging reporting and participation.
Backlash, Medicalisation, and Emerging Risks
Progress is increasingly threatened by backlash against women’s and girls’ rights. In Kenya and The Gambia, legal challenges have attempted to roll back existing anti-FGM laws, placing hard-won gains at risk. These efforts have been resisted by civil society actors, journalists, legal experts, and international partners, but they highlight the fragility of progress.
Another growing concern is medicalisation. UNICEF’s 2024 data shows that 66 per cent of girls who recently underwent FGM were subjected to it by healthcare workers. In countries such as Egypt, Indonesia, and Kenya, some communities wrongly perceive medicalised FGM as safer or legitimate. In Russia, clinics have reportedly advertised the practice openly.
Medicalisation does not eliminate harm. Instead, it normalises abuse, violates medical ethics, and obscures accountability.
There is also rising awareness of practices not always formally classified as FGM, such as the “husband stitch,” performed during childbirth repair without consent. Documented in Europe, Japan, and the United States, survivors report health complications and experiences comparable to FGM, raising urgent questions about consent, regulation, and accountability.
Why Enforcement Continues to Fail
Even where laws exist, enforcement remains weak. Reporting rates are low due to stigma, fear, lack of trust in institutions, and insufficient victim and witness protection. Investigations are often poorly handled, evidence mishandled, and cases deprioritised.
Judges, prosecutors, police officers, healthcare professionals, and social service providers frequently lack adequate training on FGM and relevant legal frameworks. In some cases, inconsistent or lenient sentencing fails to reflect the gravity of the harm, reinforcing impunity and discouraging survivors from seeking justice.
The Way Forward: A Multi-Sectoral Response
Ending FGM in Africa requires more than legislation. It demands a multi-sectoral approach that combines law enforcement with prevention, education, health services, child protection, and community-led change.
Governments must:
- Strengthen and clarify laws to prohibit all forms of FGM
- Ensure consistent enforcement and meaningful sentencing
- Invest in training for justice, health, and social service professionals
- Protect survivors through survivor-centred, trauma-informed systems
At the same time, prevention efforts must address root causes, including gender inequality, harmful norms, and misinformation. Community engagement, especially with women, men, traditional leaders, and survivors, remains central to sustainable change.
Conclusion
FGM is not inevitable. Africa’s experience shows both the depth of the challenge and the possibility of progress. As the world moves toward 2030, the message is clear: there will be no end to FGM without sustained political will, investment, coordinated systems, and the meaningful inclusion of girls’ and survivors’ voices. Every girl deserves a future defined by dignity, safety, and opportunity, not by harm justified in the name of tradition. Ending FGM everywhere, including across Africa, is not only possible, it is a moral and legal imperative.
