Young people and communities hold the key to ending FGM

It seems the number of young women and girls at risk of having this barbaric procedure done to them is growing with each year, yet there is a feeling of powerlessness among public bodies. I want to argue that we can do something about it, but that the tools to bring about change are not the ones we are used to using.

FGM involves cutting off parts of the female genitalia. It can be administered at any age - very young babies may be cut or it may happen at puberty. It is said to increase the sexual pleasure of men and reduce the pleasure of women. There can be severe health risks - many children die from trauma or from infection, and very many women face later health complications. There have never been any positive health justifications offered for cutting; its justifications are all to do with culture. In countries in north-east Africa, the procedure is almost universal - 90 per cent of women in Somalia, Sudan and Egypt have been cut.