Countries: Iraq
Variables: INFIB-PRACTICE-1

"Despite the criminalization of female genital mutilation (FGM) in Kurdistan in 2011, FGM continues to be practised on girls and women. Prosecutions in cases of FGM are impeded by the fact that perpetrators of the practice are almost always the victim’s immediate family members or relatives, making it unlikely that the victim, especially if a minor, would report them. Moreover, reporting the incident could lead to reprisal against the victim in her community and home, and would offer little benefit to the victim once the procedure had already been performed. Due to the fact that FGM has become illegal and bears criminal consequences, the practice has now gone underground. The...more

Countries: Gambia
Variables: INFIB-PRACTICE-1

"Members of the country’s national assembly have backed a proposal for the 2015 law to be scrapped while the Supreme Islamic Council has issued a fatwa condemning anyone who denounces the practice and calling for the government to reconsider the legislation" (para 2). "Debate began in late August after three women were convicted of FGM in the Central River region – the first prosecution under the 2015 law – and ordered to pay a fine of 15,000 dalasi or spend a year in jail. A few days later, an Islamic cleric paid the fines and encouraged Gambians to continue to practise FGM. The issue was then debated at the national...more

Countries: Belgium
Variables: INFIB-PRACTICE-1

"The new law recognises different dimensions of femicides. According to UN data, these crimes are overwhelmingly the result of intimate violence, meaning that the victims are killed by current or past romantic partners, fathers or other relatives. The law adopted by the Chamber recognises intimate femicide, as well as non-intimate (murder perpetrated by a third party, such as a sex worker being killed by a client) and indirect crimes (death as the result of a forced abortion or genital mutilation, for example)" (par. 10-11). This quote suggests the infibulation takes place in Belgium because some deaths have happened because of genital mutilation (IME - CODER COMMENT).

Countries: Niger
Variables: INFIB-PRACTICE-1

"Younger generations are not aware of the existence of this practice, which tends to disappear, even though it is still practised to a small extent, particularly in the West of the country" (1).

Countries: Mauritania
Variables: INFIB-PRACTICE-1

"Female genital mutilation (FGM) is practiced despite the fact that the country’s General Code on Children’s Protection, adopted in 2017, unconditionally criminalizes it. 2019 World Bank data suggests that up to 90 percent of Mauritanian women and girls aged 15-49 years have undergone some form of FGM in their lifetime; the majority of mutilations are performed by traditional practitioners. Women and girls from rural communities and those who haven’t completed secondary schooling are more likely to have experienced FGM than those from urban areas and those who have completed their education. Over the last few years, the government has attempted to address the issue more proactively by adopting national strategies,...more

Countries: Sudan
Variables: INFIB-PRACTICE-1, INFIB-DATA-1, INFIB-DATA-2

"Another complication: Some ethnic groups in Sudan practice an extreme form of female genital mutilation called infibulation, in which a young girl’s vulva is mostly sewn together with thread or a wild thorn, with an opening restored only upon marriage" (para 15).

Countries: Gambia
Variables: INFIB-PRACTICE-1

"Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a long-standing traditional practice in many sub-Saharan countries, often carried out when girls are between one month and nine years old" (par. 1). "Many view it as a cultural rite that ensures girls remain chaste until marriage, reduces libido, and makes it easier for parents to control their daughters" (par. 3). "FGM was practiced openly in The Gambia until 2015, when former president Yahya Jammeh banned it through the Women’s (Amendment) Act 2015, which aimed to protect the rights of women and girls. While the law was seen as progressive, some legal experts criticized it for lacking an effective implementation strategy. Very few efforts were...more

Countries: Chad
Variables: INFIB-PRACTICE-1

"Women’s rights campaigners have spoken of their concern over the spread of female genital mutilation among Sudanese refugees in camps across the border in Chad...On a recent visit to the main refugee camp in Adré, which lies very close to the Sudanese border, the Guardian met three girls aged nine, seven and three who were being prepared by their family to be cut. The family was putting henna tattoos on the girls’ feet and fingers – a traditional way of 'celebrating' the FGM procedure. A social worker at the camp said the cutting itself was taking place in secret because it contravened Chadian laws. She added that as well as...more

Countries: D R Congo
Variables: INFIB-PRACTICE-1

In the conflict in the DRC, sharp weapons are used against female genitals.

Countries: Sierra Leone
Variables: INFIB-PRACTICE-1

“The procedure [of FGM] is part of a traditional initiation ritual that marks a girl’s entry into womanhood. It is carried out by soweis, senior members of the all-women Bondo secret societies. FAHP [Forum Against Harmful Practices] is lobbying for a law that would criminalise FGM, and is working to promote alternative rite-of-passage ceremonies that forgo the practice. Last year, the organisation piloted FGM-free initiation ceremonies in three districts, and it hopes to extend the trial to two more this year. ‘The results have been very encouraging,’ said [executive secretary of FAHP, Aminata] Koroma. ‘There are many positive aspects of the Bondo societies,’ she said. ‘They teach girls about medicinal...more

Countries: Kenya
Variables: INFIB-PRACTICE-1

“[Tony] Mwebia, whose organisation [Men End FGM Foundation] has since trained nearly 500 male champions in counties where FGM exists, says men cringe when they are shown videos of the cut, a rite they traditionally believe is undertaken for their benefit. ‘They are told the cut makes women more mature and avoid promiscuity. They are also told that they will lose any respect within the community by marrying an uncut woman. That is why they will kill anyone, including a policeman, who interferes with the cut,’ Mwebia said” (7-8).“A local administrator, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals, said the attack on law enforcement officers will embolden those...more

Countries: Gabon
Variables: INFIB-PRACTICE-1

"Pursuant to Act No. 38/2008 of 29 January 2009 combating and preventing female genital mutilation, awareness-raising campaigns are regularly conducted on the harmful effects of such practices and the penalties applicable to all offenders" (9).

Countries: Cape Verde
Variables: INFIB-PRACTICE-1

"[There may be] potential practice [of FGM] within migrant communities" (14).

Countries: Algeria
Variables: INFIB-PRACTICE-1

"Female Genital Mutilation and Cutting (FGM/C) was not generally practiced in the country but was widely present among immigrant communities in southern sectors, particularly among Sub-Saharan African migrant groups. While this abuse is considered a criminal offense punishable by up to 25 years in prison, there were no reports of any related convictions, nor any official pronouncements by religious or secular leaders proscribing the practice" (28-29).

Countries: Egypt
Variables: INFIB-PRACTICE-1, LRW-PRACTICE-1

"[The state does not] effectively investigate and prosecute cases of harassment and female genital mutilation" (7).