It’s hard to deny that COVID has changed the world. Upon the onset of the pandemic, our world completely flipped, and many of us were happy that we no longer had to wake up early to head to school or work. However, the disruption of education has had negative consequences for many young girls around the world.  Two million girls, who would otherwise be safe from genital mutilation, are believed to be at risk over the next decade as a direct result of the virus.

Female genital mutilation involves the partial or complete removal of the external genitalia. It is a prevalent ritual linked to gender inequality and the acceptance of violence against women in society. Considered a “coming of age” ritual, it is sometimes wrongly associated with religious beliefs, despite no religious scripture mandating the ritual. In fact, it is a highly dangerous act, that has countless of negative health consequences — both physical and psychological. Girls experience pain and bleeding as a result of the procedure, and because of the traumatic nature of the procedure — girls are forcibly held down by multiple people with mouths covered to muffle screams — it leads to mistrust of caregivers and health professionals, feelings of anxiety and depression and PTSD, thereby mutilating their lives. The procedure also has many long-lasting implications including chronic pain, chronic pelvic infections, genital ulcers, infection of the reproductive system, and decreased sexual enjoyment.  A study carried out by the WHO, covering six African countries, showed that women who had their genitals mutilated had increased risks during childbirth and an additional one to two babies per 100 delivered stillborn.

Some ask whether female genital mutilation is comparable to male circumcision. Medicalising FGM does not make the procedure safer because it still involves the removal and damaging of healthy tissue and the interference of the natural functions of the female body. While there is no health-related need for the removal of the foreskin of the penis, it is still a minor intervention which does not interfere at all with any of the body’s functions. Beyond this, while one can argue that both procedures are rooted in cultural reasons, female circumcision is rooted in cultural beliefs about women needing to be sexually repressed and controlled with some supporting it as a means of eliminating ‘sexual promiscuity of girls’, as female genital mutilation makes sex painful.

FGM is “inherently sexist and discriminatory and is an expression of male power and domination” while male circumcision has nothing to do with power and men still enjoy sex afterwards. Indeed, the WHO has recommended circumcision in countries with high endemic HIV rates as it has been found to reduce female to male HIV transmission. These differences, however, do not eliminate the need for there to be more regulation regarding male circumcision.

There is a movement for the criminalisation of male circumcisions, with many saying if FGM is banned in western countries, so should male circumcision. However, this is not a competition. Even if one thinks male circumcision is more harmful than FGM, it does not nullify the argument that FGM is still a barbaric practice that must be eliminated. With parents seeing school closures as an opportunity to cut their daughters and then marry them off, there is an even more pressing need for increased support for the eradication of FGM. Schools have provided the girls security and safety from being victim to this damaging ritual. Because there was confusion and uncertainty about when the schools would open again — if ever — they have put their kids through female genital mutilation before they are married off. For many families, marrying off their daughters has been a means to improve their financial instability that has been worsened as a result of the pandemic. However, by doing so, they are mutilating their daughters’ lives. Not only does FGM by itself increase the risk of health problems, but with the combination of child marriage, which the majority of the time is forced, it causes sexual and emotional dysfunction in the marriage and trauma that will last a lifetime.

The increasing prevalence of FGM is of worry. FGM violates many of the rights that children hold under the Convention on the Rights of the Child including the right to not be discriminate against, to be protected from all forms of violence and maltreatment, and the right to the highest attainable standard of health. JAN Trust is a strong advocate for this cause, having launched the campaign ‘Against FGM’, which consists of workshops in schools, colleges, statutory agencies and community groups, to help students, teachers, and frontline practitioners detect cases of FGM and know how to support victims with sensitivity.