Actions The U.S. Took To Address FGM/C In Its Foreign Policy

FGM: The Hot Button Topic

By J Reynold Weeks: Credit Source:

In 2019, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a unanimous resolution condemning FGM/C as a human rights violation. The resolution condemning FGM/C was co-sponsored by 28 members of Congress and calls for “coordinated efforts to eliminate the harmful practice.”

Two reports by the U.S. GAO from 2016 found the U.S. efforts to end the practice lacking and in need of significant improvement both in the U.S. and abroad. Despite the clear recommendations outlined in those reports, very little has changed since they were issued. The United States presently has only one program explicitly dedicated to ending FGM/C through foreign assistance. A three-year program in Kenya due to expire in 2021. US$5 million for the U.N. joint international program focused on eliminating FGM/C. Supports 17 countries, and led to national laws banning the practice in 13 of those countries, and 12 have appropriated funds from their respective national budgets to specifically address FGM/C through investigation, prosecution, intervention, prevention, and care services.

The United States government has issued several policy statements and recommendations.

• In 2017, the USAID guidance on Female GENITAL Mutilation/Cutting was released

• In 2016, the State Department launched the US Global Strategy to Empower Adolescent Girls, which included specific goals and objectives to ensure adolescent girls were able to reduce their risks and vulnerability

• The State Department’s Office of Global Women’s Issues has worked closely with high prevalence countries such as the Gambia and Egypt on partnerships with local leaders and community outreach to combat the practice via legal reforms, public education and awareness campaigns

• The 2016 US Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gender-Based Violence Globally defined FGM/C as a form of gender-based violence but did not recommend specific actions to address the practice

• Although the State Department includes information on FGM/C in their annual Human Rights Country Reports, under the Trump Administration, reporting on women’s rights issues has been curtailed in countries that generate asylum petitions, and have the greatest levels of gender inequality. As a result, reporting on FGM/C appears to be less robust since 2018, the first year for which the Trump administration was responsible for country reports

While the U.S. has a federal law prohibiting transporting minors abroad for FGM/C in a practice already described as “vacation cutting,” a 2016 GAO report noted that existing efforts to raise awareness on this issue need improvement. Currently, there are very few investigations and prosecution of FGM/C, in part due to the confusion over reporting requirements.

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Female Genital Mutilation

FGM: The Hot Button Topic

By J Reynold Weeks: Credit Source:

Acknowledgments: Dr. Nina Smart, the United Nations, recognized Ambassador and Representative, FGM/C. Policymakers and researchers.

Growing up in West Africa, it did not seem to be of importance to me when young girls mostly in their teens with distinguished colorings on their faces and other parts of their bodies were paraded bare-breasted if there were any to be bared, in the streets of my village.

As I grew older, I became curious. Was it to satisfy the social norms that seek to suppress the girls’ sexual desires or expressions? Was it a religious ritual, or was it a cultural practice in my country alone?

Every year, there are about 3 million girls forced to undergo a procedure to remove or modify their genitalia to fulfill social norms which look to suppress women’s sexual desire and expression. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) as: 'all procedures involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injuries to the female organs.' The practice has no known health benefits. Moreover, it most frequently occurs to girls from infancy to age 15. Adult women are also at risk.

Approximately 200 million girls and women alive today have survived FGM/C, and an estimated 3 million girls are at risk of FGM/C each year according to the group Equality Now.

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Although 43 countries globally have banned the practice, it still occurs at a very high rate in at least 30 countries where it is measured. Mainly in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. While now considered to be both child abuse and a violation of girls’ and women’s human rights, FGM/C is a deeply entrenched practice with roots in inequitable gender norms.

Despite my youthful misconceptions to the contrary, FGM/C not rooted in any religious or theological tradition. This practice is not limited to any one country, region, religion, or culture.

Frequently FGM/C is tied to cultural traditions and norms related to perceived purity and family honor around virginity and girls’ sexuality. Since these beliefs are rooted in cultural norms, immediate change is difficult even in countries where strong laws and or policies exist.

Infection, obstetric fistula, excessive bleeding, difficulties related to menstruation, sexual problems, infertility, cysts, scarring, increased risk of complications during pregnancy and childbirth in some cases death, believed to be negative health consequences. Many survivors of FGM/C experience physical trauma, pain, and complications, which can lead to psychological harm such as post-traumatic stress, flashbacks, fear, anxiety, and depression. Research also suggests that in countries or communities where FGM/C is prevalent, individual girls who do not undergo the process are at risk for trauma and isolation as a result of social stigmas stemming from their non-conformity.

As such, it is clear that programs that seek to outlaw FGM/C or change individual behavior without addressing the root causes and social norms may do more harm than good.

"Actions The U.S. Took To address FGMC/C in its Foreign Policy," will be the next publication.