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Our Correspondent
Kohima, Feb. 5 (EMN): More or less, the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) is “alien” to the Naga people. However, it is not the same case in some parts of the world. Such horrendous acts of cutting or mutilating female genitalia are practised in parts of the African countries, the Middle East, and Asian countries, including India.
To eradicate this practice, the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2003 sponsored the ‘International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation’, an annual awareness day, fixed on Feb. 6.
The WHO has defined FGM as a “violation of the human rights of girls and women. It reflects deep-rooted inequality between the sexes, and constitutes an extreme form of discrimination against women.”
When asked if such practices have ever been recorded in the medical history of Nagaland, Gynaecologist and Obstetricians at Naga Hospital Authority Kohima, Dr. Abi K Angami, chuckled in surprise, and replied: “We (Nagas) are yet to do those things.”
The ‘main reason’ behind the absence of such a horrific practice in Naga society, according to the doctor, is because “we don’t have such practices since our forefathers’ time. We never heard of such things, or even talked about.”
“Those things (FMG) are alien to our society,” he said.
According to the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (Unicef): “While the exact number of girls and women worldwide who have undergone FGM remains unknown, at least 200 million girls and women have been cut in 30 countries.”
A study on ‘FGM/Cutting: A statistical overview and exploration of the dynamics of change,’ produced by the Unicef showed the following countries as having “very high prevalence of FGM”: Somalia (98%), Guinea (96%), Djibouti (93%), Egypt (91%), Eritrea (89%), Mali (89%), Sierra Leone (88%) and Sudan (88%).
In 2018, the United Nations Population Fund had warned: “An estimated 68 million girls will be cut between 2015 and 2030 unless concerted and accelerated action is taken.”
In India, WeSpeakOut Organisation—led by an FGM survivor—has been working to eradicate FGM in the country. According to a research conducted by the organisation, “FGM/Cutting or Khafd is reportedly practised among a few sects including the Dawoodi, Suleimani, and Alvi Bohras and a few Sunni sub-sects in Kerala.”
“The data revealed that 75% of daughters (aged seven years and above) of all respondents (94 participants) in the sample were subjected to FGM/Cutting. Girls are usually subjected to Khafd when they are about seven years old,” the study indicated.
This year too, on the occasion of International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation, the organisation has ‘unequivocally pledged to continue its efforts to eradicate FGM in India.’