On the occasion of the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), commemorated on the 6th of February of each year, the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) calls for raising awareness about the risks arising from the persistence of the practice in many countries of the world, as it harms the female external genital organs to solely preserve wrong customs and traditions.

The persistence of the practice, which has dire effects on the physical and psychological health and safety of women and girls, is considered as a form of discrimination. In conjunction with ICESCO’s proclamation of 2021 as the Year of Women, the Organization considers “female circumcision” as a customary practice that has nothing to do with religion, unlike male circumcision, which is a religious ritual.

ICESCO calls for resorting to medical studies to prove the harm this FGM inflects on human health. ICESCO also calls for raising awareness of the risks arising from the persistence of FGM and for the urgent need to coordinate the efforts of the international and governmental institutions and civil society organizations to ensure sound health education that respects human dignity and is compatible with correct religious beliefs.

The UN estimates that about 200 million girls around the world have been subjected to FGM genitals, causing them to suffer continuous physical and psychological disabilities.