Female genital mutilation falls sharply in northern Iraq — survey

LONDON — The practice of female genital mutilation has fallen dramatically in northern Iraq, campaigners said on Monday as they urged religious leaders to use sermons and fatwas to help stamp out the ancient ritual.

A survey of nearly 6,000 women with daughters aged four to 14 in Iraq’s Kurdish region indicated almost 45 per cent had undergone FGM compared to less than 11 per cent of their daughters.

“We’re very encouraged,” said Hannah Wettig, coordinator of the Stop FGM Middle East campaign.

“We’re quite certain that we can eradicate FGM in one generation if efforts continue,” she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation on International Day of Zero Tolerance for FGM.

Worldwide an estimated 200 million women in at least 30 countries have been affected by FGM which is internationally condemned as a major rights abuse.

The ritual, which can cause physical, psychological and sexual problems, is most commonly associated with Africa, but is also practised in parts of Asia and the Middle East.

Stop FGM Middle East was set up by German charity WADI which has spearheaded efforts to end FGM in the mostly Muslim Kurdish region of northern Iraq since first uncovering it in 2004.