Genital mutilation of females

The International Humanist & Ethical Union

• Noting that the United Nations in its charter declares the dignity and worth of the human person and the equal rights of men and women;
• Noting further that the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1948) commits the States Parties “to protect the child from all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse,…maltreatment or exploitation, including sexual abuse, while in the care of parent (s), legal guardian(s) or any other person who has the care of the child”, and to undertake preventative and treatment programmes in this regard. (Art. 19.1):
• Noting further that the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (1979) commits the States Parties to take all appropriate measures to eliminate “prejudices and customary and all other practices which are based on the idea of inferiority or the superiority of either of the sexes or on stereotyped roles for women or men”. (Art.5 a);
• Recognising that the genital mutilation of females
• Expresses in an extreme form the subjugation of women to male domination, denying her equal dignity and worth
• Eliminates the possibility of the woman participating equally with the man, or at all, in the enjoyment of sexual activity, because of the loss of the responsive organ, or pain;
• Represents gross abuse of the child when, as is usual, the practice is carried out on infants or girls before valid consent is possible;
  Represents an appalling assault on the physiological and psychological health of the girl and woman, with immediate and long term results which are often disastrous;
• Noting finally that this practice affects an estimated 80/100 million women in the world today;

Now therefore declares its utter condemnation of the practice of the genital mutilation of females;

Resolves to give full moral and financial support to the efforts of the IHEU Development Programme to ameliorate this global problem, and asks these IHEU institutions to monitor the situation and to keep member organisations informed;

Calls on IHEU member organisations:

1. To urge their national governmental and non-governmental development organisations to educate on this issue, and to support health and education programmes that mention the health hazards and the sexual and human rights implication of the genital mutilation of females: while bearing in mind that inept pressures from developed countries could be counter-productive:
2. To encourage and support education and development projects which offer scientific and rational teaching of biological and psychological facts in order to diminish the powers of myth and prejudice which perpetuate this practice:
3. To press for legislation prohibiting the genital mutilation of females in their own countries, even in the developed world, for this practice is appearing there.

IHEU Board meeting 1993

Suggested academic reference

'Genital mutilation of females', Humanists International, Board of Directors, 1993