Female Genital Mutilation (FGM): Types, Facts and Global Data

Female genital mutilation, usually shortened to FGM, is a practice that affects girls in at least 30 countries with national data and in communities across the world, including in India. It has no health benefits, and it can cause serious physical and psychological harm that lasts for life.

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This explainer sets out what FGM is, the four types defined by the World Health Organization (WHO), including infibulation, the latest global figures, the health effects, the legal position internationally and in India, and where survivors and people at risk can get help. All figures come from WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA and the United Nations.

What is female genital mutilation?

WHO defines FGM as “all procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons”. It is also called female genital cutting (FGC) or female circumcision. In India’s Dawoodi Bohra community it is known as khatna or khafz.

According to WHO, FGM is mostly carried out on young girls between infancy and age 15. It is usually done by traditional practitioners, but a growing share is done by health workers. FGM is recognised internationally as a violation of the human rights of girls and women, and WHO opposes its medicalisation, meaning its performance by health workers.

What are the four types of FGM?

WHO groups FGM into four main types. The descriptions below follow WHO’s clinical classification.

Type	Common name	What it involves (WHO classification)
Type 1	Clitoridectomy	Partial or total removal of the clitoral glans and/or the prepuce (the fold of skin around it)
Type 2	Excision	Partial or total removal of the clitoral glans and the labia minora, with or without removal of the labia majora
Type 3	Infibulation	Narrowing of the vaginal opening by cutting and repositioning the labia to create a covering seal, with or without removal of the clitoral glans
Type 4	Other	All other harmful procedures to the genitalia for non-medical purposes, such as pricking, piercing, incising, scraping and cauterising

What is infibulation (Type 3)?

Infibulation is the form of FGM sometimes described in the media as “sewing”. The vaginal opening is narrowed by cutting and joining the labia, leaving only a small opening. It is the most severe type and is linked with the highest risk of complications during urination, menstruation, sexual intercourse and childbirth.

Women who have undergone infibulation may later need deinfibulation, a medical procedure that reopens the vaginal opening. The WHO guideline on the prevention of FGM and clinical management of complications, published in April 2025, includes recommendations on when and how deinfibulation should be offered.

How many girls and women are affected?

In March 2024, UNICEF reported that more than 230 million girls and women alive today have undergone FGM. That is a 15 per cent increase, or about 30 million more people, compared with the estimate released eight years earlier. The rise reflects population growth in countries where FGM is practised and better data, not only new cases.

Region	Estimated survivors (UNICEF, 2024)
Africa	Over 144 million
Asia	Over 80 million
Middle East	Over 6 million
Other regions, including diaspora communities	1 to 2 million

Other key figures from UN agencies:

• More than 4 million girls are at risk of FGM every year, according to WHO. UNFPA estimates about 4.5 million girls are at risk in 2026.
• About 1 in 4 survivors, or 52 million girls and women, were cut by health workers, according to UNFPA.
• More girls are now cut at younger ages, many before their fifth birthday, UNICEF says.
• Around 4 in 10 survivors live in fragile and conflict-affected settings.
• About two-thirds of people in practising countries in Africa and the Middle East, around 400 million people, oppose the practice.
• Treating the health complications of FGM costs health systems an estimated US$1.4 billion a year.

Why is FGM practised?

WHO notes that the reasons vary between regions and communities. They include social pressure to conform, preparation for adulthood and marriage, control of female sexuality, and the belief that it has religious support. WHO notes that no religious scripts prescribe the practice, although many practitioners believe it has religious support. Religious leaders take differing positions, and some actively work to end it.

What are the health effects of FGM?

FGM has no health benefits. The harm depends on the type, the conditions in which it is done and the health of the girl. WHO lists the following risks.

Immediate risks

• Severe pain and heavy bleeding
• Swelling of genital tissue and fever
• Infections, including tetanus
• Problems passing urine and wound healing problems
• Shock, and in some cases death

Long-term risks

• Repeated urinary and vaginal infections
• Painful menstruation and problems with menstrual flow
• Scar tissue and keloids
• Pain during sex and reduced sexual satisfaction
• Complications in childbirth, including the need for caesarean section and risks to the newborn
• Psychological effects such as depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder

Where is FGM practised?

National survey data on FGM exist for about 30 countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, and UNICEF publishes country profiles for many of them. UNFPA reports that FGM has been documented in 94 countries on all continents.

There is progress. UNFPA says data from about one-third of practising countries show a decline over three decades, from 1 in 2 girls being cut to 1 in 3. UNICEF adds that half of the progress of the last 30 years happened in the last decade. But UNICEF says the global decline would need to be 27 times faster to end FGM by 2030.

FGM in India: the Dawoodi Bohra context

In India, the practice is reported mainly within the Dawoodi Bohra community, a Shia Muslim sect with members largely in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. India has no national survey data on FGM. In December 2017, the Ministry of Women and Child Development told the Supreme Court that there was no official data or study supporting the existence of FGM in India. Survivors and campaign groups such as WeSpeakOut and Sahiyo have publicly disputed this and have called for a ban.

The Supreme Court case

The main case is Sunita Tiwari v. Union of India (Writ Petition (Civil) 286 of 2017), a public interest petition filed by advocate Sunita Tiwari seeking a ban on the practice.

• Petitioner’s position: the practice violates girls’ rights to equality, privacy, dignity and bodily integrity under Articles 14, 15 and 21, and is already an offence under general criminal law and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012.
• Union government’s position: in 2018, the Attorney General told the Court the government supported the petition and that the practice should be stopped.
• Community position: representatives of the Dawoodi Bohra community argued that khafz is an essential religious practice protected under Articles 25 and 26, and disputed that it amounts to FGM.

During a hearing in July 2018, the bench observed that a woman’s bodily integrity cannot be infringed without her consent. On 24 September 2018, the Court referred the case to a larger Constitution Bench to decide whether the practice is an essential religious practice.

The question was later grouped with other religious freedom issues in the Sabarimala reference. A nine-judge Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant began hearing these questions on 7 April 2026 and reserved its verdict in May 2026. As of 1 October 2026, the judgment had not been delivered.

What does the law say?

International framework

• UN General Assembly resolution 67/146 (2012): called on all countries to end FGM and designated 6 February as the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation.
• Sustainable Development Goal target 5.3: eliminate all harmful practices, including FGM, by 2030.
• World Health Assembly resolution WHA61.16 (2008): urged action across health, education, finance, justice and women’s affairs to end FGM.
• UNFPA and UNICEF Joint Programme: running since 2008, it is the largest global programme to end FGM and works directly in 18 countries.

National laws

Many countries have specific laws against FGM. In the UK, for example, the NHS notes that performing FGM carries up to 14 years in prison, and failing to protect a girl from it carries up to 7 years.

India has no law that names FGM specifically. Petitioners argue it is covered by general provisions on causing hurt, now in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (which replaced the Indian Penal Code from 1 July 2024), and by the POCSO Act when performed on a child. The Supreme Court’s pending decision is expected to clarify the constitutional question.

What is the International Day of Zero Tolerance for FGM?

The International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation is observed every year on 6 February. The 2026 theme was “Towards 2030: No end to female genital mutilation without sustained commitment and investment”. The UN estimates that without faster action, a further 22.7 million girls could be at risk by 2030, and that every US$1 invested in ending FGM brings a return of US$10.

Where can survivors and people at risk get help?

This article is for information only and is not medical or legal advice. If you or someone you know is affected by FGM, please contact a health professional or one of the support services listed above.