The most senior United Nations officials are urging the world to eliminate female genital mutilation (FGM) by 2030, calling it a \u201cviolent practice\u201d that scars girls for life, endangering their health, depriving them of their rights, and denying them the chance to reach their full potential.<\/p>\n
\u201cNever before has it been more urgent \u2013 or more possible \u2013 to end the practice of female genital mutilation, preventing immeasurable human suffering and boosting the power of women and girls to have a positive impact on our world,\u201d said United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in a message ahead of the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation marked annually on 6 February.<\/p>\n
The UN chief stressed that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted unanimously by UN Member States last year, contain a specific target calling for an end to FGM.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday I raise my voice and call on others to join me in empowering communities which themselves are eager for change,\u201d he declared. \u201cI count on governments to honour their pledges with support from civil society, health providers, the media and young people.\u201d<\/p>\n
At least 200 million girls and women alive today have undergone female genital mutilation in 30 countries, according to a new statistical report published by the UN Children\u2019s Fund (UNICEF) (\u2026)
\nRead more in un.org<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The most senior United Nations officials are urging the world to eliminate female genital mutilation (FGM) by 2030, calling it a \u201cviolent practice\u201d that scars girls for life, endangering their health, depriving them of their rights, and denying them the chance to reach their full potential. \u201cNever before has it been more urgent \u2013 or […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2831,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rs_blank_template":"","rs_page_bg_color":"","slide_template_v7":"","tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[156,155,640],"tags":[944,945,946,947,948,949],"class_list":["post-2830","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-international","category-latest-news","category-recent-news","tag-violent-practice","tag-945","tag-elimination","tag-female-genital","tag-officials","tag-senior-un"],"yoast_head":"\n