Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting is a form of violence against women and girls, rooted in patriarchal structures that aim to control female sexuality, and requires effective legal responses to eradicate this harmful practice.
Author
Varsha Mohan, Assistant Professor, Jindal Global Law School, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, Haryana, India
Summary
International human rights law recognizes Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) as a form of violence against women and girls and focuses on the urgency to eradicate this harmful cultural and religious practice through enactment of laws, supplemented by psychological and health support services. FGM/C operates within private-intimate spaces in the family and community. It is committed to control female sexuality and suppress female sexual desire.
The violence of FGM/C is examined in this chapter as emanating and operating within patriarchal social structures and not simply as violence practiced and confined within the narrow walls of a specific culture or religion. The chapter presents an overview of the current global legal responses to address and eradicate FGM/C. In doing so, the chapter explores intimate spaces occupied by minor girls and their families, the tussle between individual, family, community, religion, culture and law and the challenges faced by States in navigating the complexity of rights regimes and criminal regimes to determine legal interventions that are likely to be effective, with the objective of assessing best practices emerging from several jurisdictions that have legislated on the subject.
Published in: Sustainable Development Goals Series
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