It’s a brutal reality. Right now, as you read this, girls are being forced through a procedure that has zero medical benefit and a lifetime of psychological and physical debt. When people ask about female genital mutilation why it's still a thing in 2026, they usually expect a simple answer. They want to hear it’s just "ancient tradition" or "religious requirement."
But it’s never that simple.
Actually, the reasons are a messy, tangled web of social pressure, deep-seated myths about hygiene, and a terrifyingly effective system of community policing. It is a human rights violation. That much is clear. UNICEF data suggests over 230 million girls and women alive today have undergone some form of FGM. That's a staggering number. It’s not just "over there" in distant rural villages, either. It’s happening in London, New York, and Melbourne.
The Social Trap: Why Families Say Yes
If you want to understand female genital mutilation why families continue the practice, you have to look at the "marriageability" factor. In many communities, a girl who hasn't been cut is seen as "unclean" or "promiscuous." It’s a social gatekeeper. If a mother knows her daughter will be shunned, outcasted, or unable to marry if she doesn't undergo the procedure, she might view the cutting as an act of love. Or at least, an act of survival.
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Think about that for a second.
A parent chooses to inflict trauma to prevent a different kind of trauma—social death. In places like parts of Somalia or Guinea, where prevalence rates have historically hovered near 90% or higher, being the "only one" who hasn't been cut is a massive social risk. Dr. Nafissatou Diop, a long-time expert in this field, has often pointed out that FGM is a "social convention." It’s a self-enforcing rule. If everyone else does it, you do it to fit in.
There's also this persistent, flat-out wrong idea that FGM is required by religion. It isn't. No major religious text—not the Quran, not the Bible—mandates the cutting of female genitals. Yet, local leaders often bake it into their teachings. They wrap a cultural practice in a religious shroud to make it harder to question. When a community leader tells you it’s God’s will, who are you to say no?
The Physical Reality and the Types of FGM
We need to be specific because "FGM" is a broad term that covers a lot of different, horrific things. The World Health Organization (WHO) breaks it down into four types.
Type 1, often called clitoridectomy, involves the partial or total removal of the clitoris. Type 2 goes further, removing the labia minora. Then there’s Type 3—infibulation. This is the most severe. The vaginal opening is narrowed by creating a covering seal. They cut and reposition the labia. It’s as painful as it sounds. Type 4 is the "catch-all" for everything else: pricking, piercing, incising, or scraping the genital area.
None of this is done in a sterile operating room with high-end anesthesia most of the time. While "medicalization"—where doctors or nurses perform the cut—is on the rise in countries like Egypt and Sudan, it’s still often done by traditional practitioners using razor blades, glass, or even sharpened stones.
The immediate risks? Hemorrhage. Sepsis. Intense pain. Shock. Death.
Long-term, it’s a list of miseries. Chronic infections. Cysts. Infertility. Complications during childbirth that can kill both the mother and the baby. And the psychological scars? Those don't just go away. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depression are common. Sexual intimacy becomes a source of pain rather than pleasure.
Why the Medicalization Trend is Dangerous
Some people argue that if we can’t stop it, we should at least make it "safer" by having doctors do it. This is a trap. When healthcare professionals perform FGM, it gives the practice a veneer of legitimacy. It suggests there’s a "right" way to do it.
There isn't.
Medicalized FGM is still FGM. It’s still a violation of bodily autonomy. It still reinforces the idea that a woman’s body needs to be "corrected" or "controlled." Organizations like Tostan, based in Senegal, have found more success by working with entire communities to collectively renounce the practice rather than just trying to make it "cleaner."
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The Economic Undercurrents
Money talks. In many villages, the "circumcisers" are elder women who hold a high social status. They also get paid for their services. For them, ending FGM means losing their income and their influence. You can't just tell them to stop; you have to find them a new way to survive.
Then there’s the dowry system. In cultures where a "cut" girl commands a higher dowry, FGM becomes an economic transaction. It’s a way for a struggling family to ensure their daughter brings in resources. It’s cold. It’s calculating. And it’s incredibly effective at keeping the cycle going.
Breaking the Cycle: What’s Actually Working?
Changing a law isn't enough. Many countries have banned FGM, but the practice just moves underground. It happens at night. It happens across borders.
Real change happens through "collective abandonment." This is where a whole village stands up and says, "We aren't doing this anymore." If everyone stops at once, the social pressure vanishes. No one is the "outcast" because the whole community shifted the goalposts.
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We're seeing this work. In Kenya, some communities have replaced the "cut" with "Alternative Rites of Passage." They still have the celebrations, the mentoring, and the transition to womanhood, but without the physical violence. It keeps the culture alive while ditching the harm.
Education is the other big one. When girls stay in school, they are less likely to be cut. When they learn about their own bodies and their rights, they become the generation that says "no" for their own daughters.
What You Can Do Right Now
It’s easy to feel helpless about something so massive and systemic. But awareness isn't just a buzzword here; it's a tool.
- Support Grassroots Organizations: Don’t just look at the giant NGOs. Look at groups like Orchid Project or Safe Hands for Mothers. They work directly with local leaders to change minds from the inside out.
- Challenge the Myths: If you hear someone say FGM is a religious requirement, politely correct them. It’s a cultural practice, not a spiritual one.
- Educate Yourself on Local Laws: If you live in a country where FGM is a risk for immigrant communities, know the signs. Many teachers and healthcare workers are now trained to spot "vacation cutting," where girls are sent "back home" for the summer only to return traumatized.
- Amplify Survivor Voices: Listen to people like Jaha Dukureh or Leyla Hussein. They aren't just victims; they are activists who know exactly what needs to change because they’ve lived it.
The question of female genital mutilation why doesn't have a single answer, but it does have a single solution: the empowerment of women and the protection of girls' bodily integrity. It’s about shifting the power balance so that a girl’s value isn't tied to a razor blade. It’s a long road, but the decline in prevalence in several African and Middle Eastern countries shows that the needle is moving. Finally.