By Jacky Habib February 5, Over million girls and women around the world have undergone female genital cutting , according to the World Health Organization. Female genital cutting FGC , which is also sometimes referred to as female genital mutilation FGM , involves all procedures of partial or total removal of the female external genitalia. There are four types, ranging from clitoridectomy, a partial removal of the clitoris to infibulation: cutting both the labia minora and labia majora and sewing a girl closed while leaving a small opening for urine and menstrual blood.

Although primarily concentrated in 30 countries in Africa and the Middle East, it is also practised in some countries in Asia and Latin America. But what Bishara did not know was that it would leave her with irregular periods, bladder problems, and recurrent infections. She was only able to give birth via Caesarean section. Female genital mutilation, or FGM for short, is the deliberate cutting or removal of a female's external genitalia.

Irene Guasiruma is a member of the Embera indigenous group, the second largest in Colombia. A midwife and a storyteller, she lives in the Wasiruma indigenous community in Valle del Cauca province, in the west of the country. Sitting on her porch overlooking the green hilly countryside where a few dozen Embera families grow bananas and coffee, she sings a song about love and betrayal. While it is a common theme in music, the Emberas' views on sex and fidelity have had deep consequences for Irene and other Embera women.

The perception that females must be circumcised like males, as well as religious belief, social pressure, and encouragement from health workers are behind the rampant practice of female genital mutilation FGM in Indonesia, a new research reveals. Conducted by Hivos Southeast Asia, an organization that focuses on global development, and the Center for Gender and Sexuality Study at the University of Indonesia, the research found that among mothers who have had FGM procedure done to their daughters, About the same percentage of the respondents also said that they believe the practice has a strong religious justification, and that they did it because it is considered a cultural tradition practiced by most of the people they know.