As today is the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), it is vital to raise awareness about the dangerous practice in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq // Thread:

Throughout most of Iraq, FGM is not a common practice. However, in rural towns and villages of the Kurdistan Region, it is highly prevalent due to tradition and religious misconceptions.

Often, girls have the procedure performed on them when they are only 4 or 5 years old. Anesthetics are rarely used during the painful procedure, and, instead, ash is merely applied to the wound, leaving the girls with traumatizing pain.

FGM already poses many physical health risks, including extreme pain, uncontrolled bleeding, and even deadly infection, but it also poses psychological risks. As girls are left traumatized, it is not rare for them to feel vulnerable and face depression later on.

Fortunately, the practice has decreased thanks to the past two decades of modernization and advocacy by activists such as Kurdistan Rasul, who designates FGM as a form of violence against women.

In 2016, "only" 10.7% of girls surveyed in Iraqi Kurdistan were subject to the procedure, exceedingly down from the previous generation’s numbers. Nevertheless, further action to end this practice must be taken immediately.

The practice of FGM has been outlawed in the KRG since 2007, but it is largely under enforced. Human Rights Watch found that it is arguably not enforced at all, as many police precincts are completely unaware of the decree against it.

Additionally, since it’s typically family members subjecting them to the procedures at a young age, daughters are highly unlikely to file a report, furthering the difficulty of tracking its prevalence and criminalizing perpetrators.

Both the Kurdistan Regional Government and the Central Iraqi Government have the duty to invest in education overall, and awareness on FGM and women’s rights must be included in curriculums. People cannot remain ignorant, as the society will not change without changed mindsets.

Suggested readings and sources:

Female Genital Mutilation in Iraqi Kurdistan | HRW: https://www.hrw.org/report/2010/06/16/they-took-me-and-told-me-nothing/female-genital-mutilation-iraqi-kurdistan

Women Strive to End Genital Mutilation in Kurdish Iraq: https://www.voanews.com/middle-east/women-strive-end-genital-mutilation-kurdish-iraq?amp

Iraqi Kurdish activists stamping out female genital mutilation: https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/mena/iraqi-kurdish-activists-stamping-out-female-genital-mutilation-1.724981