Cause for celebration: female genital mutilation is on the decline

This is the result of a new study published in the journal "PLOS Medicine". We are delighted with this news - it is a sign that we are getting closer to our goal, even if there is still a lot to do.

The scientists analyzed data and studies from 30 countries from 2009 to 2022. According to the study, female genital mutilation has decreased in 26 out of 30 affected countries in recent years. The countries studied were in Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

In total, data from 400,000 women and 300,000 girls were analyzed. In the study group, 37% of women between the ages of 15 and 49 and 8% of girls between the ages of 0 and 14 had undergone genital mutilation. In Ethiopia and the Central African Republic, for example, the figures have fallen in recent years, while they have risen in Burkina-Faso, Somalia and Cameroon in particular. According to the study, 99.2 percent of Somali women were affected by female genital mutilation in 2020, making Somalia the worst affected country in the world. Variants I and II are most common among women, and variants I, II and IV among girls. In Sudan, more than three quarters of women suffer from the worst form, type III. In the Central African Republic, 50% of girls are affected by type III (more about the different types of genital mutilation).

The study confirms that female genital mutilation occurs especially in early childhood, mostly performed by traditional female mutilators. In Egypt, however, the mutilation is mainly carried out professionally by medical professionals - despite the official ban.


Particularly intensive work is also needed in Egypt, Sudan, Indonesia, Guinea and Mali in order to reduce the numbers. To this end, the authors of the study recommend policy measures that focus on the community level. A strategy that we are pursuing with TARGET e. V. Ruediger Nehberg in Guinea-Bissau: Our education teams are active with events in the villages and communities of the West African country.

However, the authors of the study also acknowledge the limitations of the results: The results of the study provide precise findings for the countries that were examined. For global figures, however, it will suffer from an "underestimation" due to incomplete data. The data on the group of girls (0 to 14 years) is probably also underestimated, as these girls were still exposed to the risk of genital mutilation during the study. A two-year-old girl, for example, may not have been mutilated at the time of the study, but this may have changed by the time she is 2.5 years old.

However, the study results are motivating news to continue working towards our goal: To end female genital mutilation worldwide! And the authors' outlook shows that there is still much to do: "Ending female genital mutilation in the next generation of girls may be possible in the near future in countries with low mutilation rates, e.g. Niger, Uganda and Ghana. In other countries, however, the reduction in the mutilation rate must be greater in order to come close to ending the practice. This applies to Egypt, Sudan, Indonesia, Somalia, Djibouti, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau and Mali.

Further information:

Further information on the topic of genital mutilation

Our projects to end female genital mutilation:

The Golden Book

Awareness campaign in Guinea-Bissau

Become part of the movement with TARGET e. V.

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Read the study available to us here