U N I T E D N AT I O N S

N AT I O N S U N I E S

THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
-MESSAGE ON THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF ZERO TOLERANCE FOR
FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION
6 February 2016
Never before has it been more urgent or more possible to end the practice of
female genital mutilation, preventing immeasurable human suffering and boosting the
power of women and girls to have a positive impact on our world.
The urgency can be seen in the numbers. New estimates reveal that in 2016 at
least 200 million girls and women alive now have undergone some form of FGM. The
numbers keep growing both because more countries are paying attention to FGM and
collecting data which represents good progress and because progress in ending the
practice is not keeping pace with population growth which is not at all good. If current
trends continue, more girls will be cut every year by 2030 than today owing to high
fertility rates and youthful populations found in most communities where FGM is
prevalent. And since the practice increases risks in childbirth, it causes harm to todays
girls as well as the next generation.
The potential for faster progress for success in eliminating FGM is also clear.
This International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation is the first since
the visionary 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was adopted by all countries
with a pledge to leave no one behind. The Sustainable Development Goals contain a
specific target calling for an end to FGM. When this practice is fully abandoned, positive
effects will reverberate across societies as girls and women reclaim their health, human
rights and vast potential.
Today I raise my voice and call on others to join me in empowering communities
which themselves are eager for change. I count on governments to honour their pledges
with support from civil society, health providers, the media and young people. My Every
Woman Every Child movement offers a partnership platform for action.
I am encouraged by the rising chorus of young voices demanding an end to the
practice and I echo their principled insistence on upholding and defending human rights
for all. I am inspired by the brave Maasai warriors and cricket stars, such as Sonyanga
Ole Ngais, who use their position and influence to demand protection for their sisters. I
am heartened by the work of health providers, such as Edna Adnan, founder of the
Maternity Hospital in Somaliland that bears her name, who insists that every single health
worker under her be well-prepared to tackle FGM. And I am grateful for the engagement
of The Guardian, which is expanding its work on ending FGM to Nigeria, and to so many
other media outlets and reporters shining a spotlight this issue.

We can end FGM within a generation, bringing us closer to a world where the
human rights of all every woman, child and adolescent are fully respected, their health is
protected, and they can contribute more to our common future.