Skip to main content
Work with the NEU
Some 230 million women are circumcised globally, say the UN
The UNICEF logo is seen at the German UNICEF headquarters in Cologne, Germany, on February 5, 2008

OVER 230 million women and girls have undergone female genital mutilation, most of them living in Africa, according to a report  published today by the United Nations children’s agency.

In the last eight years, some 30 million people have been subjected to the procedure, in which external genitalia are partially or fully removed, Unicef estimates in the report released on International Women’s Day.

The percentage of women and girls who suffer female genital mutilation is falling, Unicef said, but it warned that efforts to eradicate the practice are moving too slowly to keep up with fast-growing populations.

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
Similar stories
Miguel Bruna
International Women’s Day 2026 / 7 March 2026
7 March 2026

Women’s fight against violence and legal erosion is central to building a democratic and just Iraq, says Dr SALMA SAADAWI

Women displaced from El-Fasher stand in line to receive food aid at the newly established El-Afadh camp in Al Dabbah, in Sudan's Northern State, November 16, 2025
International Women’s Day 2026 / 7 March 2026
7 March 2026

MAISSON HASSAN highlights how amid bombed-out cities and collapsing hospitals, women-led initiatives are keeping communities alive

Surrounded by members of the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF), Willy Ngoma, spokesman of the M23 (centre) arrives for a ceremony to mark the withdrawal from their positions in the town of Kibumba, in the eastern of Democratic Republic of Congo, December 23, 2022
International Women’s Day 2026 / 7 March 2026
7 March 2026

As the world marks International Women’s Day, African women warn that wars, mineral grabs and militarism are drowning out promises of peace. Human rights defender MARIE-CLAIRE FARAY explains

International Women’s Day 2026
International Women’s Day 2026 / 7 March 2026
7 March 2026

Half a century after transformative laws reshaped Britain, women’s rights are again contested. This International Women’s Day is a call to remember how change was won, and to organise to defend it, says KATE RAMSDEN