Costa Rica urges India to tackle female genital mutilation

Mumbai: For the first time since India’s human rights records were evaluated at the Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Working Group, in Geneva, a United Nations member state has acknowledged and urged India to devise a national plan to address the issue of female genital mutilation (FGM)

Mumbai: For the first time since India’s human rights records were evaluated at the Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Working Group, in Geneva, a United Nations member state has acknowledged and urged India to devise a national plan to address the issue of female genital mutilation (FGM).

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The recommendation made by the diplomatic mission of Costa Rica seeks for India to legally adopt the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) definition of FGM, which includes “all procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.”

The recommendation also specifically urged the government for criminalisation of FGM in India and a national plan for its eradication.

This is a landmark event for activists working to end the harmful practice of FGM in India. The recommendation came on November 10, 2022, during the 41st session of the UPR. In the course of the session from November 7 to 18, 14 member states, including India are having their human rights records examined.

The holding of this session marked the commencement of the fourth cycle of the UPR, during which all 193 UN member states will undergo a review of their human rights record.

The recommendation brought the issue to international attention and urged the Indian government to acknowledge that FGM is practiced within its borders and proactively work towards eradicating it.

“WeSpeakOut participated in the UPR consultative pre-sessions and apprised other member nations about the prevalence of FGM in India. A silent and secret practice came to light when survivors like me decided to publicly share our childhood trauma. There is no place for FGM/Khafz in the 21st century. The Indian government can and should support action to end this practice by first recognising its prevalence and then developing a national-level plan to tackle it. WeSpeakOut is committed to working within the community to educate and build awareness against the harms caused by this practice.” said Masooma Ranalvi, founder, WeSpeakOut.