Eliminating Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting in Iraqi Kurdistan: a challenge

摘要

Even though Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C), Khatana in Kurdish, was made illegal and banned by the local Kurdish government in 2011, the prevalence of the harmful practice in Iraqi Kurdistan exceeds the national average. According to the latest survey by the High Council of Women's Affairs in the Iraqi Kurdistan Government with support from the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and Hartland Alliance, 33.7% of the 6000 Kurdish girls and women from 4 to 14 years old reported experiencing FGM/C (Rudaw 2016). These figures and findings, however, only touch the surface. Another survey also found that influential families, traditional birth attendants, and religious leaders are the major supporters of this practice in the Kurdish community (UNICEF 2014). At the same time, 87% of the women interviewed wanted to end the practice.