The United Nations International Children’s Fund said in a report that no fewer than 200 million girls and women worldwide had undergone female genital mutilation.
The report said that half of mutilation victims lived in three countries.
Geeta-Rao Gupta, the UNICEF Deputy Executive Director, Geeta-Rao Gupta, said during the release of the report on Friday in New York that the document was the most complete ever, reflecting data from 90 national surveys.
Gupta said the report showed that 70 million more women and girls were affected by the practice than in 2014.
Gupta said the report noted that half of those affected by the practice lived in Egypt, Ethiopia and Indonesia.
She said: “No fewer than 44 million of those who have undergone female genital mutilation are currently under 14 years of age.
“In every case, the practice violates the rights of girls and women.”
The director said determining the magnitude of female genital mutilation was essential to eliminating the practice.
dpa/NAN.
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