Sudan Criminalises Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)

Sudan’s new government has criminalised female genital mutilation (FGM) on 22 April 2020, making it punishable by three years in jail.

The Sudanese government approved an amendment to its criminal legislation, stating that anyone who performs FGM either inside a medical establishment or elsewhere faces three years of imprisonment and a fine.

In 1946, Sudan was the first country in Africa to criminalise Type III FGM (Infibulation). However, the article was subsequently removed from the Penal Code following the introduction of Sharia law in 1983. The amendment to the Criminal Act (1991) to criminalise FGM under a new Article 141 has been pending since September 2016.

Women’s rights groups in Sudan have applauded the move and said it would help to end FGM, but also believe it would be difficult as many communities in the country view the traditional practice as necessary for their daughters to get married.

According to the United Nations, nearly nine out of 10 girls and women in Sudan have undergone FGM. The procedure usually involves the partial or total removal of the female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. FGM leads to health and sexual problems that can be fatal.

FGM is a social convention often considered a necessary part of raising a girl, and a way to prepare her for adulthood and marriage. It is a widespread practice in Africa, as well as in Asia and the Middle East. According to WHO, more than 200 million girls and women alive today have been cut in 30 countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

According to WHO, Sudan has one of the highest rates of FGM in the world, with most girls between 5 – 9 years of age undergoing the practice. Eighty-seven percent of women aged 15 – 49 years have been cut, and the majority have undergone the severest form, which is infibulation (Type III), where the genitals are stitched up after cutting, leaving only a small opening for urine to pass. However, there are indictions that the practice has decreased in recent years.

In addition to Sudan, it is most prevalent in Egypt, Ethiopia, Somalia, Mali, Guinea, Kenya, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Djibouti and Senegal.