Over the last century there have been numerous global resolutions, and FGM is now acknowledged internationally as a human rights violation. It has been criminalised in several western nations, including the UK, and in 19 African countries, FGM carries some sort of penalty. In studying them I discovered that FGM was just one part of this cycle, some of whose rituals still continue. Hence, far from being an isolated practice, FGM was part of a collection of sacrificial rituals. As with all these rituals, FGM was most likely originally meant as a collective human sacrifice to the gods to avoid a curse from the ancestors.

Source: The Guardian March 09, 2020 07:52 UTC