Female genital mutilation: A harmful and unnecessary rite of passage

Former Somalian supermodel Waris Dirie, who experienced FGM herself, sharing a light moment with the late United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan, who had appointed her as a UN Special Ambassador for the elimination of FGM. — Desert Foundation

Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a procedure in which the female genitalia are deliberately cut, injured or altered without any medical reason.

It is also termed female circumcision and female genital cutting, among other local terms.