FORUM: "Stepping up the pace: Strengthening alliances and building movements to end female genital mutilation.'' International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation 2025. Data from about a third of the countries where the practice is still common have indicated a decline over the last three decades, with one out of three girls undergoing the practice compared to one out of two girls previously. While steps in the right direction have been taken, in 2025 alone, nearly 4.4 million girls are projected to be at risk. Positive results would need to be stepped up drastically to meet the target of ending the practice by 2030. On this important day, February 6, we urge people from every corner of the globe to unite in amplifying the message of “Stepping up the Pace.” Share your efforts and stories by tagging #Unite2EndFGM from across social media platforms and affirming the commitments. It is only through concerted efforts that we can make lasting change so that no girl has to live with fear or endure the harmful consequences of FGM. So, let’s #Unite2EndFGM. Every voice counts!
Key messages
● Female genital mutilation violates the fundamental rights of girls, including the right to health, life, physical and mental integrity and freedom from torture.
● By strengthening alliances among grassroots activists, communities, governments, organizations and the private sector, we can build a powerful social movement that ends harmful norms, which promote the continuation of the practice.
● Every public declaration, every conversation, and every investment brings us closer to a world free from female genital mutilation, ensuring a safer and brighter future for girls.
Call to action
● Increase investment to ensure no girl is at risk of female genital mutilation: Governments, donors, and the private sector must step up financial investments to scale up of effective interventions.
● Strengthen social movements to eliminate female genital mutilation through partnerships: Expand social movements led by girls, women, survivors, youth, boys and men through strategic coalitions that amplify action to eliminate female genital mutilation.
● Centre the voices and stories of survivors: Place survivors at the heart of advocacy, policymaking, and implementation efforts. Their voices are essential to driving change.
● Advocate for accountability: Ensure countries uphold their commitment to international, regional and national human rights through regular reporting of progress in implementation of policies, strategies and interventions that protect girls at risk and provide necessary care including justice for survivors.
● Engage everyone: Ending female genital mutilation requires the collective efforts of girls, women, survivors, men, boys, youth, traditional and religious leaders, communities, governments, private sector and donors as key allies.
Key data
● An estimated 27 million additional girls are at risk of undergoing female genital mutilation by 2030 unless action is accelerated.
● Over 230 million girls and women alive today have been subjected to female genital mutilation and need access to appropriate care services
● Every year, over 2 million girls are subjected to female genital mutilation before their fifth birthday
● Partnerships and alliances are vital to building social movements to end this harmful practice.
● Collective interventions are essential to prevent female genital mutilation and provide needed care for survivors.
● Since the inception of the UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme on the Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation in 2008, over 7 million girls and women have accessed prevention and protection services, more than 50 million people have made public declarations to abandon the practice, and over 250 million individuals were reached by mass media messaging on the issue. In the last two years, more than 2 million women and girls have initiated conversations on eliminating female genital mutilation, and more than 20,000 grassroots organizations and 112,000 community and frontline workers have worked to drive change.
● Female genital mutilation violates the fundamental rights of girls, including the right to health, life, physical and mental integrity and freedom from torture.
● By strengthening alliances among grassroots activists, communities, governments, organizations and the private sector, we can build a powerful social movement that ends harmful norms, which promote the continuation of the practice.
● Every public declaration, every conversation, and every investment brings us closer to a world free from female genital mutilation, ensuring a safer and brighter future for girls.
Call to action
● Increase investment to ensure no girl is at risk of female genital mutilation: Governments, donors, and the private sector must step up financial investments to scale up of effective interventions.
● Strengthen social movements to eliminate female genital mutilation through partnerships: Expand social movements led by girls, women, survivors, youth, boys and men through strategic coalitions that amplify action to eliminate female genital mutilation.
● Centre the voices and stories of survivors: Place survivors at the heart of advocacy, policymaking, and implementation efforts. Their voices are essential to driving change.
● Advocate for accountability: Ensure countries uphold their commitment to international, regional and national human rights through regular reporting of progress in implementation of policies, strategies and interventions that protect girls at risk and provide necessary care including justice for survivors.
● Engage everyone: Ending female genital mutilation requires the collective efforts of girls, women, survivors, men, boys, youth, traditional and religious leaders, communities, governments, private sector and donors as key allies.
Key data
● An estimated 27 million additional girls are at risk of undergoing female genital mutilation by 2030 unless action is accelerated.
● Over 230 million girls and women alive today have been subjected to female genital mutilation and need access to appropriate care services
● Every year, over 2 million girls are subjected to female genital mutilation before their fifth birthday
● Partnerships and alliances are vital to building social movements to end this harmful practice.
● Collective interventions are essential to prevent female genital mutilation and provide needed care for survivors.
● Since the inception of the UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme on the Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation in 2008, over 7 million girls and women have accessed prevention and protection services, more than 50 million people have made public declarations to abandon the practice, and over 250 million individuals were reached by mass media messaging on the issue. In the last two years, more than 2 million women and girls have initiated conversations on eliminating female genital mutilation, and more than 20,000 grassroots organizations and 112,000 community and frontline workers have worked to drive change.
EVENTS: On February 6th at 14:00 CET, the WHO will participate in a global advocacy webinar for International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation 2025 entitled "Stepping Up the Pace: Strengthening Alliances and Building Movements to End FGM'' The advocacy event hosted by the UNFPA – UNICEF Joint Programme on the Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation. The observance of the day provides an opportunity to highlight progress and raise awareness to end this harmful practice. From community leaders to health workers and family members, everyone has a role to play. This year, with the theme Step up the Pace, there is a focus on strengthening alliances and building movements to end FGM. With only 5 years to the Sustainable Development Goals 2030, our efforts must be faster and bolder. We must step up the pace 27 times to achieve SDG 5.3 on ending FGM. Keeping this urgency in mind. Register to participate!
Female genital mutilation is a horrific act of gender-based violence.
More than 230 million girls and women alive today are survivors of this abhorrent practice.
As one of the most brutal manifestations of gender inequality, female genital mutilation inflicts profound, lifelong physical and mental harm, carries life-threatening health risks, and violates the rights of women and girls to bodily autonomy, safety, and dignity.
Eradicating this vicious human rights violation is urgent, and it is possible.
As this year’s theme reminds us, we are making progress, but we must pick up the pace. We must strengthen global movements to break down harmful attitudes, beliefs and gender stereotypes. And we need to bolster strong partnerships between governments, grassroots organizations and survivors to supercharge efforts and eliminate this scourge by 2030.
The Pact for the Future, agreed at the United Nations last September, includes a commitment by Member States to eliminate female genital mutilation by tackling negative social norms and gender discrimination.
Let’s join forces to make female genital mutilation history and ensure a brighter, healthier, and more just future for all women and girls everywhere.
United Nations Secretary-General Mr. António Guterres.
“Female genital mutilation is a violation of human rights that inflicts deep and lifelong physical, emotional, and psychological scars on girls and women. This harmful practice affects more than 230 million girls and women today. An estimated 27 million more girls could endure this violation of their rights and dignity by 2030 if we do not take action now.
“Today, on the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation, and in response to the theme "Stepping up the pace: Strengthening alliances and building movements to end female genital mutilation", UNFPA, UNICEF and WHO reaffirm our commitment to work together with countries and communities to end this harmful practice — once and for all.
“There is hope. Many countries have seen a decline in the prevalence of female genital mutilation. We are witnessing progress in countries like Kenya and Uganda, where collaborative action and community-led initiatives are proving that by strengthening alliances and building movements, we can accelerate change.
“Since the launch of the UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme on the Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation in 2008, and in collaboration with WHO, close to 7 million girls and women have access to prevention and protection services. Additionally, 48 million people have made public declarations to abandon the practice, and 220 million individuals were reached by mass media messaging on the issue. In the last two years, close to 12,000 grassroots organizations and 112,000 community and frontline workers galvanized to effect change at this critical juncture.
“Yet the fragility of progress made has also become starkly evident. In the Gambia, for example, attempts to repeal the ban on female genital mutilation persist, even after an initial proposal to do so was rejected by its parliament last year. Such efforts could gravely undermine the rights, health, and dignity of future generations of girls and women, jeopardizing the tireless work over decades to change attitudes and mobilize communities.
“Of the 31 countries in which data on prevalence are collected nationally, only seven countries are on track to meet the Sustainable Development Goal of ending female genital mutilation by or before 2030. The current rate of progress must accelerate urgently to meet this target.
“This requires strengthened alliances among leaders, grassroots organizations, and across sectors spanning health, education, and social protection — as well as sustained advocacy and expanded social movements with girls and survivors at the centre.
“It demands greater accountability at all levels to ensure commitments to human rights are upheld and policies and strategies are implemented to protect girls at risk and provide care, including justice, for survivors. It also requires increased investment in scaling up proven interventions. We are indebted to generous donors and partners who are supporting this life-changing work and call on others to join them.
“We all have a role to play to ensure that every girl is protected and can live free from harm. Let’s step up the pace and act with urgency. The time to end female genital mutilation is now.”
