Female genital mutilation laws by country

The legal status of female genital mutilation (FGM), also known as female genital cutting (FGC), differs widely across the world.

This article is about laws concerning female genital mutilation. For the legal status of male circumcision, see circumcision and law. For the percentage of the population that have undergone FGM, see prevalence of female genital mutilation.

Overview of issues

Geographic perspective
  Specific criminal provision or national law prohibiting FGM
  General criminal provision that might be used to prosecute FGM
  Partial or subnational FGM criminalisation, or unclear legal status
  FGM not criminalised
  No data
FGM legislation by U.S. state:
  State law criminalises FGM
  State law does not criminalise FGM

In international law, there is a consensus that female genital mutilation is a human rights violation that needs to be criminalised and eradicated by all states. International human rights instruments to that effect include global and regional treaties, conventions, protocols, declarations, resolutions and recommendations such as CEDAW Committee General Recommendation No. 14 (1990),[1]:11 Maputo Protocol Article 5 (2003),[1]:24 the Cairo Declaration on the Elimination of FGM (CDEFGM, 2003),[1]:21 Istanbul Convention Article 38 (2011),[2]:35 Sustainable Development Goal 5.3 (2015),[1]:19 the East African Community Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation Act (EAC Act, 2016)[1]:20–21 and United Nations Human Rights Council Resolution No. 38/61 (2018).[1]:19

Global efforts to end FGM, including criminalisation, have long focused on Africa, where most countries that have traditionally practiced FGM are located and anti-FGM campaigns have been quite successful in the 1990s through 2010s,[3] but have long under-appreciated traditionally FGM-practicing countries in Asia and immigrant communities in countries with no FGM tradition.[3][4][5] A March 2020 report by End FGM European Network, U.S. End FGM/C Network and Equality Now found that FGM was practiced in at least 92 countries across all continents,[3] while 51 of them had a law that specifically criminalised FGM.[1]:11

FGM was illegal in 22 of the 28 most FGM-prevalent countries in Africa in September 2018.[6] Sudan criminalised FGM in April 2020.[7]

Some Western countries, where FGM has not been traditionally practiced but where immigrants from traditionally FGM-practicing countries have moved to in the 20th and 21st century, have also criminalised FGM (12 countries as of November 2008).[8] By 2013, FGM had been criminalised in all 27 member states of the European Union (including the United Kingdom) and Croatia.[2]:45

In the United States, FGM was criminalised federally in 1996 and in 17/50 states during 1994–2006.[8] However, the federal law criminalising FGM was declared unconstitutional by a Michigan court in November 2018, mostly because the judge found that the federal government did not have the authority to legislate on the issue, and that the U.S. states should.[9] At the time of the ruling, 27 states had specifically criminalised FGM,[9] and the court case stimulated the other states to do so as well, both during[9] and after the trial.[10] By March 2020, the practice was illegal in 35/50 states;[3] by May 2020, FGM was banned in 38/50 U.S. states.[11]

The way in which legislation (and usually criminalisation) of FGM is enacted, differs from country to country. Some countries' constitutions ban FGM, others have adopted specific laws criminalising FGM, others have subsumed prohibitions on FGM in wider criminal legislation on either child protection, violence against women, sexual violence, or physical assault.[6][2]:45 In EU member states, there is a trend to criminalise FGM in specific rather than general criminal law provisions; by 2013, 10 states of 28 (including Croatia and the UK) had done so.[2]:45 By March 2020, Estonia, Germany, Malta and Portugal had also introduced explicit provisions criminalising FGM, so that 14 out of the current 27 EU Member States have specific anti-FGM legislation.[1]:25–26

Indian Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi said in 2017 that the 1860 Indian Penal Code, the 1973 Criminal Procedure Code and the 2012 Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act) could be invoked to prosecute FGM cases and that a specific law to criminalise FGM was not necessary.[12]

Cross-border FGM and extraterritoriality

Sometimes FGM is performed across the border in a country where it is still legal in order to avoid prosecution in one's country of residence (for example, in Mali by Burkina Faso residents or in Somalia by Kenya residents).[6]:48 As of September 2018, Guinea Bissau, Kenya and Uganda were the only countries in Africa that criminalised and punished cross-border FGM.[6]:49 In the European Union, legislators have applied the legal principle of extraterritoriality to prosecute the practice of FGM when it is committed outside of a member state's territory to girls living in the EU who had been cut or are at risk of being cut in their or their parents' country of birth while on holidays or visits abroad.[2]:45

Laws by country
Country Criminalised Since Notes
 AustraliaSpecific criminal provision[1]:25Criminalised in 6/8 states during 1994–7 as of November 2008.[8]
 AustriaSpecific criminal provision[1]:25Specific criminal law provision.[1]:25
 BahrainNoAs of March 2020.[1]:38
 BelgiumSpecific criminal provision[1]:252000[8]Specific criminal law provision.[1]:25
 BeninSpecific anti-FGM law[1]:222003[8]Specific national anti-FGM law which prohibits FGM.[1]:22
 BruneiNoAs of March 2020.[1]:38
 BulgariaGeneral criminal provision[2]:45General criminal law provision.[2]:45
 Burkina FasoSpecific criminal provision[1]:221996[8]Specific criminal law provision.[1]:22
 CameroonSpecific criminal provision[1]:22As of September 2018.[6]
 CanadaSpecific criminal provision[1]:381997[8]Specific criminal law provision.[1]:38
 Central African RepublicSpecific criminal provision[1]:221966[8]As of September 2018.[6]
 ChadNot yet[1]:22A 2002 bill banning FGM hasn't yet been enacted as of March 2020; the President needs to sign it first.[1]:22[6]
 ColombiaNoSome native tribes (Emberá, Arhuaco, Koguis) are known to practice FGM, but there is no law against it[13] as of March 2020.[1]:32
 Côte d’IvoireSpecific criminal provision[1]:221998[8]As of September 2018.[6]
 CroatiaSpecific criminal provision[1]:25Specific criminal law provision.[1]:25
 CyprusSpecific criminal provision[1]:252003[8]Specific criminal law provision.[1]:25
 Czech RepublicGeneral criminal provision[2]:45General criminal law provision.[2]:45
 DenmarkSpecific criminal provision[1]:252003[8]Specific criminal law provision.[1]:25
 DjiboutiSpecific criminal provision[1]:221994[8]As of September 2018.[6]
 DR CongoSpecific criminal provision[1]:38Specific criminal law provision.[1]:38
 EgyptSpecific criminal provision[1]:222008[8]As of September 2018.[6]
 EritreaSpecific anti-FGM law[1]:222007[8]Specific national anti-FGM law which prohibits FGM.[1]:22
 EstoniaSpecific criminal provision[1]:25Specific criminal law provision.[1]:25
 EthiopiaSpecific criminal provision[1]:222004[8]As of September 2018.[6]
 FinlandGeneral criminal provision[2]:45General criminal law provision.[2]:45
 FranceGeneral criminal provision[2]:45General criminal law provision,[2]:45 has been used successfully to prosecute FGM cases.[1]:25
 The GambiaSpecific criminal provision[1]:22Specific criminal law provision.[1]:22
 GeorgiaSpecific criminal provision[1]:38Specific criminal law provision.[1]:38
 GermanySpecific criminal provision[1]:25Specific criminal law provision.[1]:25
 GhanaSpecific criminal provision[1]:221994[8]Specific criminal law provision.[1]:22
 GreeceGeneral criminal provision[2]:45General criminal law provision.[2]:45
 GuineaSpecific criminal provision[1]:221965[8]New law enacted in 2000.[8] Specific criminal law provision.[1]:22
 Guinea BissauSpecific anti-FGM law[1]:22Specific national anti-FGM law which prohibits FGM.[1]:22 Cross-border FGM also criminalised.[6]:49
 HungaryGeneral criminal provision[2]:45General criminal law provision.[2]:45
 IcelandSpecific criminal provision[14]2005[15]General Penal Code Article 218 a. Punishment up to 6 years imprisonment, up to 16 years in aggravated cases.[14]
 IndiaGeneral criminal provision1860Supposedly criminalised, but not specifically mentioned, by 1860 Indian Penal Code, 1973 Criminal Procedure Code and 2012 POCSO Act.[16]
 IndonesiaUnclear[17]2006, 14Criminalised in 2006,[18] medicalised in 2010, then recriminalised in 2014 but without punishments.[19] Present legal status unclear.[17]
 IranSpecific criminal provision Criminalised by the Islamic Penal Code of 2013.[20][21] Article 663 explicitly mentions the following: "Mutilating or injuring either side of a woman's genitals shall carry the Diya penalty equal to half of the full Diya. Mutilating or injuring parts of the genitals shall have a proportionate penalty based on the level of injury." Additionally, Article 269 of the Islamic Penal Code of 1991[22] criminalises "intentional mutilation or amputation" without explicitly mentioning FGM.
 IraqSpecific criminal provision[1]:22Specific criminal law provision (in the Kurdistan Region).[1]:22
 IrelandSpecific criminal provision[1]:252012[23]Specific criminal law provision:[1]:25 the Criminal Justice (Female Genital Mutilation) Act 2012.[23]
 IsraelNoAs of March 2020.[1]:32
 ItalySpecific anti-FGM law[1]:252005[8]Specific national anti-FGM law which prohibits FGM.[1]:25
 JordanNoAs of March 2020.[1]:38
 KenyaSpecific anti-FGM law[1]:222001[8]Specific national anti-FGM law which prohibits FGM.[1]:22 Cross-border FGM also criminalised.[6]:49
 KuwaitNoAs of March 2020.[1]:32
 LatviaGeneral criminal provision[2]:45General criminal law provision.[2]:45
 LiberiaNot anymore(2018–9)As of September 2018.[6] President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf banned FGM for one year which expired on 22 January 2019.[24]
 LibyaNoAs of March 2020.[1]:40
 LithuaniaGeneral criminal provision[2]:45General criminal law provision.[2]:45
 LuxembourgGeneral criminal provision[2]:45General criminal law provision.[2]:45
 MalawiNoAs of March 2020.[1]:40
 MalaysiaNoAs of March 2020.[1]:32
 MaldivesNoAs of March 2020.[1]:22
 MaliNoAs of March 2020.[1]:22
 MaltaSpecific criminal provision[1]:26Specific criminal law provision.[1]:26
 MauritaniaSpecific criminal provision[1]:222005[8]As of September 2018.[6]
 NetherlandsGeneral criminal provision[2]:45General criminal law provision.[2]:45
 New ZealandSpecific criminal provision[1]:401995[8]Specific criminal law provision.[1]:40
 NigerSpecific criminal provision[1]:222003[8]As of September 2018.[6]
 NigeriaFederal specific criminal provision
Does not apply in all states[1]:22		Specific criminal law provision that does not apply in all states of Nigeria.[1]:22
 NorwaySpecific criminal provision[1]:261995[8]Specific criminal law provision.[1]:26
 OmanSpecific criminal provision[1]:33Specific criminal law provision.[1]:33
 PakistanNoAs of March 2020.[1]:33
 PhilippinesNoAs of March 2020.[1]:33
 PolandGeneral criminal provision[2]:45General criminal law provision.[2]:45
 PortugalSpecific criminal provision[1]:26Specific criminal law provision.[1]:26
 QatarNoAs of March 2020.[1]:40
 RomaniaGeneral criminal provision[2]:45General criminal law provision.[2]:45
 RussiaNoAs of March 2020.[1]:33
 Saudi ArabiaNoAs of March 2020.[1]:34
 SenegalSpecific criminal provision[1]:221999[8]Specific criminal law provision.[1]:22
 Sierra LeoneNo[1]:22Initiation rite-related FGM was criminalised in 2019,[25] but there is no national law banning all FGM.[26]
 SingaporeNoAs of March 2020.[1]:34
 SlovakiaGeneral criminal provision[2]:45General criminal law provision.[2]:45
 SloveniaGeneral criminal provision[2]:45General criminal law provision.[2]:45
 SomaliaNoThe Constitution prohibits FGM, but there are no laws and no known prosecutions of FGM.[1]:22
 Somaliland[27]NoAs of September 2018.[6]
 South AfricaSpecific criminal provision[1]:402003[8]Specific criminal law provision.[1]:40
 South SudanSpecific criminal provision[1]:40Specific criminal law provision.[1]:40
 SpainSpecific criminal provision[1]:262003[8]Specific criminal law provision.[1]:26
 Sri LankaNoAs of March 2020.[1]:33
 SudanSpecific criminal provision[7]
Restricted/banned in 6/18 states[7]		2020Criminalised in April 2020 by amending the Criminal Code. Punishable by a fine and 3 years imprisonment.[7][28]
Already restricted or banned in 6/18 states between 2008 and 2020.[7] Reinfibulation apparently still legal.[29]
 SwedenSpecific anti-FGM law[1]:261982[8]New law enacted in 1998.[8] Specific national anti-FGM law which prohibits FGM.[1]:26
  SwitzerlandSpecific criminal provision[1]:26Specific criminal law provision.[1]:26
 SyriaNoAs of March 2020.[1]:39
 TanzaniaSpecific criminal provision[1]:221998[8]Specific criminal law provision.[1]:22
 ThailandNoAs of March 2020.[1]:33
 TogoSpecific criminal provision[1]:221998[8]Specific criminal law provision.[1]:22
 UgandaSpecific anti-FGM law[1]:22Specific national anti-FGM law which prohibits FGM.[1]:22 Cross-border FGM also criminalised.[6]:49
 United Arab EmiratesNoAs of March 2020.[1]:33
 United KingdomSpecific anti-FGM law[1]:261985[8]Specific national anti-FGM law which prohibits FGM.[1]:26
 United StatesFederal law "unconstitutional", new federal law passed in 2021
Specifically banned by 38/50 states		(1996–
2018)		Criminalised federally in 1996,[8] but federal law declared unconstitutional in 2018.[1]:26 New federal law passed in 2021.[30]
Specifically criminalised in 38/50 states as of May 2020.[11]
 YemenNoAs of March 2020.[1]:22
 ZambiaSpecific criminal provision[1]:22Specific criminal law provision.[1]:22
 ZimbabweSpecific criminal provision[1]:40Specific criminal law provision.[1]:40

See also

References
  1. "Female genital mutilation/cutting: a call for a global response" (PDF). End FGM European Network, U.S. End FGM/C Network and Equality Now. March 2020. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  2. "Female genital mutilation in the European Union and Croatia" (PDF). European Institute for Gender Equality. 2013. Retrieved 3 May 2020. (pdf)
  3. Liz Ford (17 March 2020). "True numbers of FGM victims could be far higher as countries fail to record cases". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  4. Batha, Emma (30 January 2017). "In parts of Asia and Middle East, female genital mutilation a hidden ritual". Reuters. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  5. Piecha, Oliver M. (1 December 2013). "No "African problem"". Stop FGM Middle East. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
  6. "The law and FGM. An overview of 28 African countries" (PDF). 28 Too Many. September 2018. p. 22. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  7. Declan Walsh (30 April 2020). "In a Victory for Women in Sudan, Female Genital Mutilation Is Outlawed". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  8. "Female Genital Mutilation (FGM): Legal Prohibitions Worldwide". Center for Reproductive Rights. 12 November 2008. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  9. Samantha Schmidt (22 November 2018). "Judge rules that federal law banning female genital mutilation is unconstitutional". The Washington Post. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  10. "Seven American states have criminalised FGM this year". The Economist. 30 May 2019. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  11. "FGM Legislation by State". AHA Foundation. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  12. Feeds, PTI (4 August 2017). "IPC, POCSO enough to deal with female genital mutilation: Govt". India.com. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  13. "FGM in Latin America: Colombia's Embera tribe". Aljazeera. 7 October 2017. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  14. "General Penal Code, Nr. 19/1940". www.government.is. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  15. Harriet Sherwood (18 February 2018). "Iceland law to outlaw male circumcision sparks row over religious freedom". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  16. Feeds, PTI (4 August 2017). "IPC, POCSO enough to deal with female genital mutilation: Govt". India.com. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  17. Nurhadi Sucahyo (9 February 2020). "Study: Indonesians Embrace FGM as Religious, Traditional Practice". Voice of America. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  18. "INDONESIA: Female genital mutilation persists despite ban", IRIN Global, 2 September 2010.
  19. "Indonesia Seeks End to Female Genital Mutilation". 26 September 2016.
  20. "قانون مجازات اسلامی مصوب ۱۳۹۲ (کتاب اول تا چهارم)". پایگاه خبری اختبار (in Persian). 31 May 2013. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
  21. "Islamic Penal Code of 2013". Official Website of the Iranian Parliament (Majlis).
  22. "قانون مجازات اسلامی ایران/کتاب ۳ - قصاص - ویکی‌نبشته". fa.wikisource.org. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
  23. "Criminal Justice (Female Genital Mutilation) Act 2012". Irish Statute Book. Attorney General of Ireland. 2 April 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  24. "FGM Becomes Legal Again in Liberia as Ban Expires". Global Citizen. 30 January 2019.
  25. "Sierra Leone bans FGM in clampdown on secret societies". Reuters. 25 January 2019.
  26. Emma Batha (6 June 2019). "Sierra Leone's first lady confronted over FGM controversy". Reuters. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  27. Somaliland is a self-proclaimed independent state and de facto functioning as such, but internationally recognised as part of Somalia.
  28. "Sudanese government bans female genital mutilation". CNN. 1 May 2020.
  29. Yuto Joshi (2 May 2020). "Sudan outlawed female genital mutilation. But experts warn it will take more to end the practice". CBS News. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  30. "Sight Magazine - US toughens ban on "abhorrent" female genital mutilation". www.sightmagazine.com.au.
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