By Louis Charbonneau
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Ten U.N. agencies launched a newcampaign on Wednesday to end female genital mutilation, urginggovernments to help abolish a practice they said remainedwidespread in Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
"If we can come together for a sustained push, femalegenital mutilation can vanish within a generation," U.N. DeputySecretary General Asha-Rose Migiro told an annual meeting ofthe U.N. Commission on the Status of Women.
"We call on (U.N.) member states to join us as fullpartners in this fight, to promote the end of this terriblepractice, to respond to its consequences, and to hold those whoperpetrate it criminally responsible for inflicting harm."
An estimated 100 million to 140 million women and girlsworldwide are estimated to have undergone genital mutilation,also called female circumcision, with U.N. agencies estimatingthat another 3 million a year are subjected to it.
The practice usually involves cutting off the clitoris andother parts of the female genitalia. Many of the practitionersare untrained and use crude instruments.
Proponents of the ancient custom say it reduces femalesexual desire, maintaining chastity before marriage andfidelity afterward. It can cause health complications andpsychological damage and is sometimes fatal.
In a statement condemning the procedure, the U.N. agenciesexpressed concern that it has been in effect legitimized insome countries where is often done by medical professionals.
"The rate of decline in this practice leaves much to bedesired," the statement said. "If we are to eliminate it, wemust redouble our efforts." The campaign aims to eradicate thepractice by 2015.
Last year the United Nations called for a worldwide ban ongenital mutilation. The east African country of Eritrea, wherethe practice has been widespread, banned it in April 2007.
Egypt, where UNICEF estimates that some 97 percent of womenbetween the ages of 15 and 49 have suffered the procedure,strengthened its ban last year by eliminating a legal loopholeallowing girls to undergo the procedure for health reasons.
Genital mutilation predominantly occurs in 28 Africancountries, including Sudan, Chad, Sierra Leone and Djibouti, aswell as in some Middle Eastern nations, parts of Asia,including Indonesia, and among immigrant communities in Europeand North America.
(Editing by Alan Elsner)
