UNFPA and UNICEF call for a sustainable partnership and engagement with men and boys of Ethiopia to enforce the actions against Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and transform the deeply rooted social and gender norm, underpinning the practice, and allowing girls and women to fully realize their rights and potential. The call was made in observance of the International Day of Zero Tolerance against FGM under the theme, “partnering with men and boys to transform social and gender norms to end female genital mutilation”.
Ethiopia has made remarkable progress in the last decade in the reduction of FGM prevalence among girls and women aged 15-49 from 74 per cent in 2005 to 65 per cent in 2016. However, Ethiopia is still home to 25 million circumcised women and girls. This accounts for the largest absolute number in Eastern and Southern Africa.