Some 140 million women worldwide have been subjected to female genital mutilation (FGM) and an estimated further two million are at risk every year

Female genital mutilation, also known as cutting, is practiced in 28 African countries. The prevalence rate ranges from 98% of girls in Somalia to 5% in Zaire. It also takes place among ethnic groups in the Middle East, India, Pakistan, Malaysia and Indonesia and amongst Third World immigrants in Australia, Canada, the United States and New Zealand. In Sudan, 20%-25% of female infertility has been linked to FGM complications. In Chad, girls have begun to seek FGM without pressure from their immediate family, believing that to be "sewn up" proves they are virginal and clean. The fashion has led to uncircumcised girls being labeled "dirty".