Female circumcision is more appropriately known as Female genital mutilation and refers to the partial or entire removal of the labia. In many of the countries where FGM is performed, it is a deeply entrenched social norm rooted in gender inequality where violence against girls and women is socially acceptable. The reasons behind the practice vary. In some cases, it is seen as a rite of passage into womanhood, while others see it as a method to suppress a woman’s sexuality. Many communities practice genital mutilation in the belief that it will ensure a girl's future marriage or family honour. Some associate it with religious beliefs, although no religious scriptures require it. Why is female genital mutilation a risk for girls and women? FGM has no health benefits and often leads to long-term physical and psychological consequences. Medical complications can include severe pain, prolonged bleeding, infection, infertility, and even death. It can also lead to an increased risk of HIV transmission. Women who have undergone genital mutilation can experience complications during childbirth, including postpartum haemorrhage, stillbirth, and early neonatal death. Psychological impacts can range from a girl losing trust in her caregivers to longer-term feelings of anxiety and depression as a woman. While the exact number of girls and women worldwide who have undergone FGM remains unknown, at least 200 million girls and women aged 15–49 from 31 countries have been subjected to the practice. There has been significant progress made in eliminating the practice in the past 30 years. Young girls in many countries today are at a much lower risk of being subjected to FGM than their mothers and grandmothers were in the past. However, progress is not universal or fast enough. In some countries, the practice remains as common today as it was three decades ago. Over 90 percent of women and girls in Guinea and Somalia undergo some form of genital mutilation or cutting. How is the practice evolving? In many countries, FGM is increasingly carried out by trained health care professionals – in violation of the Hippocratic Oath to “do no harm”. Around 1 in 3 adolescent girls (15-19 years) who have undergone FGM were cut by health personnel. Medicalizing the practice does not make it safer, as it still removes and damages healthy and normal tissue and interferes with the natural functions of girls’ and women’s bodies. In some communities, the practice has been driven underground rather than ended, leading to girls being subjected to cutting at younger ages amidst greater secrecy. Opposition to the practice is building though. In countries affected by FGM, 7 in 10 girls and women think the practice should end. In the last two decades, the proportion of girls and women in these countries who want the practice to stop has doubled. There are different methods and levels at which the process takes place. It has been classified into four types depending on how much and at what severity the woman has experienced these cuts. The least severe of them all is Type One where only part of the clitoris is removed. Type Two involves the removal of nearly the entire clitoris and or parts of the Labia Minora. Some women who are circumcised may have had most or part of the clitoris, labia minora, and labia majora (skin and tissue around the vagina) removed. The raw area is then stitched together, which makes the vaginal opening very small to allow for the flow of urine and menstrual flow. Type Four FGM includes all other harmful procedures to the female genitalia for non-medical purposes, such as pricking, piercing, incising, scraping, and use of caustic agents. These may lead to damage and narrowing of the vagina. All in all, the nefarious activity covered today are barely scratching the surface of what some children face regularly. Children are the future of the world, and we must do our best to protect them at all costs.