Study finds ‘huge’ fall in FGM rates among African girls

Rates of female genital mutilation (FGM) have fallen dramatically among girls in Africa in the last two decades, according to new research.

• BBC

The study, published in BMJ Global Health, cited a “huge and significant decline” among under-14s.

The practice involves removing all or part of a girl or woman’s external genitalia, including the clitoris.

Some societies treat it as a rite of passage, but human rights groups say it is inhumane and physically dangerous.

In the worst cases, victims can haemorrhage to death after they are cut, or die of…

• Study finds ‘huge…