Today, 6 February, marks the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation. It is neither a symbolic anniversary nor merely another date in the human rights calendar. It is an uncomfortable reminder of the extent to which the bodies of women and girls remain, in far too many contexts, territory for control, discipline and structural violence.
Female genital mutilation is neither culture, nor tradition, nor identity. It is a practice that violates fundamental rights: physical integrity, health, bodily autonomy and dignity. More than 230 million women and girls have already suffered it, and millions remain at risk each year. Behind every figure lies a specific body, an interrupted history, a marked biography.
It also demands a review of how we view, represent and understand the bodies of others
The international theme for this year presents a clear and deliberately demanding horizon: 'Towards 2030: we will not end female genital mutilation without sustained commitment and investment.' It does not speak of good intentions, but of political responsibility. Of resources, of continuity, of genuine will. Because the problem is not a lack of knowledge, but the persistence of structures that allow this violence to remain normalised, silenced or relativised.
Eradicating female genital mutilation entails far more than legal prohibitions. It demands community engagement, education, support for survivors and effective protection for girls. It also demands a review of how we view, represent and understand the bodies of others: which bodies are deemed available, which forms of violence are tolerated in the name of the 'traditional', and which silences are perpetuated out of convenience or geographical distance.
At Kripties Foundation, we advocate for art and culture as critical spaces from which to challenge such normalised violence. Art does not provide reparation in isolation, yet it names, exposes, unsettles and shifts perspectives. Such a shift is essential for any profound social transformation.
To speak of zero tolerance today is not a rhetorical gesture. It is to accept that the eradication of female genital mutilation is a collective obligation that challenges governments, institutions, civil society and those of us working within the cultural sphere.
There is no possibility of neutrality when the body is the battlefield. There is no equitable future if millions of girls grow up with their integrity compromised by violence.