Or female genital mutilation; Operation on women analogous to male circumcision. There are three types: Sunna, which involves cutting off the hood, and sometimes the tip, of the clitoris; clitoridectomy, the excision of the clitoris and removal of parts of the inner and outer labia; infibulation (most widely practiced in Sudan and Somalia), in which the labia are stitched, after excision, leaving a small hole.
Infibulation can lead to problems in later life, especially during menstruation, sexual intercourse, and childbirth. Female circumcision is practiced across Muslim Africa between Senegal and Somalia, as well as in the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Yemen, and among Muslims in Malaysia and Indonesia. In 1994 there were at least 90 million women and girls worldwide who had undergone circumcision.