Nada, a12years old girl from Assiut Governorate, Egypt, lost her life to join the victims of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).

This tragic incident comes days before the celebration of the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation, with the aim to amplify and direct the efforts on the elimination of this practice.

It also alarming that a retired doctor is involved in the circumcision of Nada and the UNFPA expresses its deep concern over the continued increase in the medicalization of FGM in Egypt.

The Regional Director of the United Nations Population Fund for the Arab States, Dr. Luay Shabaneh, expresses his deep regrets and sadness at the death of Nada due to the complications of FGM and welcomes the move of the Egyptian Authorities especially the National Council for Women, the National Council for Motherhood and Childhood and the National Committee for FGM Eradication, to hold those involved accountable.

Dr. Shabaneh believes that parents and community leaders, should note that FGM is a crime that contradicts the premises of honor due to its nature and how it affects the lives and health of insurmountable women. We must sensitize our communities that this also violates their basic human rights. And we need to stand up and protect those rights.

Dr. Shabaneh added that the United Nations Population Fund is committed to building nations that will cede from tolerating FGM. We believe that fighting this phenomenon is the responsibility of everyone in all communities; and that silence about this practice should not be an option

UNFPA, jointly with UNICEF, leads the Joint Programme on FGM, the largest global programme to accelerate the abandonment of this harmful practice. The programme currently focuses on 17 countries and supports regional and global initiatives.