India, Feb. 6 -- Female Genital Mutilation or Female Khatna or Female Circumcision is a rarely discussed issue, yet one of the most serious threats to the rights and well-being of girls and women. It is carried out in silence, justified by custom, and endured long after the act itself. According to estimates by the World Health Organization and UNICEF, at least 230 million girls and women alive today have undergone FGM, most of them as children. Behind this figure are lives marked by lifelong pain and voices that were never heard.

The International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation, observed on 6 February, serves as a reminder that this practice persists and demands urgent action. The physical consequences and long-term...