In Pakistan, female genital cutting remains shrouded in secrecy, with survivors being the sole voices shedding light on its prevalence.

Conversations on this sensitive issue are stifled due to the prevailing societal norms that cast women’s bodies as objects of shame or taboo.

Despite the global rise of feminism and female empowerment in many contemporary societies, Pakistan has yet to initiate any public discourse or acknowledgement of this matter.

As a result, there are no official laws, statistics, or empirical research on this subject, and failure to act could jeopardise Pakistan’s progress toward achieving the United Nations’ sustainable development goal of eradicating female genital cutting by 2030.

Image: Image: Shutterstock – Lal Nallath

Produced By: Frances Du

Featured In Story: Huda Syyed, PhD Candidate & Tutor, Charles Darwin University, and

First aired on The Wire, Wednesday 20 September 2023