Abstract

This paper would educate the readers about what exactly is Female Genital Mutilation as one common problem which could be recognized was that this custom (FGM) lacks awareness, and not everyone knows its meaning. The paper would highlight what a custom is and how many customs are there which are prevalent and which are not prevalent or which are valid and not valid depending on various case laws; then, the invalid customs would be discussed as to why they were invalid and what the court says and then what the court said regarding the invalid customs would be related to the concept of FGM. The paper will discuss how many provisions of the IPC and the fundamental rights the practice violate. Then FGM would be discussed as readers would only know a type of FGM when there are 4 types of (FGM) in reality. The paper would clarify to the reader why FGM should be banned and considered invalid as a custom as it serves no purpose. There are very few people who have studied the topic in-depth, and people do not realize that it is still prevalent. The paper would also educate the readers about why it is a crime and what type of a crime it is per various organizations’ views like WHO, UNICEF, etc. The readers would also learn that, at present, there isn’t any law in India that bans the practice of FGM, so gradually, as they read through the paper, they will be able to understand various case laws pointing towards criteria of invalid customs through which the FGM can be included as there were customs which were declared void by the courts due to their lack of reasonability as well as purpose. The readers would also be able to compare various customs which were declared void by the court and, at the same time, realize that FGM is also one such custom that needs to be banned by the law because it does not have any health benefits for girls and women and is mostly carried out on young or infant girls till the age of 15. The readers will also read about how many articles or human rights or fundamental rights it violates and not only that, but how hard it is for the girls to get treatment because of immediate health complications from the procedure of FGM. The readers would also read about all the countries in which the practice is still prevalent, as well as info and statistics regarding various NGOs taking initiatives to get this custom banned.

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