ABSTRACT
On 6 February 2017, the United Nations (UN) marked International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation. Central to the success of the collective endeavour to eradicate Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) lays the enabling power of online social media, which has long been harnessed by the UN to serve its humanitarian agenda. The UN's dedicated social media function moreover operates multiple accounts from various leading online media platforms including Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram and Tumblr. Understanding the FGM phenomenon requires theoretical approaches that acknowledge the intersections of age, gender, socio-economic background, patriarchal cultural and religious traditions as well as institutional barriers that disadvantage would-be victims of FGM, while privileging perpetrators. A complex, multilayered social and public health concern, FGM incorporates elements of cultural and religious traditions, patriarchal attitudes to women and their sexuality as well as human rights issues. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
