FGM is a common practice in some traditional communities of Cameroon especially some tribes in the Southwest, the Far North and East Regions. According to studies, the incidence of FGM in the Southwest Region stands at an estimated 40 percent, while in the East and Northern Regions it stands at 60 percent.

Officials of the United Nation’s Population Fund, UNFPA, in Cameroon, hold that FGM is one of the worst forms of violence against women. That is why UNFPA has been working with the Ministry of Women Empowerment and the Family to eradicate the phenomenon.

Given that Cameroon is a signatory to the Convention on Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women, CEDAW, it is incumbent on government to fight to eradicate this phenomenon in the country. Also related to government’s commitment against FGM, is the fact that Cameroon signed the Convention on the Rights of the Child, CRC, and the African Charter.