Home › Explained sheets › Rights and duties
The ban on female genital mutilation
The sheet is about the right to decide about one's own body. Female genital mutilation is forbidden and severely punished by law.
Key points of the sheet
- They are procedures that remove, partly or totally, a woman's external genital organs, or other mutilations of these organs. They are not done to treat an illness (definition of the World Health Organization).
- Examples: excision and infibulation. Infibulation also removes the outer labia.
- These mutilations have immediate and lasting effects on health, in particular during childbirth. They can cause infections, diseases and even death.
- They can also cause distress, depression and even suicide. They are an attack on fundamental rights and a form of discrimination against women.
- The law punishes these acts, including when they are committed abroad. No tradition can justify them. Parents must protect their child's rights.
- According to a poster, a girl is cut every 4 minutes in the world. Thanks to many parents, this practice is declining. In an emergency, call 17.
Words to know
- female genital mutilation (mutilations sexuelles féminines)
- They are procedures that remove or harm a woman's genital organs, with no medical purpose.
- removal (ablation)
- It is an act that consists of removing an organ.
- excision (female circumcision) (l’excision)
- It is the total or partial removal of the glans of the clitoris and the inner labia.
- infibulation (l’infibulation)
- It is the total or partial removal of the glans of the clitoris, the inner labia and the outer labia.
- fundamental rights (droits fondamentaux)
- They include physical and psychological integrity and health. Parents must protect those of their child.
Test yourself: 3 questions
Who gave the definition of female genital mutilation used in the sheet?
In French, the language of the exam: Qui a donné la définition des mutilations sexuelles féminines utilisée dans la fiche ?
The sheet says the definition comes from the World Health Organization.
According to the poster, how often is a girl cut in the world?
In French, the language of the exam: Selon l'affiche, une fille est excisée dans le monde toutes les combien de temps ?
The poster says: every 4 minutes, a girl is cut in the world.
Female genital mutilation is a form of what?
In French, the language of the exam: Les mutilations sexuelles féminines sont une forme de quoi ?
The sheet says female genital mutilation is a form of discrimination against women.
You have read the sheet. See where you stand with 40 questions like the real exam.
Take the free mock exam (40 questions)Free mock exam · Exam Pass €19 incl. VAT, paid once, no subscription
More in this topic (Obligations and duties of people living in France)
- The ban on sexual violence
- Adopting a respectful attitude towards the environment
- Obeying the law: the actors (2/2)
Source
Sheet “L'interdiction des mutilations sexuelles féminines” of the French Ministry of the Interior: formation-civique.interieur.gouv.fr. Content published under the Etalab Open Licence 2.0. This page is a plain-language adaptation made by Hexaciv, which is not an official site: if in doubt, the ministry's text is the one that counts.
Ministry sheet read on 23 October 2026, still identical on 25 October 2026.