Global experts and survivors are sounding the alarm as progress toward ending female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and ensuring menstrual health falls dangerously behind schedule, despite 2030 targets set by world leaders.
At the SHE & Rights session held in February 2026, ahead of the 70th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women, advocates revealed that FGM/C rates have risen by 15% over the last eight years. While 200 million women were affected in 2016, that number climbed to over 230 million by 2024.
“When we speak about violence and human rights violations, FGM/C is among the most heinous crimes,” said Shobha Shukla, SHE & Rights host. Approximately one-third of these cases occur in Asia, where experts also warned of a “worrying trend” in the medicalization of FGM/C, with healthcare professionals wrongly legitimizing the practice despite condemnation from the World Health Organization.
Justice, Not Charity Catherine Menganyi, a nurse-epidemiologist and survivor from Kenya, emphasized that the practice is part of a wider system used to control women’s bodies and normalize violence.
“Every girl, every woman has the right to grow up whole, safe, educated, and free from violence,” Menganyi said. “Ending female genital mutilation/cutting is not charity, it is justice”. She urged leaders to invest in community-led solutions, noting that affected communities are best placed to find locally relevant fixes.
The push for accountability has seen survivors use strategic litigation to defend their rights. While 59 of the 94 countries where FGM/C occurs have specific laws prohibiting it, prosecutions remain rare. Advocates are now looking toward the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), a UN human rights mechanism, to keep pressure on governments to enforce existing bans.
India’s Landmark Menstrual Health Ruling In India, the struggle for dignity shifted to the courts. The Indian Supreme Court recently issued a landmark 127-page judgment recognizing menstrual health as a fundamental right under the constitutional right to life and dignity.
The ruling came after data revealed approximately 4 million girls in India dropped out of primary education over the last four years, often due to a lack of private toilets and sanitary products. The court has now mandated that all states provide:
• Functional, gender-segregated toilets with water and handwashing facilities.
• Free biodegradable sanitary napkins via vending machines in schools.
• Menstrual hygiene management corners equipped with spare uniforms and disposal bags.
“When girls are forced to sacrifice their education or dignity due to biological realities, the harm is constitutional in nature,” said gender justice activist Debanjana Choudhuri.
A Bridge of Hope While policy gaps persist, grassroots initiatives are showing success in other areas of women’s health. The Swasthya Setu (Bridge of Trust) project in India reached more than 230,000 women across 570 villages in 2025 to promote breast cancer screening.
By training frontline health volunteers (ASHAs) to demonstrate self-examinations, the project saw an 88% referral completion rate for women who noticed unusual symptoms—significantly higher than national averages.
Out of the women screened, 21 cases of breast cancer were confirmed and 15 women have already begun treatment.
Experts concluded that while judgments and initiatives provide hope, continuous monitoring and institutional accountability are essential to ensure these rights move from paper to reality.
