International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation

International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation is a UN-sponsored awareness day that takes place February 6 each year.

It is an effort to make the world aware of female genital cutting (also called female genital mutilation or FGM) and to promote its eradication.

First, on February 6, 2003, Stella Obasanjo, the First Lady of Nigeria, made the official declaration on "Zero Tolerance to FGM" in Africa during a conference organized by the Inter-African Committee on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children (IAC). Then the UN Sub-Commission on Human Rights adopted this day as an international awareness day.