The nature of female genital mutilation according to the Istanbul Convention and other international instruments

Abstract

The paper deals with the nature of female genital mutilation (FGM) as a highly gendered, harmful practice, which has in the meantime been formalized as a crime. Especially the Istanbul Convention is regarded as the driving force behind this legal development. But beyond that, this Convention, as well as the Convention of Belem do Para and the Maputo Protocol before that, have defined and located the very nature of FGM within the violence against women. By doing so, prior (false) beliefs and attempts to legitimize them due to cultural, social or religious reasons have become obsolete. The aim of this paper is to show the nature of FGM within the aforementioned instruments.