1. Can the category 'culture' (or religion) be used?	Yes, the category culture is usable insofar as the practice is performed within certain groups by which it is shared, transmitted intergenerationally and has particular symbolic and social meanings. The category religion, on the other hand, is not usable. ​
2. Description of the cultural (or religious) practice and group.	Female genital mutilation (FGM) includes all those procedures that involve the partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other modifications to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. They are part of those practices known in the anthropological field as corporal marks that tend to modify the natural state of the human body according to certain rules established by each society. The origins of the practice are unclear: it is hypothesised that some forms already existed in ancient Egypt and ancient Rome. According to a joint statement by WHO, Unicef and UNFPA, there are four types of categories, all of which can be classified as FGM: Type I: Excision of the foreskin, with or without partial or total removal of the clitoris. Type II: Excision of the clitoris with partial or total removal of the labia minora. Type III: Narrowing of the vaginal orifice with creation of a covering seal by cutting and affixing the labia minora and/or labia majora, with or without excision of the clitoris (infibulation). Type IV: Unclassified. Includes perforation, penetration or incision of the clitoris and/or labia, stretching of the clitoris or surrounding tissue, scraping of the tissue surrounding the vaginal orifice or incision of the vagina. These operations are generally performed by women, ritual workers, on girls, young women and women outside of a hospital setting.  The terminology 'female genital mutilation' - used in this Guidebook because it is the one adopted in the judicial and legislative spheres - is strongly criticised by various scholars and by the women subjected to the practices themselves, as it carries ethnocentric and victimising judgments. In fact, alternative terms have been proposed that are considered less judgmental (see anthropological insights below). An estimated 200 million women of various ages have been subjected to these practices, mostly in African states, some Asian countries and the Middle East. FGM is, in fact, practised by various ethnic and religious groups, including Muslims, Christians, Jews (Ethiopian Jews) and 'traditional' African religions, and is generally performed on girls between the ages of 0 and 15 years, although there are also cases of women who are already adults. The age at which FGM is performed varies according to local traditions and circumstances. As well as the age, the type of practice performed also varies widely: according to current estimates, around 90% of cases comprise types I, II or IV, and around 10% type III (mainly in the north-eastern region of Africa: Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan). In every group in which it is practised, there is not necessarily an unambiguous and/or fixed explanation of the reason behind it. The aim is not to harm the female sexual organ per se: in some cases it is considered a rite of passage, i.e. as rites that accompany changes in role or social position, thus sanctioning a transition from one status to another. In other cases it is a matter of aesthetics or linked to a concept of morality relating to the sexual sphere of women. The practice is often associated with a gendering function, aimed at symbolically defining gender identity, marking the difference between male and female gender. It can also be understood as a way to define ethnicity or to reinforce aesthetic preferences, presenting a strong identity and symbolic value of a social aggregation.
​3. Embedding the individual practice in the broader cultural (or religious) system.	FGM is understood as investiture, enshrining a social difference, female belonging and solidarity, and thus emphasising the importance of social meanings and symbolic apparatuses.  Practices such as excision and infibulation are often linked to a perception of gender and female sexuality subordinate to male sexuality, indicating a hierarchical approach to gender relations and a clearly defined role of woman and mother. This practice is in fact justified as preparatory to marriage, as it would prepare the woman for her new role in relation to the male gender, and is symbolically associated with fertility. On the one hand it symbolically 'completes' the woman, on the other only a 'complete' woman is ready for marriage and procreation. Excision thus enables the woman to contract marriage in full compliance with socially established rules. ​In some contexts, the prestige and importance of the 'closed' woman is emphasised, as opposed to the 'open' ones, with the association with a control of female subjectivity and sexuality and the preservation of her virginity and chastity. In some countries, this practice takes the form of an 'economic' valuation of the girl in question, through the so-called 'bride price' (see 'Bride price' in this Guidebook) by which the groom's parental group transfers assets to the bride's group, at the time of the wedding, as a form of compensation for the loss of the woman.
4. Is the practice essential (to the survival of the group), compulsory or optional?	It depends on the context in which it is practised. In most cases it is considered compulsory from both a personal and a community perspective. Not undergoing FGM could lead to social exclusion and loss of status. In some contexts (e.g. urbanisation), the social pressure of the group could weaken and lead to a lower degree of compulsoriness, in which the family regains some agency and can choose whether or not to subject their daughter to the practice.
​5.     Is the practice shared by the group, or is it contested?	The practice of FGM is generally shared by the group to which it belongs, with intergenerational transmission. Increasingly widespread, however, both in countries where FGM is practised and in countries of immigration, are associations of women who oppose this type of intervention, who actively work to eliminate it and to propose other models and values. Already since the 1990s, several non-governmental organisations and local African associations have been carrying out some training projects aimed at the 'reconversion' of ritual sex workers, with the aim of attempting to retrain them professionally so that they can earn a salary in other ways, without harming the psycho-physical health of the girls. In some cases, gestural simulation of the ritual is encouraged (e.g. in Guinea, this simulated alternative has led to a reduction in the practice of about 20 per cent), while in other cases, small alternative business activities are sponsored, through some very convenient loans. Some local women's associations in several African countries are engaged in awareness-raising and education campaigns, leveraging local participation, often involving the girls' relatives. For example, in Senegal, thanks to an education and information programme in rural areas, more than 200,000 people have decided to abandon the practice (PRB 2002).  Furthermore, in many countries on the African continent, this type of practice is officially banned (e.g. in the Central African Republic, Djibouti, Egypt, Ghana, Senegal, Somalia, Kenya) although in reality the enforcement of these laws is not guaranteed, creating a conflict between official and customary law.
​6.     How would the average person belonging to that culture (or religion) behave?	The average person would subject their daughter to the practice.
​7.     Is the subject sincere?	In criminal law, the ascertainment of the subject's sincere adherence to the practice is intended to highlight the lack of a harmful intention towards the child, just as in the case of male circumcision (see the entry Male Circumcision, in this Guidebook): parents who subject their daughters to these practices often act in the belief that they guarantee them a certain social status, the certainty that they will be accepted in the community to which they belong and will not be considered 'different'. The lack of injurious intent can be identified on the basis of certain elements: the value of FGM in the cultural or religious system to which it belongs: meaning, function, perception of the practice in the eyes of the agent; the mode of execution used (intervention performed in a healthcare setting, domestic, group ritual); where appropriate, the reasons that led to carrying out the operation in unsafe conditions: social and economic conditions of the persons involved; the existence or not, in the place where the event occurs, of a system of participation in the cost of the operation (even in states other than Italy, given the extraterritoriality clause contained in the rule sanctioning FGM); the good faith of the parent and his or her belief that he or she has relied on a person with expertise in the matter, even if not a doctor, because he or she may be recognised as such within the community (e.g. ritual workers).   In terms of international protection, if FGM has already been undergone, it can be ascertained through clinical observation. When, on the other hand, the subject fears undergoing them, ascertaining the sincerity of that fear can help: identification of the state and community of origin; as highlighted by some case law, the in-depth analysis of the diffusion of the practice in the social context of origin, since it is not sufficient merely to provide formal data, i.e. that the practices are prohibited by law in that State and/or that they are compulsory or optional from a cultural or religious point of view, but rather to investigate the real diffusion of the practices, the existence of a 'social conditioning' to their use, and the degree of marginalisation of individuals who oppose them; the implementation of a 'gender' approach to the issue: it happens that applicants do not promptly point out that they are victims of FGM because they do not know that it is a practice that is not widespread among all women; at other times, they omit to talk about it out of shame, modesty or because it represents traumatic events in their lives.
8.     The search for the cultural equivalent: the translation of the minority practice into a corresponding (Italian) majority practice. ​	One can find a cultural equivalent in intimate cosmetic surgery of the female genitals. Among the various types of surgery are: hymenoplasty, i.e. the repair of the hymen, nowadays better known by the English term rivirgination; vaginoplasty, i.e. the tightening of the muscles of the vagina to 'rejuvenate' it; clitoral repositioning or clitoral lifting, i.e. a partial excision of the clitoris to 'proportion' it. All these cosmetic interventions are aimed at adapting a presumed image of women and the female body that, as in the case of FGM, should conform to a socio-cultural image. The female body should in fact show itself to be apparently young. Latu sensu also other operations on erogenous zones of the body such as plastic surgery to augment the breasts or buttocks are cultural equivalents that correspond to similar aesthetic and reproductive logics.
9.      Does the practice cause harm? ​	FGM objectively takes the form of alterations to a woman's physical integrity. The consequences of these alterations present very different degrees of harmfulness and danger depending on the types carried out. In the most serious cases, such as those of infibulation and excision, the damage to physical integrity can be high and even result in death. Risks are common both during the operation - due to complications related to the way the operations are performed, mostly carried out in environments that are unsuitable from the point of view of asepsis and hygiene - and after the operation, especially during any pregnancy. However, this degree of injury is not found in much less invasive forms of surgery, which often consist of small incisions (such as the arué at the Edo Bini). Even in the latter case complications can occur, but it is rare that there is a danger to the minor's life. In general, there is no evidence that this type of operation results in a permanent decrease in the function of the organs concerned. The most severe and invasive forms of FGM are likely to result in significant physical damage that not only affects the woman's sexual life, but also puts her general health at risk. In fact, the consequences of the interventions can be protracted over time, aggravated during pregnancies, and even lead to or facilitate other infectious diseases. In this case, the damage is also psychological, especially if the operations are carried out in adolescence, as in most cases. It is obvious that in the commensuration of the psychological damage, the woman's willingness to undergo that practice assumes a fundamental importance. It is probable that if the woman believes in the value and meaning of that practice, she will develop a less traumatic re-elaboration than that undergone by those who instead show forms of remonstrance with respect to the practice and perceive it as a constraint. Psychological damage may also be determined by the fear of reliving the same traumatic and painful experience in the future or of having to have it endured by some family member.
​10.  What impact does the minority practice have on the culture, constitutional values, and rights of the (Italian) majority?	The practices analysed are perceived very negatively in majority culture. The term 'mutilation', which is used in the legal debate to describe them, in itself reveals their characterisation by the majority society. The strongly evocative and generalised term is an obstacle to bringing out the distinction between the various types of FGM in terms of harm. FGM is almost always identified in the most severe forms of infibulation and excision. They therefore evoke bloody and sexist forms of control over women's life and sexuality. The most serious FGM clashes with the values of the physical and psychological integrity of individuals, of life, of gender freedom and equality, and of personal freedom. They appear as an instrument of social control over women's self-determination, over their freedom to manage their own bodies and sex lives. The practice takes on criminal relevance, which is why religious and cultural freedom and its relationship with other fundamental legal goods are also involved in the debate. As the issue of international protection and asylum is also intercepted here, the issue also calls into play other values: that of the reception of individuals subjected to persecution and inhuman treatment; and those of security and public order, resulting in the need to keep protection procedures under control. For a part of the jurisprudence, which follows the discipline of international law, FGM are real forms of gender-based persecution and are therefore capable of triggering advanced forms of protection such as subsidiary protection, granted due to the danger of inhuman and degrading treatment, or even refugee status. The rights allegedly violated are: the right to life, the right to physical integrity, the right to health, the right to personal freedom and sexual self-determination. In the eyes of the ECtHR, FGM constitutes forms of torture within the meaning of Article 3 and also infringes the right to private and family life enshrined in Article 8 of the Convention. The rights of persons who, although not directly affected by FGM, because they are male, have opposed the practice of FGM on their daughters or granddaughters, have also often been violated. In this case, their right to defend their daughters/granddaughters from inhuman and degrading treatment as well as their right to freedom of thought is allegedly violated. In the criminal field, the practice of FGM is now expressly prohibited by Article 583 bis of the Criminal Code (Practice of mutilation of female genital organs), a provision introduced by Law No. 7 of 2006, designed to protect the physical integrity and health of women. The provision has an extraterritorial value (in fact, it is also applicable when the act is committed by and/or against an Italian citizen abroad or a foreigner resident in Italy) and punishes with a more serious penalty the more invasive forms of mutilation such as clitoridectomy, excision and infibulation (and 'any other practice that causes effects of the same kind'), with a less severe penalty other forms of operations not falling within the previous types, with the specification that in the latter case the operation must be carried out with the aim of 'impairing sexual functions' and an illness in body and mind must result from them. When the offence is committed to the detriment of minors, the penalty is increased, entails the loss of parental responsibility and disqualification from the offices of guardianship, curatorship and support administration. The physical integrity and health of women were protected against such practices even before the introduction of this specific case, thanks to the offences of injury (Articles 582 and 583 of the Criminal Code). The introduction of the rule has a symbolic value that aims to highlight the position of the state with regard to these practices and partly follows the attitudes held by other European legal systems, consistent with the assumptions of international law on FGM. However, some scholars have considered Law No. 7/2006 to be an incomplete instrument insofar as the criminalisation, which was even extended beyond Italian borders, was not followed by a provision guaranteeing the victims of these practices more effective instruments of protection such as those offered by the granting of international protection status.
​11.   Does the practice perpetuate patriarchy?	Through the most severe forms of FGM, the quality of life of women is undermined, which becomes far inferior to that of men, given the health complications that the former may suffer both at the time the intervention takes place and thereafter. The same argument does not apply, however, when the interventions do not have such damaging characteristics and perhaps mostly have a symbolic function furthering group membership. There are various elements that can affect the ability of practices to perpetuate patriarchy: the type of intervention and its incisiveness on the quality of women's health and life in general; the function for which they are put in place; the perception of the practice by the woman undergoing it and her adherence to it. In cases where it is the woman herself who no longer considers the practice to be in keeping with the values of her existence, especially in the face of social and moral control, the practice is symptomatic of a patriarchal system, which is most likely contested. The same cannot be said, however, for those forms of mutilation, which although named as such, have a minimal incidence and are sometimes a source of pride on the part of the woman herself. The practice is symptomatic of a patriarchal system and is capable of perpetuating it, especially when it takes on the aforementioned functions of controlling female subjectivity and sexuality, through the implementation of certain physical limitations aimed at imposing a morality on the female gender and not also on the male gender.
12.  What good reasons does the minority present for continuing the practice? The criterion of an equally valid life choice.	Groups wishing to continue the practice appeal to the functions it performs, in the different contexts, which are reported here. It emerges that practices can:   have a function of role or social position modification be related to aesthetic issues be linked to a concept of morality relating to the sexual sphere of women be associated with a gendering function, aimed at symbolically defining gender identity define ethnicity and have an identity function have a purifying function have a social function linked to a hierarchical definition between genders, as well as a function preparatory to marriage and procreation.