In a historic move, Colombia’s House of Representatives has unanimously approved a bill aimed at preventing, addressing, and eradicating female genital mutilation (FGM), a practice still present in some Embera Indigenous communities. The proposal now heads to the Senate for two final debates.
The measure adopts a preventive and cultural approach, prioritizing education and dialogue over criminal punishment. Legislators say this will build trust with local authorities and address the root causes, making change more sustainable than punitive enforcement.
Representative Jennifer Pedraza (Dignity and Commitment Party) underscored the urgency: “Colombia is the only country in Latin America where this practice persists. The State has a duty to end a violation that scars girls for life.” It is important to note that, despite Colombia’s legislative initiative on the issue, the matter is far more complex, as indigenous communities have their own jurisdiction within their territories.
Why has Colombia struggled to pass an effective law against female genital mutilation?
This is certainly a question that needs to be asked. Unfortunately, female genital mutilation in Colombia persists because it is embedded, though contested, within segments of the Embera people’s customary norms and guarded by community secrecy, displacement, and poverty. After years of internal conflict, many Embera families migrated to cities like Bogota, where the practice continued in private spaces, out of view of authorities and service providers. Underreporting is severe, so the state lacks reliable prevalence data and timely risk alerts, which blunts prevention, care, and prosecution. Survivors and Embera women leaders have also described how stigma and fear of exposing community members to external punishment can deter families from seeking help, keeping the practice underground.
A second driver is the gap between Colombia’s general criminal laws (which punish bodily injury) and the absence, until very recently, of a specific comprehensive framework targeting female genital mutilation. For years, authorities relied on broad assault provisions rather than tailored measures for prevention, survivor care, mandatory reporting, and culturally grounded behavior change. Health protocols exist, but uneven implementation and limited training in frontline services mean warning signs are missed, and survivors’ needs go unmet.
International guidance warns that “medicalization” (when health workers perform female genital mutilation) can further normalize the practice unless systems adopt zero-tolerance standards and specialized training.
Efforts to pass an effective law have also collided with Colombia’s constitutional recognition of indigenous jurisdiction. Lawmakers have tried to design a nonpunitive statute that emphasizes prevention, education, and community-led change to respect indigenous autonomy, an approach more likely to win trust but slower to deter ongoing cases. The legal limbo Colombia faces on the issue — neither a clear prohibition tailored to female genital mutilation nor a fully institutionalized prevention-care system — has constrained enforcement and accountability.
A hidden but persistent problem in Colombia
According to UNICEF, around 230 million girls worldwide have undergone female genital mutilation, procedures that partially or totally remove external female genitalia or cause another nonmedical injury to the genitals. Globally, the practice is recognized as a grave violation of human rights, yet it continues in parts of Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and in Latin America, only in Colombia.
Within the Embera communities, the practice is often performed by traditional midwives on newborns or young girls, passed down from generation to generation. Colombia has no comprehensive official record of all victims, but according to monitoring by a group of female members of Congress advocating for the ban, at least 90 girls were affected in 2023. In 2024, the number dropped to 34, but these figures only include cases treated by health services for complications such as infections.
The Ministry of Health reports that victims’ ages range from one month to 17 years, warning that actual numbers are likely higher due to underreporting and lack of medical follow-up in remote areas of the country.
Indigenous leadership shapes the law
Embera women activists in Colombia have played a central role in shaping the bill, as the legislation was drafted with the input of Embera women leaders such as Juliana Domico, who argue that female genital mutilation is not a genuine ancestral tradition, but a harmful custom introduced during colonial times. By involving indigenous authorities in prevention campaigns, the bill aims to protect cultural autonomy while safeguarding children’s rights.
Representative Carolina Giraldo, another co-author, said the law will also create a national monitoring system to track and address the cases. As she stated: “Many health professionals are not trained to recognize female genital mutilation. Better data and awareness will help ensure no girl slips through the cracks.”
If passed, Colombia’s law would be the first of its kind in Latin America, setting a precedent for blending human rights protection with respect for indigenous self-governance. Additionally, Colombia’s initiative on the matter aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to eliminate harmful practices such as female genital mutilation.
Colombia now stands at a crossroads, balancing the protection of girls with respect for indigenous autonomy. This law, if enacted, could serve as a model for achieving cultural transformation rather than relying on prohibition or punishment. For now, policies remain aspirational, and female genital mutilation endures in the shadows of society.