gē lún bǐ yà哥伦比亚chéng wéi成为shǒu gè首个jìn zhǐ禁止nǚ xìng女性shēng zhí qì生殖器qiē gē切割de的lā dīng měi zhōu拉丁美洲guó jiā国家
On June 10, 2026, Colombia's Senate passed a bill banning female genital mutilation.
Colombia therefore became the first country in Latin America to ban this practice, although the bill still needs the president's formal signature.
This practice has no medical necessity, yet it removes part or all of a girl's external genitalia and can cause bleeding, infection, psychological harm, and even death.
In 2007, three newborn Embera girls died from infections caused by this practice.
Since then, many survivors and local women have continued working to protect more girls.
The new law will not punish only family members and birth attendants, because that could make them afraid to take injured girls to the hospital.
The government will establish a special committee to provide medical assistance, collect more information, and work with local communities.
More than 230 million women and girls worldwide have experienced this harm.
Colombia's new law is an important step forward, but enough resources and long-term action are still needed to truly protect every girl.