Female genital mutilation involves having partial or total removal of the external female genitalia. It serves no religious or any other purpose but only because it is a tradition and the people believe that there ancestors did it so now they have to do it. Girls from as young as 9months old are having the practice done as this is cheaper than having it done when they are older. When having the procedure done it is most common for the practitioner to use a razor blade or blunt penknife which are not sterilized and will be used up to 300 times before been thrown away. As well as this girls are not under any anaesthetic when undergoing the procedure and are not given any antibiotics for after so the pain is almost unbearable and there can be serious side affects such as haemorrhage, infections, severe pain, tetanus, cysts, abscesses, difficulties with periods, fertility problems, and in some cases, death! The world health organisation estimates that 3 million girls undergo some form of the procedure every year, that's an average of 8000 girls per day. It is practiced in 28 countries in Africa and some Middle East and Asia. FGM is also found in the UK amongst members of migrant communities. It is estimated that up to 24,000 girls in the UK, under the age of 15 are at risk of FGM!