In June 2026, Colombia’s Congress approved Bill 440, making the country the first in Latin America to introduce a specific law banning Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). The new law ensures legal reform with education, healthcare, awareness programmes and community participation rather than just relying on punishment. The legislation also necessitates the government bring a national policy with an improved reporting system, besides strengthening preventive measures.
Female Genital Mutilation: Why is it persisting in parts of Colombia?
The practice is prevalent mainly among some Embera indigenous communities in the Choco and Risaralda regions. Despite many indigenous leaders' publicity rejecting the practice, it has been continued over the years due to cultural beliefs about femininity, purity, and preparation for adulthood. The leaders argued that the practice is not an essential aspect of their cultural identity and showed active participation in its elimination. Apart from the cultural beliefs, the remoteness of the region of the indigenous communities is also found to be the reason for the persistence of FGM due to the limited access to healthcare, education, and other related government services, besides the prevalence of poverty. In addition, the weak reporting system, combined with many unreported cases, has impacted the elimination of the practice over the years.
What is Bill 440, Colombia’s legislative response to FGM?
Although the rights of women and children have been protected by Colombia’s constitution, there was no specific legislation previously for addressing FGM. The Bill 440 has adopted a community-based public health approach instead of just relying on criminal penalties. The legislation has been made effective by combining legal protection with the provisions for education, healthcare services, and awareness campaigns, ensuring cooperation by the indigenous communities.
What have been the responses?
Having witnessed the serious medical consequences of FGM, the doctors and healthcare workers strongly support the legislation on stressing that the practice creates lifelong physical and psychological harm without any medical benefits. However, considering the challenge of limited access to healthcare in remote indigenous areas, they demand greater investment in healthcare facilities and the positioning of required trained personnel in the FGM prevailing areas.
Indigenous leaders and women's organisations have come out to extend support for the legislation. Many Embera leaders have expressed in the public domain that FGM is not an essential part of their cultural identity. Indigenous women have come forward to encourage the families to abandon the practice and have led awareness campaigns within their communities in this regard.
Civil society organisations have welcomed the legislation but stated that passing a law is only the beginning. To achieve long-term success, they emphasise that the legal reform must be supported by wider social and institutional changes in terms of sustained funding, awareness campaigns, and improved healthcare services. They also insist on maintaining continuous dialogue between government institutions and indigenous communities for sustainable outcomes.
What are the challenges ahead?
The implementation of the law in the remote interior regions poses obstacles due to insufficient healthcare services, geographical isolation, and limited institutional infrastructure. The ability of the government in monitoring the vulnerable communities and providing timely assistance in the region is constrained due to the shortages of trained personnel, and hence the implementation effectiveness may vary across various regions in the country.
The under-reporting of FGM, and hence the official statistics may not reflect the actual scale of the problem. The under-reporting is due to reasons like fear of legal consequences, social pressure, and limited trust in government institutions.
Balancing human rights with indigenous cultural autonomy is a broader policy challenge since the country recognises the collective rights of indigenous people to preserve their traditions. On the enactment of the law, there is now a constitutional responsibility to protect the vulnerable from harmful FGM practice, and hence a situation of delicate balance between respecting cultural identity and ensuring the safety of girls at risk.
The success of the policy initiative depends on maintaining long-term trust between the indigenous communities and the government.
What does Colombia’s ban mean?
The legislation has important regional significance beyond Colombia. Other countries in Latin America that have not widely documented FGM can learn from Colombia’s experience, which demonstrates that a government can address harmful traditional practices by ensuring cooperation among the stakeholders, with active community participation. The successful policy implementation in Colombia is essential as it will encourage other countries to strengthen child protection policies while respecting cultural diversity.
Colombia’s decision to ban FGM is a bold and significant step in protecting the rights, health, and dignity of women and girls. It demonstrated that harmful practices prevalent in the indigenous communities can be addressed through a multi-pronged approach through a combination of legal reform, education, public healthcare measures, and more importantly, with active community participation.
The success of Colombia’s initiative is crucial, as it could become a model for Latin America, showing how governments can safeguard vulnerable groups by promoting an inclusive approach with active community participation, leading to harmonious social change, besides safeguarding the cultural identities of the indigenous communities.
References:
“Colombia Passes First Law in Latin America to Eradicate Female Genital Mutilation,” Equality Now, 10 June 2026.
https://equalitynow.org/news/news-and-insights/colombia-passes-first-law-in-latin-america-to-eradicate-female-genital-mutilation/
“Inside the Fight to End Female Genital Mutilation in Colombia,” Al Jazeera, 14 June 2026.
https://www.aljazeera.com/features/longform/2026/6/14/making-history-the-fight-to-end-female-genital-mutilation-in-colombia
“Colombia Bans Female Genital Mutilation in Landmark Law,” Latin America Reports, 10 June 2026.
https://latinamericareports.com/colombia-bans-female-genital-mutilation-with-landmark-law/14651/
“Colombia Becomes First Latin American Country to Ban Female Genital Mutilation,” Reuters, 10 June 2026.
https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/colombia-becomes-first-latin-american-country-ban-female-genital-mutilation-2026-06-10/
“International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation 2026,” UNICEF, 6 February 2026.
https://www.unicef.org/documents/international-day-zero-tolerance-female-genital-mutilation-2026
“Female Genital Mutilation,” World Health Organization, 5 February 2024.
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/female-genital-mutilation
“UNFPA–UNICEF Joint Programme on the Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation,” United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Updated 4 February 2026.
https://www.unfpa.org/unfpa-unicef-joint-programme-elimination-female-genital-mutilation
“Eliminating Female Genital Mutilation: An Interagency Statement,” World Health Organization, 2008.
https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241596442
