女陰殘割/ Female genital mutilation
引言位置：
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Medicine/Translation_task_force/RTT/Simple_Female_genital_mutilation
英文長條目：
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Female_genital_mutilation
中文翻譯：
https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%A5%B3%E6%80%A7%E7%94%9F%E6%AE%96%E5%99%A8%E5%88%87%E5%89%B2
A.肯亞宣教士及殖民政府的反對 (已整合到中文維基, 刪除內容)
B. 反對聲浪持續擴大 (已整合到中文維基, 刪除內容)
C. 聯合國 (已整合到中文維基, 刪除內容)
D. 不執行女陰殘割的國家 Non-practising countries
Further information: Prevalence of female genital mutilation by country
As of 2013, legislation banning FGM had been passed by 33 countries outside Africa and the Middle East.[206] As a result of immigration the practice spread to Australia, New Zealand, Europe, North America and Scandinavia, all of which outlawed it, either entirely or from being performed on minors.[207][208] Sweden outlawed it in 1982, the first Western country to do so.[209] Several former colonial powers, including Belgium, Britain, France and the Netherlands, followed suit, either with new laws or by making clear that it was covered by existing legislation.[210]
截至2013年，非洲和中東之外的33個國家已經立法禁止女陰殘割[206]。女陰殘割由移民帶入澳洲、紐西蘭、歐洲、北美、斯堪地那維亞半島等地；這些地區立法禁止女陰殘割[207][208]。而在1982年頒布禁令的瑞典，成為第一個對於女陰殘割做出法規限制的西方國家[209]。前殖民列強如[[比利時]]、[[英國]]、[[法國]]、[荷蘭]]等國也隨後進行立法禁止，或是做出聲明釐清該手術違反現行法條[210]。
Canada recognized FGM as a form of persecution in July 1994, when it granted refugee status to Khadra Hassan Farah, who had fled Somalia to avoid her daughter being cut.[211] In 1997 it amended section 268 of the Criminal Code of Canada to make a ban on FGM explicit, except where "the person is at least eighteen years of age and there is no resulting bodily harm".[212] As of February 2015, there had been no persecutions.[213]
ii. 北美
加拿大於1994年7月授予來自索馬利亞的卡德拉·哈桑·法拉赫難民身份時，即認定女陰殘割是一種對女性的迫害[211]；卡德拉·哈桑·法拉赫在加拿大避難以避免她的女兒遭受女陰殘割之苦。加拿大政府於1997年修改{{lel加拿大刑法法典lCriminal Code of Canada}}268條法條中的部分法條，明令禁止女陰殘割，但排除了接受手術之人已滿18歲且沒有因此造成身體傷害之外的情況[212]。截止至2015年2月仍未有針對女陰殘割的訴訟[213]。
In the United States the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimated in 1997 that 168,000 women and girls living there in 1990 had undergone FGM or were at risk.[214] A preliminary, unpublished, CDC study in 2015 reportedly estimated that around 500,000 women and girls in the US had undergone FGM or were likely to undergo it.[215] A Nigerian woman successfully contested deportation in March 1994 on the grounds that her daughters might be cut.[216] In 1996 Fauziya Kasinga from Togo became the first to be granted asylum to escape FGM,[217] although, as of 2006, several federal appellate courts have held that a parent cannot receive asylum based on a fear that their child will be subjected to FGM, particularly where the children are legal residents or citizens of the United States.[218]
[[美國疾病控制與預防中心]]（CDC在1997年時預估，在1990年時美國有16.8萬名女性經歷過女陰殘割或是在這樣的風險當中。據稱[[美國疾病控制與預防中心]]2015年的一份初步且未公開的研究預測美國大約有50萬名女性曾經歷過或是有可能經歷過女陰殘割[215]。1994年3月，一名尼日的女性因其女有可能遭受女陰殘割之苦成功抗辯美國政府驅逐出境的命令[216]。另外，於1996年來自[[多哥共和國]]的{{lel法西亞·卡辛嘉lFauziya Kasinga}}成為美國第一位因為逃避女陰殘割而取得庇護的女性[217]。雖然，截至2006年為止，一些聯邦上訴法庭主張父母不應因害怕其子女遭受女陰殘割為理由接受庇護，尤其是在案中兒童是美國合法居民或公民的情況下[218]。
In 1996 it became illegal under Title 18 of the United States Code, § 116, to perform FGM on minors for non-medical reasons,[219] and the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 prohibited transporting a minor out of the country for the purpose of FGM.[220] The American Academy of Pediatrics opposes all forms of the practice. In 2010 it suggested that "pricking or incising the clitoral skin" was a harmless procedure that might satisfy parents, but withdrew the statement after complaints.[221] The first FGM conviction in the US was in 2006, when Khalid Adem, who had emigrated from Ethiopia, was sentenced to ten years after severing his two-year-old daughter’s clitoris with a pair of scissors.[222]
1996年{{le|美國法典第18卷|Title 18 of the United States Code}}116條將以非醫療目的對未成年少女施行女陰殘割定義為非法行為[219]，{{le|2013會計年度美國國防授權法案| National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013|2013年美國國防授權法案}}禁止以女陰殘割為目的將未成年人運送出國[220]。{{le|美國小兒科學會|American Acadamy of Pediatrics}}反對任何形式的女陰殘割。小兒科學會於2010年提出 “針刺或切割陰蒂的皮膚” 沒有危害且可以滿足父母要求，但在投訴後撤回了此說法[221]。美國首例女陰殘割定罪案是在2006年，一位衣索比亞移民{{lel哈立德·阿德姆lKhalid Adem}}因為以剪刀切除兩歲女兒的陰蒂而被判處十年徒刑[222]。
Further information: Female genital mutilation in the United Kingdom
圖Efua Dorkenoo (1949–2014) received an OBE in 1994 for her work against FGM in the UK.[223]
According to the European Parliament, 500,000 women in Europe had undergone FGM as of March 2009.[224] France is known for its tough stance against FGM, reflecting its position that French identity and unity depend on the assimilation of its immigrants.[225] Up to 30,000 women there are thought to have experienced FGM. Colette Gallard, a family-planning counsellor, writes that when FGM was first encountered in France, the reaction was that Westerners ought not to intervene, and it took the deaths of two girls in 1982, one of them three months old, for that attitude to change.[226]
The practice is outlawed by a provision of France’s penal code dealing with violence against children.[227] All children under six who were born in France undergo medical examinations that include inspection of the genitals, and doctors are obliged to report FGM.[225] The first civil suit was in 1982 and the first criminal prosecution in 1993.[228] In 1999 a woman was given an eight-year sentence for having performed FGM on 48 girls.[229] By 2014 over 100 parents and two practitioners had been prosecuted in over 40 criminal cases.[227][225]
歐洲議會稱歐洲截止至2009年3月時有近50萬名婦女受過女陰殘割[224]。法國考慮到移民的[[同化]]對法國民族身分與團結至關重要，因此以嚴厲對待女陰殘割出名。[225]法國有大約三萬名婦女經歷過女陰殘割。家庭計畫輔導員科萊特·加勒德寫到：女陰殘割首次在法國出現時，公眾的反應是西方人不要干預此事；直到1982年兩名女童因女陰殘割死亡後（其中一名三個月大）公眾看法才得到改變。[226]法國刑法中涉及兒童暴力的條款禁止女陰殘割。[227]所有在法國出生的兒童在六歲之前需要進行包括檢查生殖器在內的體檢；醫生有義務舉報檢查到的女陰殘割。[225]1982年法國出现了首宗關於女陰殘割的民事訴訟，1993年出現了首宗刑事訴訟。[228]1999年一名女性因為對48位女孩施行女陰殘割而被判八年徒刑。截止至2014年，超过四十宗刑事案件中起诉了超過一百名父母及兩位從事女陰殘割的人員。[227][225]
Around 137,000 women and girls living in England and Wales in 2011 were born in countries where FGM is practised.[230] Performing FGM on children or adults was outlawed under the Prohibition of Female Circumcision Act 1985.[231] This was replaced by the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 and Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation (Scotland) Act 2005, which added a prohibition on arranging FGM outside the country for British citizens or permanent residents.[232] The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women asked the government in 2013 to "ensure the full implementation of its legislation on FGM."[233] The first charges were brought the following year against a physician and another man, after the physician stitched an infibulated woman after opening her for childbirth. Both men were acquitted in 2015.[234]
在2011年約13.7萬名居住在英格兰與威爾斯地區的女性出生於施行女陰殘割的國家[230]。1985年禁止女性割禮法案(不確定怎麼翻QQ)禁止對兒童或成人實施女陰殘割[231]。該法案被2003年女陰殘割法案與2005年蘇格蘭禁止女陰殘割法案(還是不確定怎麼翻QQ)取代，新法案中進一步禁止將英國公民或永久居民帶出國外實行女陰殘割的行為[232]。聯合國[[消除對婦女一切形式歧視公約]]在2013年要求各國政府「務必在立法上完整規範女陰殘割」(暫翻)[233]。次年有一男子與一醫生被起訴；該醫生將一名曾受女陰殘割的婦女陰部打開後重新縫合。2015年兩人無罪獲釋[234]。
A. Tolerance versus human rights
A.容忍與人權的對決
圖Obioma Nnaemeka: "Westerners are quick to appropriate the power to name ..."[238]
歐比歐瑪·那亞米卡：「西方人在佔有命名權方面速度往往快人一步...」
Anthropologist Eric Silverman wrote in 2004 that FGM had "emerged as one of the central moral topics of contemporary anthropology." Anthropologists have accused FGM eradicationists of cultural colonialism; in turn, the former have been criticized for their moral relativism and failure to defend the idea of universal human rights.[235] According to the opposition’s critics, the biological reductionism of the opposition, and the failure to appreciate the practice’s cultural context, undermines the practitioners’ agency and serves to "other" them – in particular by calling African parents mutilators.[236] Yet Africans who object to the opposition risk appearing to defend FGM.[237] Feminist theorist Obioma Nnaemeka – herself strongly opposed to FGM ("If one is circumcised, it is one too many") – argues that the impact of renaming it female genital mutilation cannot be underestimated:
人類學家{{lel埃里克·西爾弗曼|Eric Silveman}}於2004年寫到，認為女陰殘割已成為「當代人類學中最重要的道德議題之一」人類學家指控女陰殘割廢除支持者為文化殖民主義者;同樣的，前者也因為他們的[[道德相對主義]]及沒有成功捍衛世界[[人權]]的觀念而被批評[235]。根據反對者的評論，反對方所提的生物還原論以及不認同女陰殘割背後的文化價值，逐漸削弱施行殘割的機構，並以此將他們邊緣化–特別是藉由稱呼非洲籍父母「殘割者(mutilator)」[236]。但不認同反對方意見的非洲人出面捍衛女陰殘割的實行[237]。女权主義理論家{{lel歐比歐瑪·那亞米卡|Obioma Nnaemeka}}–她個人極反對女陰殘割，主張「沒有一位女性被施行割禮」{{notetag|原文："If one is circumcised, it is one too many"}}–認為將女陰殘割被重新命名為female genital mutilation的影響是不可低估的。
在這場命名遊戲中，雖然討論的是非洲女性，卻隱含著西方文明與試圖滌淨所謂野蠻的非洲文化和穆斯林文化的關聯性(甚至是必要性)，這標誌著一個殖民主義和傳教士熱忱決定何謂「文明」的世代，並想著如何及何時要強迫沒有要求得到他的人們接受他[239]。
Ugandan law professor Sylvia Tamale argues that early Western opposition to FGM stemmed from a Judeo-Christian judgment that African sexual and family practices – including dry sex, polygyny, bride price and levirate marriage – were primitive and required correction.[240] African feminists "do not condone the negative aspects of the practice", writes Tamale, but "take strong exception to the imperialist, racist and dehumanising infantilization of African women."[240]
烏干達法學教授{{le|西爾維亞·塔馬利|Sylvia Tamale}}認為早期西方世界對於女陰殘割的反對聲浪來自於猶太-基督教價值觀，他們認為非洲社會的家庭價值和性觀念是原始且必須矯治的，包含{{le|乾陰道性交|dry sex}}、[[一夫多妻制]]、[[聘禮]]，及[[夫兄弟婚]]等等[240]。塔馬利表示，非洲女權主義者「不容忍此舉措產生的負面影響」，卻「完全容忍帝國主義、種族歧視，以及對於非洲女性的稚化鄙視。」[240]
The debate has highlighted a tension between anthropology and feminism, with the former’s focus on tolerance and the latter’s on equal rights for all women. Anthropologist Christine Walley writes that a common trope within the anti-FGM literature has been to present African women as victims of false consciousness participating in their own oppression, a position promoted by several feminists in the 1970s and 1980s, including Fran Hosken, Mary Daly and Hanny Lightfoot-Klein. It prompted the French Association of Anthropologists to issue a statement in 1981, at the height of the early debates, that "a certain feminism resuscitates (today) the moralistic arrogance of yesterday’s colonialism."[241]
人類學者和女權主義者一直對於女陰殘割的存廢爭論不休，蓋因前者主要關注文化容忍性，而後者則聚焦於普世性的平等女權。人類學家克莉絲汀·瓦萊寫道，1970年代至1980年代之間，弗蘭·霍斯肯、[[瑪麗·戴莉]]，和漢妮·萊特富特 - 克萊恩（Hanny Lightfoot-Klein）等女權主義者推動反女陰殘割運動時，聲援的文學家利用淺顯的比喻，將非洲女性形塑為因[[錯誤意識]]影響，而參與對自己身體進行迫害的受害者形象。這促使法國人類學學會於1981年聲明立場，當時是女陰殘割前期論戰的最高峰。聲明表示「今日的女權主義，實則昨日殖民主義者教條式的禮教。」[241]
As an example of the disrespect arguably shown toward women who have undergone FGM, commentators highlight the appropriation of the women’s bodies as exhibits. Historian Chima Korieh cites the publication in 1996 of the Pulitzer-prize-winning photographs (above) of a 16-year-old Kenyan girl undergoing FGM. The photographs were published by 12 American newspapers, but according to Korieh the girl had not given permission for the images to be taken, much less published.[242]
另外有一些人認為，部分價值觀及行為對實施過女陰殘割手術的女性相當不敬，特別是展示她們身體及陰部的照片。歷史學家Chima Korieh以1996年[[普立茲獎]]得主Stephanie Welsh的得獎作品為例，該照片以一名正在接受女陰殘割的肯亞女孩做為題材，並被12家美國媒體刊登，然而根據 Korieh的說法，那名肯亞女孩根本沒有同意Welsh的拍攝，更遑論是刊登[242]。
B. Comparison with other procedures
圖Martha Nussbaum argues that a key moral and legal issue with FGM is that it is mostly conducted on children using physical force.
圖瑪莎。納斯班姆 提出一個關於女陰殘割的重要且合法的理論為大多數利用肢體暴力來對待孩童施行女陰殘割。
Obioma Nnaemeka argues that the crucial question, broader than FGM, is why the female body is subjected to so much "abuse and indignity" around the world, including in the West.[243] Several authors have drawn a parallel between FGM and cosmetic procedures.[244] Ronán Conroy of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland wrote in 2006 that cosmetic genital procedures were "driving the advance of female genital mutilation" by encouraging women to see natural variations as defects.[245] Anthropologist Fadwa El Guindi compares FGM to breast enhancement, in which the maternal function of the breast becomes secondary to men’s sexual pleasure.[246] Benoîte Groult made a similar point in 1975, citing FGM and cosmetic surgery as sexist and patriarchal.[247]
歐畢歐馬·內梅卡（Obioma Nnaemeka）提出一個比起女陰殘割更廣泛的重要議題：為什麼包含西方國家在內，全世界有那麼多地方「虐待及汙化」女性身體的舉措[243]？許多作家將女陰殘割與整形手術提出來做比較[244]。[[愛爾蘭皇家外科醫學院]]的羅南·康羅伊在2006年寫到生殖器整形手術可以改善女性生殖器的殘割，並鼓勵女性將自然個體上的差異視為缺陷[245]。人類學家[[法德瓦.拉.金蒂]]將女陰殘割與隆乳互相比較，因為乳房具有的哺育功能竟然次於取悅男性性快感[246]。博奴瓦特.格魯在1975年提出類似的論點，點出女陰殘割與整形手術並將其視為男性沙文主義與父系社會的威權[247]。
Carla Obermeyer maintains that FGM may be conducive to women’s well-being within their communities in the same way that rhinoplasty and male circumcision may help people elsewhere.[248] In Egypt, despite the 2007 ban, women wanting FGM for their daughters discuss the need for amalyet tajmeel (cosmetic surgery) to remove what is viewed as excess genital tissue for a more acceptable appearance.[249]
卡拉。歐巴瑪雅主張女陰殘割有助於女性與社群好好相處，[[隆鼻]]與男性割包皮也有相同的道理[248]。在埃及，儘管在2007年對女陰殘割下了禁令，女性想讓自己的女兒進行女陰殘割，討論需要藉由amalyet tajmeel(外科整形手術)來移除看起來多餘的外生殖組織讓陰部有比較能夠接受的外型[249]。
The WHO does not cite procedures such as labiaplasty and clitoral hood reduction as examples of FGM, but its definition aims to avoid loopholes, so several elective practices on adults do fall within its categories.[250] Some of the laws banning FGM, including in Canada and the US, focus only on minors. Several countries, including Sweden and the UK, have banned it regardless of consent, and the legislation would seem to cover cosmetic procedures. Sweden, for example, has banned "[o]perations on the external female genital organs which are designed to mutilate them or produce other permanent changes in them ... regardless of whether consent to this operation has or has not been given."[251] Gynaecologist Birgitta Essén and anthropologist Sara Johnsdotter note that it seems the law distinguishes between Western and African genitals, and deems only African women (such as those seeking reinfibulation after childbirth) unfit to make their own decisions.[252]
世界衛生組織並不表彰女陰殘割，像是切除陰唇和去除陰蒂包皮的手術，但它的定義是為了防止漏洞的產生，而確實有許多對於成人的規範都是基於世界衛生組織的分類[250]。有些禁止女陰殘割的國家只著重在少部分的內容，像是加拿大和美國。許多國家，包括瑞典和英國，立法禁止任何與女陰殘割有關的手術，甚至涵蓋到整形手術。以瑞典來說，瑞典政府禁止切除或會對女性外部生殖器官產生永久性變化的手術，無論受術者是否同意手術的進行[251]。婦產科醫生彼吉妲·艾森和人類學家莎拉·瓊斯達特提到，在法律上似乎可以顯示西方國家和非洲地區對於陰部的觀念差異，且非洲的女性(尤其在產後尋求再縫陰手術的婦女) 不太容易自己做出手術選擇的決定[252]。
Arguing against suggested similarities between FGM and dieting or body shaping, philosopher Martha Nussbaum writes that a key difference is that FGM is mostly conducted on children using physical force. She argues that the distinction between social pressure and physical force is morally and legally salient, comparable to the distinction between seduction and rape. She argues further that the literacy of women in practising countries is generally poorer than in developed nations, and that this reduces their ability to make informed choices.[253]
有些人質疑，女陰殘割和女孩為了體態而節食有什麼不同？哲學家{{le|瑪莎·努斯鮑姆|Martha Nussbaum}}認為此兩者最大的差異在於，接受女陰殘割的女孩通常是被硬生生的抓去接受手術。她以色誘和強暴互相比較，認為相較於前述的物理性脅迫，女孩因社會眼光的壓力而進行節食，於道德和法律上相對有理據。此外，瑪莎又做了一些延伸探討，認為實行女陰殘割的國家，大部分識字率和發展程度較低，而影響了女性受知的機會，這使她們選擇的能力大幅降低[253]。
Several commentators maintain that children’s rights are violated with the genital alteration of intersex children, who are born with anomalies that physicians choose to correct. Legal scholars Nancy Ehrenreich and Mark Barr write that thousands of these procedures take place every year in the United States, and say that they are medically unnecessary, more extensive than FGM, and have more serious physical and mental consequences. They attribute the silence of anti-FGM campaigners about intersex procedures to white privilege and a refusal to acknowledge that "similar unnecessary and harmful genital cutting occurs in their own backyards."[254]
一些ˋ評論者認為這侵犯到雌雄同體孩子生殖器變更的權力，這些孩子一出生因為擁有雙性生殖器而被醫生診斷修正。法律學者南希•厄萊雷奇和馬克·巴爾表示在這樣案例有數千件在美國發生，並說道這在醫學上是不必要，但比女陰殘割更廣泛，且在生理與心理上有嚴重的後果。他們歸因於反女陰殘割運動者對於雙性患者的漠視{{le|白色特權|white privilege}}與一種拒絕承認類似且不必要和有害的生殖器切割就發生在自家後院。[254]
<!--目前中文條目內容 -->
<世衛組織的分類>
女性器切除類型四
類型一
世衛組織定義的女性器切除類型一指部分或全部切除陰蒂以及陰蒂包皮。
類型一甲：僅切除陰蒂包皮。
類型一乙：切除陰蒂和陰蒂包皮。
類型二
世衛組織定義的女性器切除類型二指部分或全部切除陰蒂和小陰唇，有時也切除大陰唇。
類型二甲：僅切除小陰唇。
類型二乙：部分或全部切除陰蒂和小陰唇。
類型二丙：部分或全部切除陰蒂、小陰唇和大陰唇。
類型三：切割縫合
世衛組織定義的女性器切除類型三指的是所有外生殖器，也就是內、外陰唇和陰蒂全部切除並縫合下體，留下一個小洞（2–3毫米）以通過尿液和經血。傷口通過手術線縫合，比較落後的地區用龍舌蘭的莖或者草繩綁住女孩的腿直到2–6周後讓傷口自動癒合。根據蘇丹1982年的一項研究，雞蛋和糖可以用作粘合劑。
類型三甲：切除縫合小陰唇。
類型三乙，切除縫合大陰唇。
類型四：其它
所有其它女性器切除統歸為類型四，有些未必切除肉組織。世衛組織定義的女性器切除類型四指「所有其它無醫療目的的損害女性器的手術」。如刺、刮、燒灼。另有一種處女膜切開術也包括在內，去除太厚的處女膜，主要在西非的豪薩族實施。但並不包括變性手術。
<流行地區>
地圖估計了非洲各地區的女性器切除的比例，估計的數據來源非常不可靠。[來源請求]
大赦國際估計全世界有1.3億婦女接受了女性器切除，每年二百萬婦女接受性器切除。女性器切除主要流行於非洲，西起塞內加爾，東抵衣索比亞海岸，北達埃及，南至坦尚尼亞。阿拉伯半島的部分人群中也有此風。此風最甚的國家是埃及，其後依次是蘇丹、衣索比亞和馬里。埃及近年立法禁止女性器切除。
對全球有多少女性受到外生殖器切割的估計，這一數字在7000萬到1億4000萬人之間。在非洲，估計每年有大約300萬年輕女子受到這種手段的威脅。 這種習俗還存在於亞洲和中東，甚至在歐洲、澳大利亞、加拿大、紐西蘭以及美國的一些移民社區也仍存在，儘管範圍較小。
聯合國兒童基金會的研究表明，來自埃及、衣索比亞、肯亞、塞內加爾以及蘇丹等5個非洲國家的數據顯示，在消除女性外生殖器切割的做法上出現了進步。這種傷害性的習俗在埃及、衣索比亞和蘇丹普遍存在，但是在肯亞及塞內加爾這種做法僅出現在某些特定人群之中。聯合國兒童基金會的研究顯示，15到49歲女性的態度發生了深刻的變化。例如，這項研究表明，2000年衣索比亞有60%的女性同意外生殖器切割的做法，而5年以後的調查數據顯示，這個百分比 已經下降了一半。與此同時在埃及和蘇丹，贊同這種習俗的人數明顯減少，而在肯亞和塞內加爾，否定這種做法的態度則已經非常普遍了。但是聯合國兒童基金會發言人梅爾卡多說，不少家庭不願意放棄切割生殖器的傳統，因為他們認為這種做法有利於他們女兒。主要原因是，將自己女兒性器切割可以在某種意義上真正為他們的家庭帶來經濟及社會的安全保障。他們要保證自己的女兒能被社會接受，嫁人和過正常生活。在很多這種習俗通行的文化中，不進行切割，就會受到歧視。[5]
中東的庫爾德地區也廣泛存在，2011年6月，伊拉克庫爾德三省將女性割禮和家庭暴力列入刑事犯罪，這是個具有里程碑意義的法律，但始終無法獲得有效實施。
在伊拉克北部庫爾德三省，享有很大的自主權，擁有自己的議會、預算和軍隊。比起伊拉克其他地方這裡安全形勢最好，庫爾德當地人平均壽命特別是女性也比伊拉克其他省份要好。
但在當地有切割女性生殖器官的傳統。據德國非政府組織2010年的對當地1700名婦女的調查中發現在埃爾比勒和蘇萊曼尼亞兩個省份中72.7％的女性都被切割了生殖器，某些地區幾乎100％。
此外許多庫爾德女性由於畏懼強姦和榮譽謀殺而自願將下體縫合，部分人甚至選擇切除輸卵管並將下體完全縫合，終身不嫁。[6]