ASMARA, April 5 (Reuters) - Eritrea has banned female circumcision, a life-threatening tradition that aid groups say afflicts some 90 percent of the country's women. A brief statement posted on a government Web site on Thursday said anyone who requests, takes part in or promotes the practice faces a fine or jail sentence. "Female circumcision is a procedure that seriously endangers the health of women, causes them considerable pain and suffering besides threatening their lives," it said. "Whosoever requests, incites or promotes female circumcision ... shall be punishable with a fine and imprisonment." The ban took effect on March 31, it said, but gave no other details. Female circumcision, also called female genital mutilation (FGM), is widespread in the Horn of Africa and involves cutting off the clitoris and other parts of the female genitalia. There are degrees of severity and many practitioners are untrained and use crude instruments. Up to 140 million women and girls worldwide are estimated to have suffered FGM, and United Nations agencies estimate that another three million a year are subjected to the practice.
