Numerous international conventions are on record opposing FGM. In the African context, the Maputo Protocol, the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, signed in 2003, is of particular significance. Article 5 specifically designates harmful traditional practices such as FGM as human rights violations and underlines the responsibility of governments to protect and promote women through legislation and public information campaigns. In many countries, female genital mutilation is now officially classified as a punishable offence. Genuine protection is only assured, however, when such prohibitions are firmly anchored not only in the penal code but within people's own sense of what is right and wrong.

One challenge in the effort to end female genital mutilation is to establish a dialogue with people, to make them aware of the negative consequences of FGM, and to win over public opinion-makers. In the long run, this is the only way to bring about a change in people's attitudes and behaviour and ultimately to eliminate female genital mutilation.