There are four main types of mutilations:


Type I
'Sunna' circumcision, comprising removal of the hood of the clitoris.


Type II
Clitoridectomy (also known as excision), consists of removal of the clitoris with partial or total excision of the labia minora. This constitutes 80% of mutilations performed.


Type III
Infibulation (also known as pharaonic circumcision) entails removal of the clitoris, labia minora and labia majora with narrowing / stitching of the vaginal opening. This is the extreme form of FGM, involving removal of almost 2/3rds of the female genitalia. This constitutes 15% of mutilations performed.


Type IV
Unclassified: pricking / piercing / incising the clitoris and / or labia, cauterisation by burning of clitoris and surrounding tissues; scraping (angurya cuts) of the vaginal orifice or cutting (gishiri cuts) of the vagina to cause bleeding or herbs into the vagina with the aim of tightening or narrowing the vagina; any other procedure which falls under the definition of FGM given above.