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Nearly 80% women in Ethiopia are circumcised. The Amharic term for female circumcision (female genital mutilation, FGM) is "girizat". All three different types of circumcision are practiced in Ethiopia in every segment of the population - regardless of economic status, religion or ethnicity. Infibulations or "pharaonoic circumcision" is the most drastic of the three types of circumcision.  It entails the complete removal of the clitoris and labia and sewing up of the vagina, leaving only a small opening for urine and menstrual blood to pass.  The second and less drastic type of circumcision involves the total removal of the clitoris.  The least drastic of the three types involves the removal of the tip of the clitoris and is the most widely practiced type of circumcision in Ethiopia's urban areas.  It is known as "Gonder girizat".

Some Ethiopians continue to practice circumcision in the United States and Europe.