Thursday marks the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation. Many people may be surprised to know that this is even a practice, but it is. It’s a custom in too many parts of the world, where women generally suffer from mistreatment, and sadly the practice has been imported into the West, including into the United States.

The World Health Organization defines female genital mutilation as the partial or total removal of female external genitalia for nonmedical reasons. It has no health benefits, it is traumatic for young girls to undergo, and it is not a practice condoned by any major religion.