Survivor surgery and care
We fund clitoral restorative surgery through vetted partner surgeons and clinics, with counseling before and after.
- Surgery sponsorships
- Training local surgeons
- Trauma and sexual health counseling
Women's rights · Bodily autonomy · End FGM
The clitoris is the only organ in the human body that exists purely for pleasure, and for more than 230 million girls and women it was cut away without their consent. We fund repair, back survivors, and lobby to end female genital mutilation for good.
Our mission
The Clit Foundation exists to end female genital mutilation, restore what was taken from survivors, and defend every woman's right to her own body.
We say the word on purpose. Silence is how FGM survives: in families, in clinics, in parliaments. A name people can't ignore starts the conversation that protects the next girl.
We work where the need is greatest, across Africa and the Middle East, alongside local survivor-led organizations, surgeons and lawmakers. And we take on the wider fight for women's health: access to care, an end to child marriage, and laws that put women in charge of their own bodies.
The issue
The full anatomy of the clitoris is around 10 to 11 centimetres long, and most of it sits beneath the surface. FGM cuts the visible tip. Restorative surgery can bring the rest back to the surface, and give feeling back.
survivors in Africa, the largest number of any region.
survivors in the Middle East, with more in small practicing communities.
survivors live in countries hit by conflict and fast population growth.
years old. More girls are now being cut before their fifth birthday.
| Country | Prevalence | Share of women cut |
|---|---|---|
| Somalia | 99% | |
| Guinea | 95% | |
| Djibouti | 90% | |
| Mali | 89% |
Source: UNICEF, Female Genital Mutilation: A Global Concern (2024). The good news: about 400 million people in practicing countries in Africa and the Middle East, two-thirds of the population, already oppose FGM.
Programs
Four programs, one goal: zero girls cut.
We fund clitoral restorative surgery through vetted partner surgeons and clinics, with counseling before and after.
FGM ends when communities choose to end it. We back local leaders, midwives and survivor-educators who change minds from the inside.
Grassroots, survivor-led organizations know their communities best. We put money directly in their hands.
We push governments to pass, fund and enforce bans on FGM, and press the U.S. to make it a foreign-aid priority.
Advocacy
The UN set 2030 as the year to end FGM. At today's pace the world will miss it. We lobby for the money, the enforcement and the political will to close the gap.
Federal funding for FGM prevention in U.S. foreign aid, and stronger enforcement of the U.S. federal ban.
A state-level FGM ban in every U.S. state, with survivor support written in.
Partnering with local campaigners to win and enforce national bans where they're missing or ignored.
Where we work
We start where FGM is most common and survivors have the least access to care.
Somalia, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, Eritrea.
Guinea, Mali, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Gambia, Nigeria.
Egypt, where most procedures are now done by medical staff.
Where data is thin and survivors are often invisible.
Founding council
We are inviting powerful, accomplished women to lead this work: surgeons, survivors, lawmakers, founders and voices people listen to.
Seat open. Invitation underway.
A surgeon in restorative care.
The voice at the center of our work.
Runs our lobbying in D.C. and abroad.
Founder: Mark Lester, Miami, Florida.
Donate
Monthly gifts let us promise a surgeon, a shelter or a campaign that the money will be there next month too.
Preview: payments go live after the foundation is incorporated and registered with Florida. Until then, this button does nothing.
Get involved
Volunteer, host a fundraiser, bring us to your company, or just tell people what FGM is. Every conversation helps.
Events, outreach, design, translation, legal.
Run, host a dinner, celebrate a birthday for her.
Events
Our first global day of action. Social campaign and launch announcement.
Founding council reveal and first fundraising drive.
Example event. Date and venue to be confirmed.
News
Planned first posts, drafts to be written:
The word people avoid is the reason the practice survives.
Where it's falling, where it isn't, and why population growth matters.
An honest guide for survivors weighing their options.
Shop
Every purchase funds our programs. Example products; final designs follow the new logo.
Contact
Press, partnerships, survivors seeking support, or surgeons who want to help.