(CNN) -- A human rights group issued a new report detailing the widespread practice of female circumcisions in Iraqi Kurdistan, calling on Kurdish authorities to outlaw it.
The 73-page report, released Wednesday by the group Human Rights Watch, cites previous studies estimating the circumcision rate for young women to range from 41 percent in a smaller sample of women up to 80 percent in larger studies. The Kurdish government does not keep statistics on female circumcisions or post-operative medial consequences.
Human Rights Watch refers to the circumcisions as "female genital mutilation." The procedure involves partial or total removal of the clitoris, and is also known as clitoridectomy.
The report describes the pain, fear, and physical and emotional distress that girls experience as they undergo the procedure.
Although Islam does not mandate female circumcisions, some girls say it comes from the belief that anything they touch is unclean "until they go through this painful procedure," according to the group. Critics say the intent is to oppress women, and to curtail female sexual desire, even if the surgery poses a health risk.
