Girls are being taken to female genital mutilation (FGM) "parties" in cities across England, the Leeds-based charity the Black Health Initiative has warned. The charity says midwives from Africa are flown in to carry out the illegal practice. The latest National Health Service figures show more than 8,000 women across England have recently been identified as being victims of FGM. Female genital mutilation, defined as the partial or total removal of the female external genitalia for non medical reasons, is an illegal practice in the UK and carries a sentence of up to 14 years in jail.