Yesterday UNICEF released a  new report on female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) showing that, while millions of girls are still at risk, the dangerous centuries-old tradition is now on a slow but steady decline in key areas around the world.

In some sense this isn’t hard news; we reported last February that FGM/C was on the decline in Africa, where over 8,000 communities have renounced the practice. But to see this trend picking up worldwide is heartening.

On the other hand, I couldn’t help but feel that the real “news” of the report is that, despite a sharp decline in FGM/C in numerous countries, in 2013 there are still so many countries where the FGM/C prevalance rate is over 90%. The most recent numbers ...