Female Genital Mutilation, also known as female circumcision/cutting, is the practice of removing parts or all of the external female genitalia for non-medical reasons. This procedure is carried out extensively in Northern Africa and parts of the Middle East.
The custom dates back about 4000 years. Campaigners believe that because it is such an ancient tradition it will take years of education to see a change in the attitudes of people who practice this barbarous act.
Most commonly practiced on girls in Africa between infancy and the age of 15, these girls remain with the physical scars and health consequences as well as the emotional mutilation caused by the memory.
The act of female mutilation is seen as a celebration. While the child is screaming, crying and restrained, her screams are drowned out by the ululations of women rejoicing over her successful pass into adulthood.
There are 3 different types of mutilation according to the World Health Organization.
Type 1
The partial or total removal of the clitoris and/or the clitoris hood.
Type 2
The partial or total removal of the clitoris and labia minora.
Type 3
The most common, and most harmful, is the removal of all external genitalia including the clitoris, clitoris hood, labia minor and labia majora- and sewing the vaginal opening shut.
Drawings of the different types of FGM
It is believed that with the removal of the clitoris libido levels drop. This refrains the girl from developing any sexual desire and thus, she does not feel the need to conform and have sexual relations before marriage.
Also, the fear of the pain that will come if she opens her sewn shut vagina, and the fear of this being found it, is seen to discourage women from behaving 'wrongly'.
Lastly, FGM is associated with femininity and modesty, the idea that girls are considered to have 'male' parts that are 'unclean' before cutting is widely known within communities. Only after FGM is carried out a girl can be considered clean and womanly.
Over the years, many religious scholars have argued whether female circumcision was recommended by Islam. Many agree with the fact that it is a brutal act, but some believe that it is an act of cleansing and that it should be done.
I personally believe this is an occasion where people tend to muddle up and mix culture with religion. FGM is carried out for cultural and social reasons, but because these reasons reflect some ideas mentioned in religion it is misinterpreted.
Islam promotes abstinence, but it does not say anywhere in the Quraan that physical measures should be taken against girls to suspend their participation in sexual acts. It is on occasions like this that people label Islam as a 'terrorist brutal religion', but in truth FGM is not relevant to religion
There are no health benefits of FGM. Some of the health risks include
- immediate excruciating pain and hemorrhage- can result in death from shock
- abscess formation and cysts
- urinary tract infections
- painful sexual intercourse
- increased susceptibility to HIV, hepatitis and other blood borne diseases
- reproductive tract infection
- infertility
- bladder stones
- obstructed labour
The following video discusses the different views and opinions of FGM in Ethiopia.
It breaks my heart to hear of the stories of women who have been put through this savage act. I can only imagine the health complications and emotional distress that little girl is going through at this very moment.
I truly hope I live to see the day when FGM is banned worldwide- till then I pray for the girls who have to deal with these traditions.
I pray for you to have the strength to carry on and keep fighting for your rights.
STOP FGM
Signed,
They have to do something about it here in Oman, especially in DHOFAR! Everyone practices it in Dhofar. It's aweful!
ReplyDeleteIt happens in most interior regions.
ReplyDeleteBut if you look at global statistics, Oman is one of the places that claims to not practice the custom.
http://warisdirie.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/map_prevalence-of-fgm.jpg
We have to acknowledge the issue before we try and stop it.
Couldn't watch the video.. the images up there were enough..
ReplyDeletei was also shocked when i knew about this for the first time, i was in grade9 .. my teacher told us while we had a lesson in social studies... ;S
that's disturbing n they should really stop it =S
aww i can feel hurt on my va-j-j .
ReplyDeleteTHE Koran does IN fact speak of it and mohammed told a women just don't cut to deeply.....FACT!
ReplyDeletethey cant force it on non-muslims can they??? any one try and do that to my daughter would die a slow horrible death. I WILL CUT YOUR DICK OFF.
ReplyDeleteClitorectomy, the removal of the external part of the clitoris, was not uncommonly done in Europe, the British Isles and the USA into the last half of the 20th century. The purpose was to discourage masturbation and fornication. It is still done on occasion to baby girls with unusually large clitorises mainly to assuage fears of uneasy parents. Some adult women have their clitorises removed to reduce annoying excessive sensitivity or for cosmetic purposes.
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