Female Genital Mutilation (female circumcision), or FGM, as a cultural tradition marks the transformation of a young girl into a woman. FGM is also used to inhibit a woman’s sex drive and ensure her purity for marriage, which in turn ensures she will be suitable for a husband. It is a tradition in many cultures, particularly in Africa and some Middle-Eastern countries, which has been practiced for thousands of years.
There are 4 types of FGM. Type I involves the partial or total removal of the clitoris and the surrounding tissue is removed. This type is also known as a clitorectomy. Type II, or excision, is the total removal of the clitoris, and partial or total removal of the labia minora. This is the most widely practiced form of FGM. Type III, or infibulation, is the total removal of the clitoris and labia minora. The vaginal opening is stitched together leaving a small opening for menstruation and urine flow. This type is seen as the most severe form of FGM. Type IV includes stretching, piercing, or cauterization of the clitoris and/or labia minora. To get a better understanding of these procedures you can see images depicting the different types of FGM by visiting:
http://www.middle-east-info.org/league/somalia/fgmpictures.htm
**The followin is a very graphic and disturbing video of an actual FGM procedure on a young girl. This video may not be suitable for young viewers.
Every year over 3 million girls are cut. The procedure is often carried out by a local practitioner, midwife, or lay person. It is usually done without the use of anesthesia. Knives, razorblades, and broken glass are the most popular tools to perform FGM. There is no particular age in which FGM is performed as it varies by village. Some villages may conduct the procedure immediately after birth and some may wait until the woman is in her teens or early twenties.
The health repercussions a female suffers are both mental and physical. Their wounds are subject to infection, hemorrhaging, urine retention, and post-operative shock, all of these having the potential to result in death. During childbirth the physician may need to reopen the mother to allow enough room for the child to pass through. After birth the woman is stitched back up and this procedure must be done with each child the woman has. The woman may also form scar tissue around her small vaginal opening making intercourse painful for her and her husband. There is also a risk of HIV infection as typically all eligible girls in a village are cut on the same day once a year using the same set of tools. FGM has also left many women without any feeling in their genital area, making sexual intercourse meaningless as they are unable to have any sexual response.
There are also repercussions for not having the procedure. There is a high possibility that sanctions will be brought against the girl and her family. She will most likely not find a suitable husband and circumcised girls will no longer associate with her. She will not be allowed to assume “adult woman” positions in the village as she will still be seen as a child. In order for a woman to be culturally and socially acceptable she must undergo FGM.
Recently there has been an international debate on FGM and legislation forbidding its use. It is an age old cultural tradition, is it right to impose the beliefs of others who are against FGM on a cultural that has been practicing it for thousands of years? Or do we value basic human rights of individuals more than culture traditions? In conjunction with 9 other countries who receive immigrants from countries who perform the procedure, the United States has criminalized FGM. Yet the debate continues as to whether or not we have the right to do so. Women will no longer be subject to this type of abuse, but won’t they still be sunned by members of their community? We may have the power to create law, but this does not mean the cultures that practice FGM will change.
I am at a loss for words...this is a very disturbing issue that needs to be kept in the forefront. I do agree with your recognition of a cultural tradition that has been carried on for generations and how can we determine what is culturally correct. Specifically in our country we circumise infants which can be viewed the same way. How can we cut the genitals of little newborn baby boys in our society and think that it should be a cultural norm? In the mideastern countries they are doing the same but to small girls and young women, whose to say which is culturally acceptable. We can argue that because we sanitize our instruments and practice precautionary measures the procedure should be acceptable? The FGM is done without medications like that of a circumsion...so does it make it right for us to want other countries to stop their procedures which are similar to what we practice in this country?
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