Female Genital Mutilation, shortened to FGM in most medical texts, is “collective name given to several different traditional practices that involve the cutting of female genitals.” FGM is a common cultural practice in many parts of the world, especially Africa and Asia that was established hundreds of years ago. There are many different types of FGM, ranging from clitoridectomy, to cutting and infibulations (Skaine 7). Even though these procedures are accepted in the areas they are practiced, FGM has become a human rights discussion resurfacing in recent years because the procedures serve no purpose. Female Genital Mutilation is an unethical practice that should be outlawed throughout the entire world.
FGM, specifically infibulation, is believed to have started in Arabia and then spread to Africa through a well-established trade route. FGM has never been considered a hygienic practice because most of the procedures make hygiene more difficult (Pieters). The sole purpose of FGM is to make sexual contact unsatisfactory for the woman, no matter what the motive is. Some girls go through FGM procedures at a young age to calm their fathers’ nerves and others undergo the procedures so she won’t stray from her husband. In Egypt, 97 percent of women have undergone a Female Circumcision procedure sometime in their lives while only 82 percent approve of it. An Indonesian study showed that midwives performed from about 68 to 88 percent of all procedures (Skaine 42). Most of the time, girls that receive a Female Circumcision don’t even get a chance to voice their opinions because they are too young when the procedure is performed.
While Female Genital Mutilation procedures serve their purpose, to take away sexual satisfaction, every advers...
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...problem is viewed by the public. According to the Womankind Worldwide organization, in order to achieve the abolition of FGM two things must happen: “FGM needs to be firmly [placed] on national governments’ agendas and there must be clear laws specifically criminalizing FGM” (Womankind Worldwide 32). Until those two things happen, Female Genital Mutilation will continue to be a worldwide concern. Developed nations must help the countries “lagging behind” to smooth the progress of eradicating FGM (Skaine 79). The frequency of genital cutting in individual countries makes the practice seem irrelevant in many parts of the world; however the practice is a worldwide human rights concern. A person’s body should not be deformed, unless for hygienic or medical reasons, without the individual’s permission therefore any form of Female Genital Mutilation should not take place.
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Show MoreFemale genital circumcision (FGC) is a cultural ritual that is performed to the vast majority of women within the countries of Sudan, Kenya, Mali, Benin, Togo, and parts of the Middle East. Female genital circumcision also termed as female genital mutilation is used based upon a person’s beliefs. This ritual has been highly controversial for many years especially in the western society, due to the health risks that women may have to go through. Doctor Gruenbaum, and anthropologist who studied FGC in Sudan, has researched this topic and believes that outsiders need to have an open mind about diverse cultures. I believe that this procedure should not be illegal; however, education about the risks of the procedure should be enforced in the countries where this takes place, in order to create a safer environment for the ritual to be performed in. The goal of this essay is to know what Female Genital Circumcision is and different types of FGC and why this is performed and why it is important for outsiders to not have ethnocentric views when dealing with this. This essay also deals with why it should be medicalized instead of enforcing laws to ban this years long tradition in all African countries. When challenging female genital circumcision, we are also challenging the people who perform this procedure, their culture, values and beliefs.
Female genital mutilation, also known as female circumcision, is a practice that involves the removal of part or all of the female external genitalia. It occurs throughout the world, but most commonly in Africa where they say that it is a tradition and social custom to keep a young girl pure and a married woman faithful. But to some Westerners, the practice is viewed as being primitive and barbaric. We react with disgust and find it nearly incomprehensible that female genital mutilation can occur in the world today
Female genital mutilation is a heartbreaking practice which violates basic human rights and must be banned worldwide. FGM it's a operation on which the clitoris and genitals are completely cut off. Referring to (www.mtholyoke.edu) The cause of this procedure may fluctuate it can be either for family honor, virginity protection, religion, or excessive sexual satisfaction for their partner. Also, this is done by traditional midwives with no medical experience, no anesthesia, or any drug. The tools used for this practice are pieces of glass, knives, scissors, razors and other sharp basics.
"Did you know that 125 million women have experienced female genital mutilation worldwide, and 3 million girls estimate at risk of the procedure each year"? (Facts to End FGM). Female genital mutilation is a procedure for females that implicates partial or total removal of the female genital organs. This procedure intentionally alters or causes injury to the female that can have short and long-term health risks with no benefits. In recent years, the practice of female genital mutilation has been increasingly in the news, generating a complex debate about cultural norms and the worth of sexual functioning (Nussbaum 13). Female genital mutilation is known in terms such as female circumcision and female genital cutting. Female circumcision is the action or traditional practices of cutting off the clitoris and sometimes the labia of girls or young women. FGM contemplates as a dull violation of human rights for women and girls. There are four types of FGM operations. The first type is excision or removal of the clitoral hood, that is either with or without removal of parts or all of the clitoris. The second type is the removal of the clitoris together with parts or all the labia minora. The third type is the removal of or all the external genitalia. The fourth type is a variety of procedures that includes, scraping or cutting of the vagina and surrounding tissues. "The World Health Organization estimates that overall, in today's world between 85 and 115 million women have had such operations" (Nussbaum 13).
...ce (Ahmad). As WHO has stated, “We have to realize that female genital mutilation is a deeply-rooted traditional practice. As such, it can only be abolished completely when attitudes have been changed” (Taylor 31). As this statement suggests, there has to be a line drawn in the sand when discussing the practice of FGM. On one side, there are Western idealists who believe that FGM is barbaric and should be abolished, with their own hands if necessary. On the other side, there are the people who believe FGM is a tradition and a cultural rite, one that should be continued for centuries to come. And somewhere in the middle there are those that believe that change must come, but must come only when the countries involved are ready. Change cannot be put upon them.
Several societies place large burdens upon their women whether it is their looks, mothering skills, or other special cases. A special case that is widely known across the world is a practice that done in China several years ago. In China they had a custom where they broke girl’s feet, and tied them down so that their feet would remain unnaturally small. This practice led to the mutilation of thousands of girl’s feet, but if they did not get their feet broken they would not be able to get married. To my knowledge this practice no longer occurs in the twenty-first century, but another practice similar to it does. This practice is called female circumcision and is widely known in the United States as female genital mutilation (FGM). Female circumcision is a practice that is conducted in Ethiopia and Africa; it can have extremely harmful side effects which have led to it being banned in the United States. Anyone found practicing FGM in the United States could face a sentence of five years in prison. FGM is viewed as abuse in the United States even if the female wishes to be circumcised. However, despite the United States obvious views of female circumcision as immoral; some societies view female circumcision as a part of their culture which is why it still occurs today.
"Female Genital Mutilation and Other Harmful Practices." WHO. Ed. WHO. World Health Organization, 2014. Web. 03 June 2014.
Females as a general population have been faced with discrimination across the ages. In recent history, women have begun to assert their freedom and independence from the male oriented traditions that have spanned generations. In industrialized countries the discrimination of women has diminished, but a serious form of violation of human rights occurs sometimes in parts of the world, such as Africa, the Middle East, and even sometimes the United States and other industrialized countries in North America and Europe. Female genital mutilation (FGM) is an umbrella term for three subtypes of crimes committed against women as a part of various coming of age rituals for young girls in certain patriarchal communities in Africa, spreading through migration of a populace through Northeastern and Western Africa and some spread into the Middle Eastern countries. These communities integrated this practice into women through marriage into these cultures, spreading this practice into their daughters and so forth. FGM has been classified by the World Health Organization (WHO) into three basic subtypes, each growing more and more disturbing. Subtype number one is a clitoridectomy which is the complete or partial removal of the clitoris, while subtype two it includes the clitoridectomy plus the removal of the labia minora of the young girl. Alone, these two types of FGM composed approximately 90 percent of female genital mutilation. The third subtype is the most gruesome that is the narrowing the vagina opening by sealing the orifice with the use of the labia majora. These medical procedures have been described the WHO working in conjunction with United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), Un...
For one minute I just want you to think you were born a female in an African country. Did you no you are 90% more likely to have had gone through some form of female genital mutilation. Every day, thousands of girls are targeted for mutilation. Like torture, female genital mutilation (FGM) involves the deliberate infliction of severe pain and suffering. Its effects can be life-threatening. Most survivors have to cope with the physical and mental scars for the rest of their lives.
A major issue that goes hand in hand with female genital mutilation is health problems. FGM alters female genital organs, without a medically beneficial outcome. It is performed because African culture believes that it will keep girls pure because they will appear unattractive to men until marriage. There are no medical justifications for a girl to have her clitoris or any other genital org...
Female Genital Mutilation is a Global issue which is attached to different social issues but for the purpose of this study, in order to attain a broader view i will limit my study to Countries within African. It has become necessary to see this practice beyond traditional beliefs and start to look into the causes of this behaviour because it has caused more harm than good. Parent and victims of FGM could have made a better decision in expressing their human rights if they had broader knowledge about the emotional, psychological and medical complications of Female Circumcision.
Female genital mutilation is not an issue that will blow over immediately; it requires extreme measures, strategies, and persistence. As a major community health issue, it is imperative that FGM procedures be publicized and made aware of. We must form a foundation that increases advocacy and pushes for legislation that will benefit women around the world.
Local authorities have the mandate to safeguard and promote the welfare of girls and women in their boroughs. I strongly believe that FGM is used as power and control over women. Over 140 000 women and girls have undergone this procedure here in the UK so now social workers must notify the police if they discover that such an act has been performed. This only relates when it has been disclosed by a child under 18 or the social worker has had visual confirmation. Failure to report this leads to disciplinary measures. Cultures that practice this argue that FGM guarantees purity before marriage, men enjoy sex with circumcised women and that uncircumcised women are unclean, whilst others not supporting this state that it has serious health and mental implication these vulnerable girls. There is a lot of pressure for parents to circumcise their girls because the role tradition plays in their lives. There is also the pressure to fit it. Parents feel that if they do not do this other people from their community will see them as not following culture and condemn them. Parents are even taking their children back to their home countries for examples countries like Ethiopia in order for the girls to be circumcised. The procedures are carried out mostly by the grandmother or someone older who is known in the community (HM Government,
Female genital mutilation (FGM) is an ancient traditional non-therapeutic surgical procedure that involves total or partial removal of the external parts of female genitalia. This paper aimed to define and classify FGM, identifies the prevalence, describes reasons for performing the practice, and concentrates on the problems associated to this practice with regard to women’s health, religious beliefs, and socio-cultural, behavioral and moral consequences. Researches and survey reports that the global actions have been taken to reduce or abolish the prevalence of the practice will be assessed.
Imagine this! Being either a young girl or a woman forcefully bound against your will while elders perform a procedure called Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). The young girls and women who are forced to have this procedure done not only loses their rights to sexual pleasure but their rights are sliced, chopped, punctured, and finally burnt away. Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) otherwise known as Female Genital Circumcision (FGC) is also a controversial topic in Western societies. This paper will examine the history of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), hegemonic perspective on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), health consequences of having this procedure done, how Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) affects women’s sexual function, and women who have gotten genital reconstruction done on their vagina.