Female Genital Mutilation: Long Term Psychological Effects

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Female Genital Mutilation, or Female Circumcision as sometimes called, is the

partial or complete removal of the female clitoris immediately after birth, few

years after birth (early childhood), or several years after birth (adolescence).

Originally, female genital mutilation was practiced to ensure female virginity

until marriage; as it was discovered that by the partial or complete removal of

the clitoris, a female's sexual urge is minimized and, therefore, a girl could

have more control over her sexual desires. Because virginity was and remains a

very crucial factor in almost every society, circumcision was invented way in

the past before any of the Heavenly Religions appeared. In fact, the most

traditional and conservative type of circumcision is the Pharoanic type

(Infibulation), where the complete removal of the clitoris occurs and the vulva

walls are stitched together leaving a small opening for urination and menstrual

discharge. Nowadays, however, it continues to be practiced in Africa and the

Middle East mostly due to social forces. New reasoning developed through the

years to keep the ritual going on. The many reasons given for the practice are

bewildering and unfounded in any scientific or medical fact. They fall into four

main categories: psycho-sexual, religious, sociological and hygienic. Among the

psycho-sexual reasons is a belief that the clitoris is an aggressive organ that

threatens the male organ and even endangers babies during delivery. It is

believed that if a baby's head touches the mother's clitoris during birth, the

child will be born with a low IQ. Hence, a girl who is not circumcised, is

considered 'unclean' by local villagers and thus unmarriageable. A girl who does

not have here clitoris removed is considered a great danger and ultimately fatal

to a man if her clitoris touches his penis. Also, the circumcision issue is seen

as a form of beauty. It is seen as aesthetically beautiful, as genitals are

disfiguring and ugly in their natural state (Real Net, 2). In short, nowadays

the practice isn't done to explicitly mean that girls are untrustable, but

because, presently, the woman's clitoris is considered to be an ugly part in a

woman's body and perceived to be harmful in many ways. And not long ago, Sigmund

Freud wrote 'The elimination of clitorial sexuality is a necessary precondition

for the developm...

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...found in the understandably screwed up countries of northern and western Africa.

And if you come to the west and do this, they'll throw your ass in jail

(hopefully) forever.” In defense for such an offensive article came out an

article from an Arabic Doctor, who refused to reveal his identity, saying that

of course he approved of that girl being circumcised. And here are some of the

things that he wrote where the girl gains from being circumcised: “* It raises

her status in her community, both because of the added purity that circumcision

brings and the bravery that initiates are called upon to show. * It confers

maturity and inculates positive character traits, including the ability to

endure pain and a submissive nature. * The circumcision ritual is an enjoyable

one, in which the girl is the center of attention and receives presents and

moral instructions from her elders. * All impure tissue is removed and the girl

is sewn up until her wedding night.” This is how significant the psychological

part of it is. No matter how much descent education people get, if they have

routed traditions they will always find ways to approve of them even if they are

clear disasters.

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