Female Genital Mutilation:
Barbaric Custom or Cultural Rite
“I was shaking out of my skin with fear. I sat at Netsent’s head so she couldn’t cry out. The circumciser began to cut with a razor blade. She cut everything: the clitoris, the inner and outer labia. There was so much blood!” This is an excerpt from an article that appeared in Marie Claire in April 2003. The speaker is a girl by the name of Genet Girma, an Ethiopian, describing the conditions under which her sister Netsent was forced to have her genitalia removed. Each year, two million girls undergo the devastating and disfiguring practice of genital cutting (Goodwin 157). Genital cutting, widely known as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), is the practice of cutting away parts of the external female genitalia. Although many people may see FGM as barbaric and dangerous, most of those who practice it see FGM as a religious rite and as a deeply rooted cultural practice.
The three broad categories of FGM are clitoridectomy, excision and infibulation. The mildest form of FGM, clitoridectomy, is the removal of all or part of the clitoris. Excision includes the removal of the clitoris and the cutting of the labia minora. The most extreme form of FGM is infibulation, the removal of the clitoris, labia minora, and the stitching together of the labia majora. Infibulation leaves just a small opening in the vagina for the passage of urine and menstrual fluid, and requires binding together of the legs until stitches adhere. Often the removal of the stitches is part of a wedding night ritual (Taylor 31). If the terrifying nature of the procedure were not enough, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reports that FGM is “normally performed by traditional practitioners with crude instruments, such as knives, razor blades and broken glass, usually without anesthetics.”
The invasive characteristics of FGM and the unsanitary conditions under which it is usually performed can have serious consequences. Pediatric Nursing writes “FGM may cause numerous physical complications, including hemorrhage and severe pain, which can cause shock, even death.” It also writes “FGM may create long-term complications resulting from scarring and interference with the drainage of urine and menstrual blood, such as chronic pelvic infections, which may cause pelvic and back pain, dysmenorrhea, infertility, chronic urinary tract infe...
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...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.
Works Cited
Ahmad, Imad-ad-Dean. “Female Genital Mutilation: An Islamic Perspective.” Minaret. 1 May 2003 .
English, Veronica. “Female Genital Mutilation.” Journal of Medical Ethics 27.3 (2001): 203-205.
Goodwin, Jan. “I Said No to Female Genital Mutilation.” Marie Claire 10.4 (2003): 157-159.
Taylor, Vivienne. “Female Genital Mutilation: Cultural Practice or Child Abuse?” Pediatric Nursing 15.1 (2003): 31-34.
Almost all of the cashiers were white and the registers are scattered through out the store in the different departments. The managers like the other stores were mainly white men and they perfered women to work at the cash reister than other people. At the store, she saw many customers treat the few African American workers there badly and with no respect. In one incident while she was being trained by Tanesha, who is a 23 year old African American woman, two white women made their way up through the linr to the service desk and complained to Christine about how things were taking so long. Christine told them she was training and that was why it was taking so long and they immediately assumed that she was training Tanesha. They then demanded that she stop “training” Tanesha and help them or get someone else to help them and she then clarified that she was the one being trained, and in their embarisment they steped back in their place in
Female genital mutilation is mostly practiced in Islamic and African cultures, claiming young girls as t...
"I remember the blade. How it shone! There was a woman kneeling over me with the knife. I bit her; it was all I could do. Then three women came to hold me down. One of them sat on my chest. I bit her with all my might." These words reflect Banassiri Sylla’s account of her experience undergoing female circumcision, also known as female genital mutilation (FGM), at the young age of eight in the Ivory Coast. This disturbing description of her struggle makes it hard to understand why any culture could support such a practice. Yet, it is estimated that about 132 million women and girls in about thirty African countries have undergone the same, or at least similar, cultural procedure as Banassiri. According to the World Health Organization, about two million girls undergo female genital mutilation every year and the percentage of women circumcised is as high as ninety-eight percent in countries such as Djibouti .
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) has had different definitions in the ‘Scientific World’ and the world of those who embrace the act. According to the definition of the World Health Organization (WHO), Female Genital Mutilation is the act of removing the external parts of the female genitalia, partially or totally for non-medical reasons (WHO) whereas the practitioners see it as the cutting of “extra skin tags” of the female’s reproductive organ. Various reasons have been put forward to support it, ranging from social, cultural and religious reasons, mainly in the so called Islamic communities. FGM is a violation of the rights of the girl child, causes health implications and drastically disempowers the sexuality of women.
Female genital mutilation is practiced and done cruelty without mercy. As well as, FGM consists of complete removal of external female genitalia. Stated by www.forwarduk.org , FGM is composed of four types . The first type well - known as Clitoridectomy it requires cutting the skin surrounding the clitoris without cutting the clitoris itself. The second type is cutting the clitoris and the skin near it, also some parts of the labia minora or sometimes the labia completely. The third type, is the most dreadful is removal of the external genitalia and sewing the gap of the vaginal opening. This procedure is well- know as infibulation. The tissue then creates a canal of scar above the vigina leaving a miniature hole for urine and period blood. The victim then has severe complication during sexual activity . The Majority of female genital cutting cases are of this t...
"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).
Girls who are circumcised are more likely to be limited in their adolescent exploration thus forming a type of oppression from normal teenage activities. It is essential for teenagers to discover their own bodies and explore their sexuality in order to form a sense of self, this does not imply that young teenagers should commit sexual acts, exploring simply implies that teenagers should know their body and its functions, young women should know their own bodies including their own genitalia especially when females begin their first menstrual cycle. However, later in a female's young adult life sexual acts should not be the taboo subject that it is. Instead women should embrace their sexual life, “FGM is carried out as a way to control women’s sexuality, which is sometimes said to be insatiable if parts of the genitalia, especially the clitoris, are not removed. It is thought to ensure virginity before marriage and fidelity afterward, and to increase male sexual pleasure.” (UNFPA), female circumcision is used in order to deprive women from their sexuality. Female circumcision is no more than a way to control woman, because of this teenagers who have undergone female circumcision are being forced to submit to religious believes that they themselves may not agree with, “The controversial tradition of FGC sets these immigrants apart from the mainstream culture and may complicate their efforts to adjust to life in the United States and cause intergenerational conflict in some families. For instance, parents may consider it important for their daughters to be cut, regardless of the girls’ wishes, as a way to maintain their identity with the family and its cultural community of origin.” (Akinsulure-Smith 358). The effect of being a circumcised female in adolescence in the Unites States is greater than
Female genital cutting is often termed as female genital circumcision or female genital mutilation. This includes partial or complete removal of external female genitalia for non-medical reasons (WHO). Woman who undergo this procedure generally range from the ages five to fifteen years old. This process is known to have no actual health benefits however; it is practiced la...
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.
FGM is carried out as a means to control a woman’s sexual desires. It ensures virginity and fidelity before marriage and it also increases a male’s sexual pleasure. In addition, FGM is viewed as a rites of passage ritual that allows women to enter womanhood. Some societies view it as hygienic to preform FGM since female genitalia resembles that of a male.
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...
Besides in the case of constraint, (A) the agent could have done otherwise. Then, by extension, it would also be equal to say that (B) if the agent had chosen to do otherwise, then he would have done otherwise. As Chisholm describes, this later statement is clearly in a accordance with determinism as, even if by an exaggerated chain of causal events, it can be seen that if he had decided to do otherwise, he would have done so. Under this conclusion, if (B) is in agreement with determinism, and (A) and (B) are of equal value, (A) would also be deterministic in nature. Accordingly, it would then be possible to find that (A) is both consistent with determinism and moral responsibility, and that these two theories must also be equal with one another. Additionally, under very specific circumstances it could be possible to find (B) to be true while (A) to be false, such as in the case of a man who, unbeknownst to him, is locked in a certain room with no way out. However, the man in this case is certainly content in the aforementioned room with no intention of leaving. If he had wanted to leave he is of the belief that he would be able to do so, proving (B) true. This is despite the fact that he would not have done this, as he is not able to, showing (A) to be false. Therefore we can see the need for an additional statement (C), he could have
Reyners, M. (2004). Health consequences of female genital mutilation. Reviews in Gynaecological Practice, 4(4), 242-251.
Many question whether female circumcision (FGM, genital cutting, etc.) is a form of abuse, is it a humane and morally acceptable practice and how can we fix this horrendous practice? These assumptive thoughts are typically made through the eyes of outsiders, female circumcision is many things and must be looked at through such a lens. Despite, all of this female circumcision is still framed very commonly between these three views, female circumcision is abuse, is a result of patriarchal societies, and is a cultural and religious practice.
FGM has become a highly politicized issue in Egypt, reflecting a range of political agendas on the status of women and feminist issues. Human rights advocates and those in the health profession are fighting for Africans to let go of their traditional customs of FGM and realize the harm they are inflicting upon their women. Statistics show that the practice is on decline, but it will continue until the Egyptians begin to reflect as a people on their own accord.