Female genital mutilation (FGM), also known as female genital cutting and female circumcision, is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as “all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injuries to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.”
Female circumcision is against the law in South Africa.
[space]Types of female circumcision
- It includes removal of all or part of the clitoris and clitoral hood;
- all or part of the clitoris and inner labia;
- and in its most severe form (infibulation), all or part of the inner and outer labia and the closure of the vagina.
In this last procedure, which the WHO calls Type III FGM, a small hole is left for the passage of urine and menstrual blood, and the vagina is opened up for intercourse and childbirth.
Is there any benefit to having a female circumcision?
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a practice devoid of any health benefits and inflicts harm upon girls and women in numerous ways. This practice involves the removal and alteration of healthy and normative female genital tissue, thereby disrupting the natural physiological functions of the female body.
Immediate complications may encompass severe pain, shock, haemorrhage, tetanus or sepsis, urinary retention, open genital sores, and injury to adjacent genital tissue.
Long-term consequences can include:
- Recurrent bladder and urinary tract infections
- Painful sex
- Tearing of stitched-up vaginal opening during intercourse
- Bleeding and risk of infection
- Cysts
- Infertility
- An increased risk of childbirth complications and newborn death
- The need for later surgeries.
The type 3 FGM procedure involves sealing or narrowing the vaginal opening. This often requires later cutting to allow for sexual intercourse and childbirth. Sometimes, the opening is stitched closed multiple times, including after childbirth. This means the woman undergoes repeated opening and closing procedures, increasing and repeating immediate and long-term risks.
Violence against women
FGM is recognized internationally as a violation of the human rights of girls and women. It reflects deep-rooted inequality between the sexes and constitutes an extreme form of discrimination against women. It is nearly always carried out on minors and is a violation of the rights of children. The practice also violates a person’s rights to health, security and physical integrity, the right to be free from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and the right to life when the procedure results in death.
More than 125 million girls and women alive today have been cut in the 29 countries in Africa and the Middle East where FGM is concentrated.
Picture attribution: Johnuniq, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia
What are the Cultural, Religious and Social causes of FGM:
- There is social pressure to conform to what others do.
- It is often considered a necessary part of raising a girl properly.
- FGM is, in many communities, believed to reduce a woman’s libido and, therefore, believed to help her resist “illicit” sexual acts.
- It is a cultural belief that girls are “clean” and “beautiful” after the removal of body parts that are considered “male” or “unclean”.
- Though no religious scripts prescribe the practice, practitioners often believe the practice has religious support.
- In most societies, FGM is considered a cultural tradition, which is often used as an argument for its continuation.
Get help
Research shows that if practising communities themselves decide to abandon FGM, the practice can be eliminated very rapidly.
Below is an example of an alternative to female genital mutilation that prevents girls from suffering in Kenya.
“Cutting girls is illegal in Kenya. Until very recently, 98% of girls in the Loita Hills, Kenya, were circumcised. Sarah Tenoi campaigns to end female genital cutting and is determined that her daughters will not be circumcised at 13, as happened to her.” Sarah Tenoi.
They work with everyone in the community to change minds and stop the practice of female circumcision while still honouring our Maasai culture. Their approach involves respectful conversations in people’s language to make a difference.
In Maasai culture, an alternative rite of passage has been developed to discourage female genital cutting. During this ceremony, the girl experiences all the elements without being cut. Instead, she has her head shaved, milk poured on her thighs, and wears the traditional headdress, symbolizing her transition from girlhood to womanhood.
“They developed this symbolic ceremony in partnership with community members, and it’s not seen as a threat to their culture. Fathers are now requesting the circumcisers we’ve trained in this alternative rite, considering them ‘better’. By offering their community a replacement for female genital cutting, this change could be permanent.”
If we can carry on performing and educating, we can get our community to declare the abandonment of female genital cutting within three years. If we can end it here in my community, we will have the means to end it everywhere.” – Sarah Tenoi
Sources:
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/female-genital-mutilation