WARNING: The contents provided here may not be suitable for all readers.
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a brutal custom practised in several developing countries under the guise of religion. Its a practice that violates the basic human rights of women and girls and seriously compromises their health. Its only aim is the submission of women and the killing of sexual desire.
FGM also known as female circumcission or female genital cutting, FGM is defined by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as the range of procedures which involves "the partial or complete removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs whether for cultural or any other non-therapeutic reason".
The procedure is traditionally carried out by old women with no medical training. Anaesthetics and antiseptics are not generally used and the practice is usally carried out using knives, scissors, scalpels, pieces of glass and razer blades. Often iodine or a mixture of herbs is placed on the wound to tighten the vagina and stop bleeding.
In cultures where it is an accepted norm, FGM is practiced by followers of all religious belief as well as non belivers. Among the more affluent, it may be performed in a health care facility by qualified health personnel. The age at which it is performed varies from area to area. It is performed on infants a few days old, female children and adolescents and, occasionally, on mature women. The reasons given by families for having FGM performed include: attenuate sexual desire, maintain chasity and virginity before marriage and fidelity during marriage, and increase male sexual pleasure, initiation of girls into womanhood, social integration and maintenance of social cohesion; to promote hygiene and provide aesthetic appeal; enhancement of fertility and child survival. Some Muslim communities practise FGM in the belief that it is demanded by Islamic faith. The practice, however, predates Islam.
FGM types
*Excision of prepuce, with or without excision of part or all of clitoris.
*Excision of the clitoris with partial or total excision of the labia minora.
*Excision of part or all of external genitalia and stitching/narrowing of vaginal opening (infibulation). So drastic is the mutilation involved that young brides have to be cut open to allow penetration on their wedding night and are customarily sewn up afterwards.
*Pricking, piercing or incising of clitoris and/or labia; stretching of the clitoris and/or labia; cauterisation by burning of clitoris and surrounding tissue.
*Scarping of tissue surrounding vaginal orifice.
*Introduction of corrosive substance or herbs into vagina to cause bleeding or for the purpose of tightening or narrowing it.
Where is FGM practised?
Majority of cases are carried out in 28 African countries, in specific ethnic groups. In some(eg, Egypt, Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan), prevalence rates can be as high as 98 per cent. In other countries, such as Nigeria, Kenya, Togo and Senegal, the prevalence rates vary between 20 and 50 per cent. FGM also takes place in parts of Middle East, ie, in Yemen, Oman, Iraqi, Kurdistan, amongst some Bedouim women in Israel, and was also practiced by the Ethiopian Jews. FGM is also practiced among Bohra Muslim populations in parts of India and Pakistan, and amongst Muslim population in Malaysia and Indonesia. As a result of immigration and refugee movements, FGM is now being practiced by ethinic minority populations in other parts of the world, such as USA, Canada, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
IN INDIA....
The following letter was sent to Molly Melching, chairperson of Tostan in Senegal, an organisation dedicated to education on African women's health issues. Forwarded to UNICEF, it has already been openly discussed at its seminars. Hopefully this will help eradicate this barbaric custom in our country.
May, 2007
Dear Molley,
I'am an Indian women living in Mumbai, and I attended a seminar in the United states recently where you spoke on the subject of Female Genital Cutting in Africa. That day, I know I was the most intent of all listeners, the most interested in what you had to say. Why, you might ask?
It is because I, an Indian women who has been to University, have myself experienced the practice of FGC. I know this may surprise you, but it is true. Did you know that FGC also exists in India? Many people do not, not even many Indians!
I hail from the Dawoodi Bohra community, whose head is called the Syedna. We are a sect of the Shias, which came to India from Yemen some centuries ago. We were many sisters, very close, and shared many secrets. But none of us, not the ones before me, nor I myself, ever shared or warned the ones closest to us about the frightening and incomprehensible experience that we would one day be forced to go through. It was not spoken about then and is not spoken about even today.
I am 60 years old now, but will remember that fateful day for the rest of my life. I must have been around seven years old when my mother told me we were going to my grandma's house to spend the day with her. When we reached the grandma's house, my cousin, who was a year younger than me, was also there. We were happy to meet eachother. Then, we were both led to a small room, which had a bed and asked to lie down. We kept asking "Why?" Suddenly, a lady dressed in black came into the room. By now, my cousin and I were terrified, not aware of what was to follow.
Our dresses were pulled up and our panties pulled off, and we were asked to keep our leg apart. There were our mothers and our aunts holding our legs apart and then I felt something cold applied to my clitoris, and then to my horror , the lady in black, actually held a scissor-like instrument and cut me there. I screamed and screamed but no one seemed to care. Then this same thing was done to my cousin, who was right next to me on the same bed. Both of us kept screaming and crying in pain. Everyone left the room and asked us to lie down with our legs apart, and told us that all will be well soon. They locked us in for almost the whole day. The burning and painful sensation between my groins is something I will never forget.
I felt betrayed by and angry with my mother, and humiliated, too. I just could not understand how my mother could have been so cruel and put me through this horrific experience. Much later I was told that all Bohra girls must go through it, and that it is a 'good' for you. I then understood that my mother had no choice, that for her, she was only doing what was expected of her. She was being a 'good mother' because this is a practice that had been carried out in our Bohra group for centuries and was considered essential for a women's good reputation and marriage chances.
Little did I know that this would effect my sexual life to such a great extent that reaching orgasm would be a difficult for me!
My husband and I have made sure that our daughter does not go through the same thing. We warned his mother and mine that they dare not do anything behind our backs. We know of friends from my generation, who did not want their girls to go through FGC, but often it was grandma or aunts who took them away and secretly got it done!
The sad part is that my sisters and I, and my cousins too, did not really discuss our experience till many years later. We have spent years feeling shame and humiliation for a senseless act that we were subjugated to as childern, incapable of defending our human right to keep all organs of our body.
I regret also that I cannot reveal my name to you, as I am not certain of the best way to help put an end to this practice that still persists on a large scale in the Dawoodi Bohra community of India. However, your explanation of how people themselves changed the social convention in Africa through discussing non judgmental information on the dangers and human rights violation of FGC, then allowing people to collectively abandon the practice, seems the best way forward.
In the meanwhile, I hope that you will publish this letter to let others know that women suffer greatly from this practice, not only in Africa, but in other countries such as India as well. Women need to break the silence and support one another in this effort, so that our daughters will have a brighter future in the years to come.
Other mutilating practices around the world:
*Chinese Foot Binding is a custom practised for approximately one thousand years in China, now forbidden.
*The 'giraffe-like' stretched necks is practiced by the Burmese Kayan tribe.
*Breast ironing is a form of body modification practiced in parts of Cameroon. Pubescent girls' breast are flattened to make them less sexually attractive to men, usually by their mothers. This practice is believed to help prevent rape and early marriage. Various tools are used to press or beat down the forming breasts, including grinding stones, pestles, belts, and heated objects.
It is estimated that approximately 138 million African women have undergone FGM worldwide and each year, a further 2 million are estimated to be at risk.......
I gathered these shocking bit of information from the DNA's magazine called 'ME'. I myself have not seen any DNA newspaper, but I was fortunate enough to get my hands on this magazine, published by DNA. It covers almost everything one needs to know. I found the "ISSUE FOR ME" section the most interesting. It is from this section that I have published this post. All credit goes to the people behind the DNA. I was shocked when I came across this topic and felt I should share this with as many people as possible. People should be aware of this brutal custom which takes place under the guise of religion. This barbaric custom should be abandoned.
