About FGM

Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a very underrepresented problem in the world. According to the author of “Female Genital Mutilation and Public Health: Lessons from the British Experience,” female genital mutilation is defined as “a traditional health practice in which part or all of the external genital structures are removed from females, usually during childhood.” FGM was started mainly because it is a religious practice or a “rite of passage” for many religions. However, through the years it had evolved into a practice that was thought to “cure” masturbation and stop nymphomania.
 
Female genital mutilation has been a problem in many countries for thousands of years. However, since it is considered a religious practice, it is too difficult to change the traditional beliefs of so many people. Even though FGM can cause diseases and even lead to death, many societies that still practice it today consider it to be a deciding factor in marriage: women who are not circumcised are not desirable. Because of this, the amount of FGM that occurs every day overshadows the amount of societies that have outlawed it. Although FGM is still a problem that has come to light recently, it has been an issue that has sparked the interests of many activist organizations.
This website will cover all topics of female genital mutilation, from the history to the problems societies are having with it today.

History Of FGM

History and Quick Facts:

Exact time period it began is unknown.

It is estimated to have started about 5,000 years ago in Egypt.

Many people believe this started in Africa, but it did not and does not only exist there.

Also exists in Asia, Australia, France, England, United States.

Originally referred to as Female Circumcision.

Traditionally occurs in people between the ages of 5 and 13 (Ortiz 1998).

Some of the earliest accounts of FGM occurred in the early 20th century.

1858: Greatest reports of FGM in Britain.

1900: FGM was widely documented in Australia.

FGM was reported as early as the late 1800s in the United States. It continued to be common until as late as 1948 because scholars believed it to stop masturbation, reduce occurrence of mental disorders, and stop nymphomania.
Some reports claim that as many as 160,000 females are victims of FGM annually.

Types Of FGM

Types Of FGM:

According to the World Health Organization, female genital mutilation is classified as four major types.
  • Clitoridectomy: partial or total removal of the clitoris (a small, sensitive and erectile part of the female genitals) and, in very rare cases, only the prepuce (the fold of skin surrounding the clitoris).
  • Excision: partial or total removal of the clitoris and the labia minora, with or without excision of the labia majora (the labia are “the lips” that surround the vagina).
  • Infibulation: narrowing of the vaginal opening through the creation of a covering seal. The seal is formed by cutting and repositioning the inner, or outer, labia, with or without removal of the clitoris.
  • Other: all other harmful procedures to the female genitalia for non-medical purposes, e.g. pricking, piercing, incising, scraping and cauterizing the genital area.

Where Is FGM Taking Place?

Where Is FGM Taking Place?
The practice of FGM is a cultural tradition performed across central Africa, in the southern Sahara, and in parts of the Middle East. Most women who have experienced FGM live in one of the 28 countries in Africa and the Middle East where FGM is practiced. Almost one-half of women who have experienced FGM live in Egypt or Ethiopia. (In Egypt, 2008 Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) information notes that female genital cutting rates are declining.)

FGM is practiced in Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, and India. Some immigrants practice various forms of FGM in other parts of the world, includingAustralia, Canada, New Zealand, the United States, and in European nations.

(Source: womenshealth.gov)

Risks and Consequences

Risks and Complications

Immediate
  • Severe pain due to the operation being performed with crude instruments and without anesthetic.
  • Injury to the adjacent tissue of urethra, vagina, perineum and rectum can result from the use of crude instruments, or because the operator is ignorant of the anatomy and physiology of the female external genitalia, has poor eyesight or a careless technique, or may be operating in poor light.
  • Hemorrhage. Excision of the clitoris involves cutting the clitoral artery which has a strong flow and high pressure. Extensive acute hemorrhage or protracted bleeding can lead to anemia or hemorrhagic shock and in some cases death.
  • Shock.
  • Acute urine retention can result from swelling and inflammation around the wound, the girl’s fear of the pain of passing urine on the raw wound, or injury to the urethra.
  • Fracture or dislocation. Fractures of the clavicle, femur or humerus, or dislocation of the hip joint can occur if heavy pressure is applied to restrain the struggling girl during the operation.
  • Infection.
  • Failure to heal.
Long term
  • Difficulty in passing urine can occur as a result of damage to the urethral opening or scarring of the meatus.
  • Recurrent urinary tract infection
  • Pelvic infections are common in infibulated women.
  • Infertility can result if pelvic infection causes irreparable damage to the reproductive organs.
  • Keloid scar
  • Abscess
  • Cysts and abscesses on the vulva.
  • Difficulties in menstruation can occur as a result of partial or total occlusion of the vaginal opening.
  • Calculus formation in the vagina. This can occur as a result of the accumulation of menstrual debris and urinary deposits in the vagina or in the space behind the bridge of scar tissue formed after infibulation.
  • Fistulae (holes or false passages) between the bladder and the vagina (vesico-vaginal) or between the rectum and vagina (recto-vaginal), can develop as a result of injury to the soft tissues during mutilation, opening up infibulation or re-suturing an infibulation, sexual intercourse or obstructed labour.
  • Dyspareunia (painful sexual intercourse).
  • Sexual dysfunction may affect both partners because of pain and difficulty in vaginal penetration, and reduced sexual sensitivity following clitoridectomy.
  • Problems in childbirth are common, particularly following severe forms of mutilation, because the tough scar tissue that forms causes partial or total occlusion of the vaginal opening

Sociological Effects

     The Practice of Female Genital Mutilation depicts the difference in cultural expectations of women in certain geographical areas. It has been something that haunts a lot of women not just around the world, but women I personally know. Half of the females in my family have been through this bizarre, undoubtedly cruel and inhumane punishment. Not only do I personally know friends and family members who have been through this so call cultural tradition, but I’ve also dated someone who’s been through it. What amazes me is their perspective on this issue. The older generation believe it is a bonding moment that every women needs to go through. Some even view it as you coming out party, sort of like a quinceanera. Others view it as a ritual that’s necessary to solidify you womanhood and gets you prepared for motherhood.  Especially, when research shows that this practice is pasted down from generation to generation and is usually performed by mothers, grandmothers and respected midwives of the community.

     The younger generations on the other hand view it as an old tradition that most of them got tricked into doing. Some even said that their parents tricked them into it.  Telling them they were just going to visit a friend and come right back, just for them to end up in the woods, baffled and scared as to what is about to happen to them. Some of them, while they dread the experience, also say that they learn a lot from the ritual. They explained the days leading up to the removal of their clitoris as days filled with joy, laughter, playfulness and spent singing old tradition songs. Days they all spent bonding as soon to be women recognize by the community as pure and marriageable.  Regardless of this, a majority of the younger generation who went through the process either by tradition or by force from their parents constantly dread the experience. 


    This is the sad part of society. Especially uneducated and 3rd word society. Where tradition is still the rule and deviating from it holds severe punishment. In these society women are taught to hold on to their most prize possession which is sexual purity. Only through going to this process are they deem pure and marriage worthy. They are socialized to believe that certain part of the female genital is filthy, impure and unattractive unless removed. The consequence of not abiding to this traditional ritual usually comes with heavy exclusion that most females will have to endure for the rest of their lives. Those who aren’t circumcised are view as pleasure seekers, fast, loose and prostitutes. What most females aren’t aware of is that this traditional practice is depriving them of their primary source of sexual pleasure.  

Psychosocial Effects

Psychosocial Effects
 
Since genital mutilation is most commonly performed while girls are still young and uniformed, the acts preceding the actual process include deception, intimidation, coercion, and violence by the people she loves and trusts. Girls are also generally fully conscious and physically restrained during the procedure. These factors may lead to psychosocial problems. Some of these problems include:
  • Some women have sometimes reported that they suffer pain during sexual intercourse and menstruation that is almost as bad as the initial experience of genital mutilation.
  • While some women are more open to expressing their feelings on genital mutilation, others find it difficult or impossible to talk about their experience.
  • Because of the way girls are coerced and deceived before the procedure some girls may feel betrayed, bitter or angry about the ordeal. This may affect the relationship between the girl and her parents, and even perhaps other intimate relationships in the future including her own children.
  • For some, the experience may even be psychologically comparable to the experience of rape.
  • The experience of genital mutilation has been associated with a range of mental and psychosomatic disorders. For example, girls have reported disturbances in their eating and sleeping habits, and in mood and cognition. Symptoms include sleeplessness, nightmares, loss of appetite, weight loss or excessive weight gain, as well as panic attacks, difficulties in concentration and learning, and other symptoms of post-traumatic stress. As they grow older, women may develop feelings of incompleteness, loss of self-esteem, depression, chronic anxiety, phobias, panic or even psychotic disorders. Many women suffer in silence, unable to express their pain and fear.
Even for girls who have not been excised may be socially stigmatized, rejected by their communities, and unable to marry locally, which may also cause psychological trauma.
 
Sexual Complications
  • Excised women may suffer painful sexual intercourse (dyspareunia) because of scarring, narrow vaginal opening, or obstruction of the vagina due to elongation of labia minora, and complications such as infection.
  • Vaginal penetration for women with a tight introitus may be difficult or even impossible without tearing or re-cutting the scar. This may lead to loss of self-esteem and sexual dysfunction.
  • Vaginismus may result from injury to the vulval area and repeated vigorous sexual intercourse.
  • Inhibition of coitus because of fear of pain may damage the marital relationship and even lead to divorce.

Annotated Bibliography

A Rose by Any Other Name? Rethinking the Similarities and Differences between Male and Female Genital Cutting. Robert Darby and J. Steven Svoboda
Medical Anthropology Quarterly , New Series, Vol. 21, No. 3 (Sep., 2007), pp. 301-323

This article shades light into the segregated and skew mindset of female genital mutilation as compare to male circumcision. The author works to distinguish the apparent and clear distinction between the reasoning behind male circumcision and it vast differences as compare to female genital mutilation. This skew mindset according to the author hinders the discussion of the harms caused by female genital cutting.

The authors main goal is to shade into the notion that female and male circumcision are entirely different. Not only different in practice, but have total opposite consequences and complications. They also present evidence of the medical and psychological harm that are caused by FGM as compare to that of male circumcision and that only through the understanding of these differences are we able to tackle this inhumane act and put an end to it.

Boyle, Elizabeth Heger, Sharon E. Preves. National Politics as International Process: The Case of Anti-Female-Genital-Cutting Laws. Law & Society Review, Vol. 34, No. 3 (2000), pp. 703-737Published

This article examines the implication and practice of certain laws enacted top-down to combat micro level issues and it ineffectiveness in most 3rd world countries. The authors use the example of policy and laws put in place in several 3rd world countries to end the practice of female genital mutilation. They further went on to acknowledge that these laws are being superseded by patriarchal traditional laws, thus rendering them ineffective.

The authors wanted to shade light in the westernize view of what laws are meant to achieve. They suggested that when it comes to practice such as female genital mutilation, simply passing a national policy banning it practices isn’t effective in countries where traditional tribal laws are still the standard of conduct. When you combine this with low literacy rate, it renders these policies obsolete.
The article is very informative and provides reform strategies to supplement policies put in place from a national level to maximize their effectiveness. The authors also explain how only through education are some women where these practices are so prevalent, able to understand the harmful and psychological effect this practice has. Only micro-level policies and education will help minimize the practice of female genital mutilation.

The following source is a student’s manual about female genital mutilation written for several departments of the World Health Organization. It is curriculum for nursing and midwifery including 4 modules on the different aspects of female genital mutilation. This reference was very useful in getting a wide variety of information on the subject. From the source I took the information about the different types and the complications of female genital mutilation.

 

Estabrooks, Elizabeth A. (1999 February 13). Female Genital Mutilation. Retrieved from http://www.munfw.org/archive/50th/who2.htm.  

This article is written by Elizabeth A. Estabrooks and how she is accredited is not stated. However, the specific audience she targeted is an audience who is interested in learning more about and stopping the problem of female genital mutilation. This particular site is dedicated to stopping female genital mutilation. This article also gives specific dates and time frames of when certain forms of female genital mutilation occurred.

This site is similar to the other two articles because it is about female genital mutilation. However, this article differs because it gives specific dates on when female genital mutilation occurred whereas the others did not. However, this site is not scholarly so the accuracy of the dates is not certain. This site relates to my topic because it covers clear dates in history of female genital mutilation.

“Female Genital Mutilation.” World Health Organization, Feb. 2010. Web. 28 Nov. 2011. <http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs241/en/>.

This reference is part of the website of the World Health Organization. This particular page includes key facts about female genital mutilation including general information, the different types of procedures, causes, and the international response. I found this source relatively useful because it included basic information from a reliable source. On the website I used the information on the four types of procedures.

Female Genital Surgeries: The Known, the Unknown, and the Unknowable. Carla Makhlouf Obermeyer. Medical Anthropology Quarterly , New Series, Vol. 13, No. 1 (Mar., 1999), pp. 79-106

Obermeyer critical analyses of female genital surgeries provide a new outlook on the prevalence of the practice as well as the global change in how it’s perceived. The article also looked at different studies and research that been conducted on this practice and provide information pertaining to it harmful effects as cited by doctors and the globalize trend to put an end to this cruel punishment. She provides insight in some of the facts and myths about the practice and how it viewed in different cultures that may or may not necessarily believe in its importance.

The article main goal was to determine exactly how much was known about the issue, in particular about the prevalence of female genital surgeries, the variations and trends in the practice, the possible health complications of the operations, and their effect on sexuality. The author wanted to make sure that before we judge the issue we need to understand how it dealt with from different perspectives. We must be familiar with the issue and how it affects different cultures in order to provide solutions. No one particular perspective can offer a complete solution to the problem.

I found the article very intriguing. She was able to concisely and professionally examine the different aspects of the matter, while providing concrete and critically analysis of how it needs to be handled. The article also had many other studies that have been done on this matter and cited numerous scholars that have studied the matter, which in my opinion added credibility to her understanding and analysis of the practice. She provided charts displaying it prevalence in different parts of the world and the complication that it comes with.

Ortiz, E. (1998). FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION AND PUBLIC HEALTH: LESSONS FROM THE BRITISH EXPERIENCE. Health Care For Women International, 19(2), 119-129.

This article was written by Elizabeth Thompson Ortiz who worked in the Department of Social Work for California State University. She wrote this study for any audience who is looking into the problem of female genital mutilation. Throughout her entire article, there was one recurring theme: female genital mutilation. She looks specifically at the public health policies on female genital mutilation in the United States and in Great Britain. Additionally, she contributes many interesting statistics.

This article is different from the article by Sarah W. Rodriguez because it does not look specifically look at clitoridectomies. This article covers all forms of female genital mutilation and also focuses on public policies. The article my Rodriguez does not cover public policies at all. This piece of work really speaks to the topic because it really covers a lot of history and statistics that other articles did not. It looks at female genital mutilation completely differently than any other article as well.

Rodriguez, S. W. (2008). Rethinking the History of Female Circumcision and Clitoridectomy: American Medicine and Female Sexuality in the Late Nineteenth Century. Journal Of The History Of Medicine & Allied Sciences, 63(3), 323-347.

In the article by Sarah W. Rodriguez, female genital mutilation was looked at in a different way: clitoridectomies. Sarah W. Rodriguez originally published this article with the Oxford University Press and intended this study to be looked at by anyone interested in clitoridectomies and female genital mutilation. This scholar explained that clitoridectomies are the complete circumcision of the clitoris. This is clearly a form of female genital mutilation. She studies the idea that circumcising the clitoris of the female was the only way to stop female masturbation.

This article is different from the article by Elizabeth Thompson Ortiz because it only looks at clitoridectomies and the other article looks at a broader spectrum of female genital mutilation. Additionally, this article differs from the article by Elizabeth A. Estabrooks because the article by Estabrooks looks more at the exact history of female genital mutilation while this article only looks at clitoridectomies. This article contributes to the topic because it looks at a specific form of female genital mutilation: clitoridectomies.

 

 

World Health Organization. Female Genital Mutilation: A Student’s Manual. Geneva. Print.

 

The following source is a student’s manual about female genital mutilation written for several departments of the World Health Organization. It is curriculum for nursing and midwifery including 4 modules on the different aspects of female genital mutilation. This reference was very useful in getting a wide variety of information on the subject. From the source I took the information about the different types and the complications of female genital mutilation.

 

 

 

 

islamicfeminist: “3 million girls are circumcised every year, and over 130 million women worldwide have been subjected to cutting or mutilation. Even if France publicly condemns this practice, thousands of girls remain at risk on the French territory. February 6th is International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Cutting.”

islamicfeminist:

“3 million girls are circumcised every year, and over 130 million women worldwide have been subjected to cutting or mutilation. Even if France publicly condemns this practice, thousands of girls remain at risk on the French territory.

February 6th is International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Cutting.”

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