Every year, about 3 million girls and women around the world are at risk of being subjected to FGM/C. Three million girls that could experience a life-time of health complications. It can cause serious medical complications…….girls can even die at the time of the cut, or later in life when they are trying to give birth. -Nice Nailantei Leng’ete
Female Genital mutilation refers to the practice of total or partial removal of external female genitalia or other injuries to female genital organs without medical reasons. The practice of female genital mutilation is mostly based on religious and traditional beliefs and its incidence is highly concentrated in Africa, Middle East and Asia. It is a harmful practice that has been proved to not have any medical benefits.
The most dangerous practice is the total or partial removal of the clitoris glans and/or the labia minora. Female genital mutilation also manifests itself in the form of infibulation i.e., sewing shut the vaginal opening and other non-medical injuries to external female genitalia. Mutation of external genitalia puts women in excruciating pain. The procedure has long term and short-term health hazards, sexual, physiological and psychological and may even lead to death. Despite the claims of several traditional circumcisers that FGM has medical benefits, medical practitioners all over the world have raised their voices against FGM and deemed it unscientific. This leads us to the conclusion that FGM is just another inhumane and horrifying face of patriarchy.
Anthropologists trace the practice of Female Genital Mutilation to Egypt in the fifth-century BC. Egyptian mummies show women infibulated and this is supported by a Greek papyrus in the British Museum dated 163 BC. The practice continued into the age of slavery and was practiced to prevent pregnancy in female slaves. African herders also practiced infibulation to prevent rape of female members of the herd. The continuation of this inhumane practice is a result of several social,cultural and religious reasons. In many communities like the Maasai community in Kenya, FGM is a traditional practice that symbolises a girl’s transition into womanhood. In the Bohra community in India, the clitoris is seen as a ‘distraction’ and FGM is performed so that women don’t ‘stray away’. Infibulation is commonly practised to give the man more pleasure during sexual intercourse.
The evidence is abundant to prove that female genital mutilation is yet another horrifying manifestation of the deeply entrenched gender inequality. FGM is a result of several patriarchal and misogynist structures that still exist and dangerously influence the mindsets of people. Women are seen as mere objects of sexual pleasure for men, at the same time denying women sexual pleasure or even basic human rights. Several researches undertaken in areas where FGM is prevalent prove that women support FGM as a necessary tradition but find it desirable to put a stop to it. It is crucial to put a stop to such a barbarious practice as the U.N has estimated that 4.6 million girls are at a risk of FGM every year. Let that sink in.
We must act and we must act now. Say no to female genital mutilation!
