Female Circumcision

[Guest]

While coloquially called 'cicumcision', it is formally called Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), and has no relationship to male cicumcision.

FGM involves cutting out the clitoris, and in its more severe instantiation, infibulation, meaning, sewing up the outer labia so that there is basically an immeasurably small hole for urine and menstruation -- of course causing great lifetime pain, and lack of any sexual pleasure. Infibulation also can result in many doctors doing (unnecessary) cesarean section during childbirth.

FGM occurs once every 17 seconds, and it also done in European countries despite laws against it; because African families often continue their traditions after migration. Women get European doctors to do it or send their children home on "FGM-holidays".

It is done to prevent sexual desire, and considered part of joing adulthood, being prepared for marriage, and sometimes, debatedly, necessary by the Koran. Typically it done between the ages of 4-12, but ofen even later. It is done without aneasthetic, with a knife, by a female 'cicumsiser' (not a doctor). One source indicated 1/3rd of all children die from it.

Why it is suddenly of interest, is that the House of Lords in the UK recently (Oct.18th) approved asylum for a girl trying to escape it. That's a very major push in a direction to protect the girls.

The model and author Waris Dirie is a major advocate against FGM world-wide as being involuntary mutilation of a helpless child.

[Guest]

I read a bit more on this and the more you read the worse it gets.

For infibulation, they cut the clitoris and inner labia out totally, then sew up the outer labia. To retain a hole for urine or menstruation, they use a MATCHSTICK or STRAW to keep a hole while the girls legs are bound together for several weeks. The hole in the girl's vagina is thus so small, only drops of pee or blood come out at a time, obviously resulting in lot of it being held inside for long periods of time (read, infection).

About 15-30% of girls who have infibulation die.

The girls in western countries who are most likely to have FGM are the daughters of African women. France, Germany and the UK are major havens for Africans, and thus there are a lot of young girls about to get this done to them as you read this. I note lots of Africans go to Quebec, Canada too, due to being French speaking, and so, in my own country too, this is probably happening every day.

The tools used by the woman circumciser are razor blades and broken glass, typically not cleaned, and used in several operations even in the same day. This is because of abject poverty and lack of knowledge of hygiene in many of the countries where it is done. The girl is bound in her hands and feet, and the held down by several women while it is done.

One source I found described that an analogy for the least severe form of this in men would be to cut the penis head off; that's why they don't want to trivialize it by calling it circumcision, because there is no male comparions. For infibulation, there is no comparison at all.

For virtually all women who have it done (read, for the majority of women in Africa, living in Africa or in western countries, and many in Malaysia and Indonesia), there is no physical sexual pleasure for the rest of their lives, and constant pain and shame -- imagine a 15 yr old African girl in the UK who gets a white boyfriend who looks down there and is horrified at what he sees.

I'm a bit ashamed that I didn't know what 'female circumcision' really meant and what an unbelievable practice this is, and going on all around us.