Female Circumcision aka FGM

In a previous post, “When One Culture’s Custom Is Another’s Taboo,” an excellent point was brought up concerning the growing situation in the U.S. with the clash of foreign cultures and the question of how to balance the many differing cultural norms. I wanted to bring some attention to one of the examples used in that post:

“Also, in Seattle, a hospital tried to invent a harmless female circumcision procedure to satisfy conservative Somali parents wanting to keep an African practice alive in their community. The idea got buried in criticism from an outraged public!”

Unless there is indeed a “harmless female circumcision procedure,” this brings up the subject of what many cultures refer to as female circumcision. According to the World Health Organization, “Female genital mutilation (FGM) comprises all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.”

The WHO identifies several types of FGM (the exact details of each can be found at the WHO’s website) but the end results are the same. FGM is a procedure, usually performed on infants but sometimes on young girls before they hit puberty, in which the female genital region is altered surgically, often without anesthesia. This is an extremely painful procedure, it has no health benefits, and it can cause severe shock and bleeding, as well as a variety of life threatening infections such as tetanus or sepsis.

The purpose of this procedure is a cultural one common in the Western, Eastern, and North-Eastern regions of Africa, a well as some Asian and Middle Eastern countries.

FGM is buried in the tradition of social convention and the strong motivation to perpetuate the practice. The effect of the procedure on women, in addition to the health risks, is permanent pain during sexual intercourse. Some explain the procedure was intended to establish male dominance over his wife, that she is unable to feel pleasure during sex. Some forms of FGM physically prevent sexual intercourse; often this is used to prevent premarital sex in women. Other forms permanently alter the vaginal opening, causing the permanent pain I mentioned.

There are a variety of organizations and speakers who have come out about this practice.

Fatima, who appeared as a contestant on America’s Next Top Model, is a woman from Somalia who had FGM performed on her at an early age. She describes it in this video:

Also, there is a documentary called The Cut which has been made available for free download on the web to bring awareness to FGM.

This is a prime example of how important it is that we understand what we read about in the media, be it a television broadcast or a newspaper article, and that we take the time to research a position a writer or broadcaster might take on a subject before reaching our own conclusions.