This is a very disturbing topic, and sadly, one that very few people are even aware of. I hope that ALL caring people around the world will take the time to learn more about this damaging procedure, the life long effects of which are suffered by so many girls and women around the world, and in the US. FGM continues mostly due to custom.
What is also troubling is the peer pressure put on young girls in many areas where FGM is practiced. Some people have compared it to peer pressure on young girls in the US to get their ears pierced. In truth, there is no comparison at all.
In most cultures where FGM is done, the girls have no say in the matter at all, often because they are too young to have learned to speak yet.
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is an extremely dangerous, inhumane, and medically unnecessary procedure, and is currently illegal in this country under federal law. Still, it continues, mostly in secret because people are unwilling to discuss or get involved in this issue. This only allows this dangerous and sometimes fatal mutilation to continue in deadly silence.
The fact that some medical practitioners are now doing this procedure is better for the victim at the time of the procedure, but it is very misleading in that it makes FGM appear to be less damaging. The long term harm is still done, regardless of who does this procedure. FGM also either damages or completely destroys women's ability to have normal sexual responses, since the clitoris is either altered or removed. Many people who support this procedure say they do it to keep young women from "misbehaving" sexually. In other words, if they can't fully enjoy sex, they will remain chaste until they are married.
I have snipped paragraphs from a fact sheet from WHO (Women's Health Organization) to help readers learn more about FGM, and what is being done to combat it. There is a great deal more information at this site. The address to this site is further down this page.
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From WHO, Women's Health Organization
FGM is recognized internationally as a violation of the human rights of girls and women. It reflects deep-rooted inequality between the sexes, and constitutes an extreme form of discrimination against women. It is nearly always carried out on minors and is a violation of the rights of children. The practice also violates a person's rights to health, security and physical integrity, the right to be free from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and the right to life when the procedure results in death.
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Key facts
Female genital mutilation (FGM) includes procedures that intentionally alter or injure female genital organs for non-medical reasons.
The procedure has no health benefits for girls and women.
Procedures can cause severe bleeding and problems urinating, and later, potential childbirth complications and newborn deaths.
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I wanted to mention that many girls die from blood loss during the procedure, or from infection soon afterward. I read one very tragic story of a woman who underwent FGM at the hands of her grandmother, on the bathroom floor. She and her sister were taken from their beds in the night to undergo this horror, and the writer watched as her toddler sister bled to death.)
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More from WHO
An estimated 100 (million) to 140 million girls and women worldwide are currently living with the consequences of FGM.
It is mostly carried out on young girls sometime between infancy and age 15 years.
In Africa an estimated 92 million girls from 10 years of age and above have undergone FGM.
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FGM harms girls and women in many ways. . . . It interferes with the natural functions of girls' and women's bodies.
Immediate complications can include severe pain, shock, haemorrhage (bleeding), tetanus or sepsis (bacterial infection), urine retention, open sores in the genital region and injury to nearby genital tissue.
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Long-term consequences can include:
*recurrent bladder and urinary tract infections;
*cysts;
*infertility;
*an increased risk of childbirth complications and newborn deaths;
the need for later surgeries. For example, the FGM procedure that seals or narrows a vaginal opening (type 3 above) needs to be cut open later to allow for sexual intercourse and childbirth. Sometimes it is stitched again several times, including after childbirth, hence the woman goes through repeated opening and closing procedures, further increasing and repeated both immediate and long-term risks. More on type 3 FGM can be found at the site.
Who is at risk?
Procedures are mostly carried out on young girls sometime between infancy and age 15, and occasionally on adult women. In Africa, about three million girls are at risk for FGM annually.
The practice is most common in the western, eastern, and north-eastern regions of Africa, in some countries in Asia and the Middle East, and among certain immigrant communities in North America and Europe. For more information from WHO . . .
[http://www.who.int/...]
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International Response
In 1997, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a joint statement with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) against the practice of FGM. A new statement, with wider United Nations support, was then issued in February 2008 to support increased advocacy for the abandonment of FGM.
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Since 1997, great efforts have been made to counteract FGM, through research, work within communities, and changes in public policy. Progress at both international and local levels includes:
wider international involvement to stop FGM;
the development of international monitoring bodies and resolutions that condemn the practice;
revised legal frameworks and growing political support to end FGM; and
in some countries, decreasing practice of FGM, and an increasing number of women and men in practising communities who declare their support to end it.
Research shows that, if practising communities themselves decide to abandon FGM, the practice can be eliminated very rapidly.
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The 2008 statement documents new evidence collected over the past decade about the practice. It highlights the increased recognition of the human rights and legal dimensions of the problem and provides current data on the frequency and scope of FGM. It also summarizes research about why FGM continues, how to stop it, and its damaging effects on the health of women, girls and newborn babies.
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WHO response
In 2008, the World Health Assembly passed a resolution (WHA61.16) on the elimination of FGM, emphasizing the need for concerted action in all sectors - health, education, finance, justice and women's affairs.
WHO efforts to eliminate female genital mutilation focus on:
advocacy: developing publications and advocacy tools for international, regional and local efforts to end FGM within a generation;
research: generating knowledge about the causes and consequences of the practice, how to eliminate it, and how to care for those who have experienced FGM;
guidance for health systems: developing training materials and guidelines for health professionals to help them treat and counsel women who have undergone procedures.
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You can be part of ending FGM . . .
For more information contact:
WHO Media centre
Telephone: +41 22 791 2222
E-mail: mediainquiries@who.int
(One way to help is to copy the entire fact sheet found at the site below, pass them out and or post them, and educate others about this issue.)
[http://www.who.int/...]
