Female Genital Mutilation

Female Genital Mutilation

Summary

The practice of female genital mutilation, also known as female circumcision, occurs throughout the world, but it is most common in Africa. Female genital mutilation is a tradition and social custom to keep a young girl pure and a married woman faithful. In Africa it is practiced in the majority of the continent including Kenya, Nigeria, Mali, Upper Volta, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Mozambique and Sudan. It is a cross-cultural and cross-religious ritual, which is performed by Muslims, Coptic Christians, Protestants, Catholics and members of various indigenous groups. Female genital mutilation is usually performed on girls before they reach puberty. It is a procedure where either part or the entire clitoris is surgically removed leaving a reduced or total lack of sexual feeling. This procedure is an attempt to reduce the sex drive of women, making them less likely to be sexually active before marriage or engage in extra-marital affairs.

Female Genital Mutilation

Introduction

Female genital cutting, termed female genital mutilation (FGM) by the World Health Organization (WHO) and female circumcision by others, is a practice that affects millions of women worldwide, but is not well understood by many clinicians in the United Kingdom. In the past decade, United kingdom has had an influx of immigrants and refugees from countries where FGM is common; as a result, health care providers are increasingly encountering women and girls who have undergone this procedure. Clinicians should be aware of the practice of FGM, and they should strive to be understanding and sensitive to the cultural background surrounding it as well as aware of both its potential short- and long-term medical complications(Nkanginieme 2006).

Definition of FGM

FGM has been defined by WHO as “all procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs whether for cultural, religious, or other non-therapeutic reasons.” Various terms are used to describe the intentional alteration or injury of female genitalia. The practice was first referred to as female circumcision, but by the late 1970s, FGM became the preferred term. It is the term preferred by WHO and, since 1991, by the United Nations. Referring to the practice as FGM highlights the fact that it violates the basic human rights of girls and women. Practitioners treating women who have undergone FGM need to be sensitive to the fact that the word mutilation can be quite polarizing in communities where the practice is commonplace. Some authorities suggest that the term genital cutting is a less inflammatory and nonjudgmental term to be used with patients. FGM is the correct term for policy makers and human rights advocates working to protect girls and women from the practice(Almroth 2005).

About 100 million women and girls worldwide have undergone FGM, and about 2 million girls are at risk each year. FGM is currently practiced in many countries and has been reported specifically in 28 countries in Africa as well as in countries in the Middle East and other parts of ...