Circumcision otherwise known as Female Genital Mutilation
(FGM) is the greatest crime committed by 'man' against
humanity and the most greatest atrocity ever committed
under the sun and most disastrous episode in
underdeveloped nations
Summer is here. By the end of the season, many children in
the United States and U.K. will have undergone FGM.
Despite the existence of laws and policies to safeguard
against FGM in the U.S., 50,795 women and girls across the
country are at risk of undergoing FGM
.
It is estimated that over 140 million girls and women alive
today have undergone some form of FGM
.
World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that more than
125 million girls and women alive today have been cut in the
29 countries in Africa and Middle East
where FGM is concentrated.
FGM Implications FGM includes procedures that
intentionally alter or cause injury to the female genital
organs for non-medical reasons (WHO).
FGM is normally carried out on young girls from infancy to
15 years of age. The type of FGM performed depends on a
girl's culture and religious or geographical background.
WHO has classified FGM into four categories. A close scrutiny
of the types of FGM reveals a deep-seated fiendishness and
the gravity of the practice.
Clitoridectomy involves partial or total removal of the
clitoris and/or the prepuce while Excision entails partial or
total removal of the clitoris and the labia minora, with or
without excision of the labia majora.
Infibulation requires narrowing of the vaginal opening
through the creation of a covering seal formed by cutting
and repositioning the inner or outer labia, with or without
removal of the clitoris.
In addition, FGM may include other harmful procedures, e.g.
pricking, piercing, incising, scraping and cauterizing the
genital area.
In poor countries, the procedures are mostly performed
under poor hygienic conditions often with unsterilized
equipment, e.g. rusted blades/knives that can cause
infections.
In communities where large groups of girls are cut on the
same day as part of a socio-cultural rite, there are increasing
risks of HIV transmission through use of shared instrument
for a number of operations.
Also, when FGM procedure is done under a traditional
setting with no anesthetic or medical treatment, victims
often endure prolonged excruciating pain and extended
recovery time.
Ttreating women as a second class citizen is a bad
tradition." By President Barack Obama, Global
Entrepreneurship Summit Tour to Africa. Nairobi, Kenya. 26
July 2015. (Source: CNN News)
Immediate FGM complications include severe pain, shock,
hemorrhage (bleeding), tetanus or sepsis (bacterial
infection), urine retention and open sores in the genital
region and injury to nearby genital tissue that can also result
into secondary infections.
The long-term consequences comprise cysts, menstrual
difficulties, recurrent bladder and urinary tract infections,
increased risk of childbirth complications and newborn
deaths, possible blood-borne infections such as Hepatitis B
& HIV, scarring and keloid.
The damage to the urethra during FGM may lead to obstetric
fistula and urethral strictures.
For those who've undergone Infibulation, the need for later
surgeries to allow for sexual intercourse and childbirth
presents further health risks and complications.
The long-term emotional impacts and psychological trauma,
though immeasurable, are irreparable and life-long.
Infertility is another long-term consequence of FGM.
Ironically, in various cultures where FGM is practiced,
infertility is considered a woman's fault. Women with
infertility problems often experience isolation and exclusion
especially by community members notably in-laws.
Beyond the physical, emotion and psychological impacts,
lies the shame that FGM victims have to persevere. Many
women are embarrassed to seek regular genealogical check-
ups and medical treatments.
That was the case with a woman who endured abdominal
pain for 15 years but did not seek treatment from a doctor
due to shame.
FGM Challenges Ending FGM entails a little more than just
telling someone or a group to stop the practice. A clear
understanding of these challenges can help steer way into
achieving an end to the practice.
The first of a host of FGM challenges is the fact that many
victims may not necessarily be aware that they are "victims"
due to a young age or as a result of being entrenched into a
cultural belief.
Victims may not be aware of the source of the
gynaecological complications that they experience, e.g., a
woman may grow up believing that pain during sex is
normal. After all, that's all she has known.
Girls grow up knowing that FGM is part of their tradition or
identity and because they want a continuation of this into
the next generation, when they become parents, they are
more likely to have their children undergo FGM as well.
In essence, FGM is a violation of the human rights of girls
and women. In his speech in Nairobi-Kenya, US president
Barack Obama condemned FGM practice and stressed on
the need for gender equality: "Treating women as a second
class citizen is a bad tradition," he said, to the applause of
his listeners.
Complicity by health care professionals who perform FGM
legitimizes the practice by creating a false sense of security.
For as long as FGM is performed by a nurse or a medical
practitioner, it is perceived as "safe" and "mild."
Sometimes FGM is termed "female circumcision" or "female
cutting." These names make it sound as though FGM is
counterpart to male circumcision.
It is obvious that FGM is not simply a "female version" of
male circumcision. The social, physical, psychological,
emotional and the health implications of the two are
adversely divergent.
In 2012, The American Academy of Pediatrics published a
report
that concluded that the health benefits of newborn male
circumcision outweigh the risks. There are no such benefits
associated with FGM.
WHO also had a report that male circumcision can reduce
the spread of HIV. The validity of this finding remains
controversial, but if true, unfortunately women who undergo
FGM are unable to amass such gains.
That said, it should be noted that even though the health
risks associated with FGM far outweigh those linked to male
circumcision, the latter procedure is not without its share of
dangers.
Male circumcision has the potential to cause injuries to the
urethra as well. It can also cause excessive bleeding and
death.
National Health Service (NHS) reports that male circumcision
reduces sensitivity, i.e., that uncircumcised men experience
more pleasure during sex than their circumcised
counterparts.
Another FGM challenge revolves around the fact that
whenever FGM is simply dismissed as a cultural practice, not
too many people from outside of the culture where it is
practiced are likely to condemn it, due to fear of "meddling
in a people's culture."
Lack of actions at grassroots and political levels denies FGM
a platform as a health and social priority.
The secrecy surrounding FGM practices in certain cultures,
shields the practice from the outside world. It is this
confidentiality that sometimes allows for FGM procedures to
go undetected even in places with laws and policies to
safeguard against it.
In 2011, Kenya passed a law that makes FGM illegal and yet,
in some parts of the country, the practice persists. In those
areas, FGM practice is deeply rooted into the culture that
some lawmakers may find it difficult enforcing the law.
In many cultures, FGM is a respected tradition that's linked
to purity and community acceptance. Having a
"breakthrough" in such cultures may pose challenges as
well.
To date, there is no scientific evidence that suggests any
benefits of FGM.
Many FGM victims often find themselves subdued in a
societal/cultural/religious quagmire where on the one hand,
there exists a compelling need to sustain a "sense of
belonging" to their communities and on the other hand, they
are judged and obliged to conform to antiquated norms that
threaten and degrade the very existence for which they
strive.
There still exists enormous need to create FGM awareness.
