Female Genital Mutilation Thesis Statement: The continued "underground" practice of FGM (Female Genital Mutilation) must be stopped in order to protect women throughout the world from a useless, unnecessary procedure that has been supported by male dominating societies as a means of control, at the expense, and lives, of women. I. Millions of girls and women have been mutilated by the practice of FGM a. Model, Waris Dirie, shares her story of FGM and the consequences it has brought to her life. b. At age five, she underwent the procedure that would affect her for the rest of her life. II. FGM, female genital mutilation has been practiced for thousands of years in African and Middle Eastern Nations. a. There are three types of FGM. The most common is the total excision of all external genitalia and stitching of the vaginal opening. b. This causes severe physical and psychological health consequences and in some cases, death. c. The practice is performed in unsanitary conditions with primitive instruments and no anesthetics for pain. III. The scarring and damage from the procedure creates difficulty in many aspects of a woman's life. a. Women who have been circumcised suffer painful childbirth, sexual intercourse, and infections. b. Women often do not receive a thorough exam by a physician due to the inadequate vaginal openings, posing other health risks. IV. FGM has origins dating back several thousands of years in Egyptian Societies, but, is most prevalent in the Islamic and African cultures. a. Historic reasons for FGM are based upon control over the sexuality and essence of women. b. Sexuality is reserved for men and women receive the gift of bearing their children. V. Parents have believed that by having ... ... middle of paper ... ...is female genital mutilation. Law enforcement and health care providers must be available to assist these women, while protecting privacy and be aware that the strict family values are still of importance and should be taken into consideration. The continued mutilation of women around the globe is a mirroring reflection of the mutilating world in which we all live. For the world to know health and happiness, this act of violence against women must stop. We also need the support of men, like Samuel Zan, who is a child of an FGM sufferer and lost a brother at birth due to this torture. Alice Walker captures his essential belief on the subject through a conversation between she and Zan. She writes, "Alice," he says after a long silence, "do you know what I believe? I believe that if women of the world were comfortable, this world would be a comfortable world."
It examines questions about cultural practices and why some/all people accept them and whom that might be benefitting or harming (ibid). In other words, it examines the behaviors, consequences, social factors, and above all the power structures in play. In Althaus’ article, she postulates that one reason that female circumcision is used is to increase the sexual pleasure of men (Althaus, 131). Here we can see the strong presence of a patriarchal society. Recall the purpose here is not to actually criticize this practice but rather seek the underlying interests or motivations of implementing it. The strong presence of a patriarchy indicates that women in a way are indeed used as means to serve the interests of men both sexually and also by providing a child. This brings about the winners (men) and the oppressed
Female genital mutilation is mostly practiced in Islamic and African cultures, claiming young girls as t...
The effects from this corrupt enterprise are undeniably painful and scaring. In common societies women are belittled and objectified excessively, it is hardly considered a conflict when unimaginable pain is inflicted upon them. The physical, emotional, and mental distortion and destruction, caused by violence last an eternity. The inane fear, agony of sha...
As Rafaela, Mamacita, and Sally’s examples show, the men living in the Mango Street neighborhood persecute their women. The men force their women to stay home. They also restrict their women’s rights by making them speak a new language, and in the extreme case, they beat their women. Although many negative aspects of gender may have lessened over the past few decades, the society should still work toward lessening more of these negative aspects around the world, and especially in the Middle East and North Africa, because extreme gender inequalities still exist today. Treating women inhumanely should be considered as extremely immoral, since we’re all human beings and born to be equal.
Female genital cutting is often termed as female genital circumcision or female genital mutilation. This includes partial or complete removal of external female genitalia for non-medical reasons (WHO). Woman who undergo this procedure generally range from the ages five to fifteen years old. This process is known to have no actual health benefits however; it is practiced la...
Female genital mutilation is practiced and done cruelty without mercy. As well as, FGM consists of complete removal of external female genitalia. Stated by www.forwarduk.org , FGM is composed of four types . The first type well - known as Clitoridectomy it requires cutting the skin surrounding the clitoris without cutting the clitoris itself. The second type is cutting the clitoris and the skin near it, also some parts of the labia minora or sometimes the labia completely. The third type, is the most dreadful is removal of the external genitalia and sewing the gap of the vaginal opening. This procedure is well- know as infibulation. The tissue then creates a canal of scar above the vigina leaving a miniature hole for urine and period blood. The victim then has severe complication during sexual activity . The Majority of female genital cutting cases are of this t...
Clitoridectomy, also referred to as excision, removes the entire clitoris and the removal of the labia. Thirdly, there is a procedure called an infibulation. This is the most extreme form of circumcision, it consists of the removal of the clitoris, the labia, and the joining of the scraped sides of the vulva across the vagina, where they are secured with thorns or sewn with thread. A small opening is kept to allow passage of urine and menstrual blood. A woman with this type of circumcision must be cut ...
Female genital mutilation (FGM) is an ancient traditional non-therapeutic surgical procedure that involves total or partial removal of the external parts of female genitalia. This paper aimed to define and classify FGM, identifies the prevalence, describes reasons for performing the practice, and concentrates on the problems associated to this practice with regard to women’s health, religious beliefs, and socio-cultural, behavioral and moral consequences. Researches and survey reports that the global actions have been taken to reduce or abolish the prevalence of the practice will be assessed.
They are more than just household workers, caretakers of children and materials of pleasure. Women are underestimated because they show off a gentle and very caring side making others think that they can be easily fooled and that they cannot progress. The greatest challenge of women empowerment is changing the stereotypes that have existed in many cultures. For example, female genital cutting shows the discrimination of women. This practice is offensive to human rights and should be eradicated. Although it is difficult to break out of tradition, it has to be broken because it shows a wrong use of religion and tradition. The society has tolerated it for so long; it takes a special person to say that it’s wrong, someone who has great power over the people such as the leaders or other people who see the bigger picture. The female who was an expert in doing female circumcision mentioned that cutting itself is a source of income for her and she would abandon the practice if given another kind of source of income. This shows a capitalist structure in their
Females as a general population have been faced with discrimination across the ages. In recent history, women have begun to assert their freedom and independence from the male oriented traditions that have spanned generations. In industrialized countries the discrimination of women has diminished, but a serious form of violation of human rights occurs sometimes in parts of the world, such as Africa, the Middle East, and even sometimes the United States and other industrialized countries in North America and Europe. Female genital mutilation (FGM) is an umbrella term for three subtypes of crimes committed against women as a part of various coming of age rituals for young girls in certain patriarchal communities in Africa, spreading through migration of a populace through Northeastern and Western Africa and some spread into the Middle Eastern countries. These communities integrated this practice into women through marriage into these cultures, spreading this practice into their daughters and so forth. FGM has been classified by the World Health Organization (WHO) into three basic subtypes, each growing more and more disturbing. Subtype number one is a clitoridectomy which is the complete or partial removal of the clitoris, while subtype two it includes the clitoridectomy plus the removal of the labia minora of the young girl. Alone, these two types of FGM composed approximately 90 percent of female genital mutilation. The third subtype is the most gruesome that is the narrowing the vagina opening by sealing the orifice with the use of the labia majora. These medical procedures have been described the WHO working in conjunction with United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), Un...
A major issue that goes hand in hand with female genital mutilation is health problems. FGM alters female genital organs, without a medically beneficial outcome. It is performed because African culture believes that it will keep girls pure because they will appear unattractive to men until marriage. There are no medical justifications for a girl to have her clitoris or any other genital org...
Many feminists in the Western Culture have this ethnocentric idea that female circumcision is “female mutilation” portraying it as a “barbaric tradition” and “violence against women” (“Yes to Female Circumcision?”). According to Fuambai Ahmadu, a Sierra Leonean-American anthropologist, female circumcision is an initiation that symbolizes matriarchal power. The practice is “synonymous with women’s power, their political, economic, reproductive, and ritual spheres of influence” (Ahmadu, pg. 14). By having no regards to the cultures and traditions of these small-scale societies, we are invalidating their beliefs and presenting ethnocentric
Many question whether female circumcision (FGM, genital cutting, etc.) is a form of abuse, is it a humane and morally acceptable practice and how can we fix this horrendous practice? These assumptive thoughts are typically made through the eyes of outsiders, female circumcision is many things and must be looked at through such a lens. Despite, all of this female circumcision is still framed very commonly between these three views, female circumcision is abuse, is a result of patriarchal societies, and is a cultural and religious practice.
In my culture a male owns a girl until she is dead. First she has to obey everything her father says and then she has to obey her husband. The women are supposed to basically worship the men. If the men want sex she cannot say no to him. Women cannot express her sexuality openly like a man can. I also think that the clitoris is seen as inferior to the penis. Women are there so that men can gain sexual desire from them.
Throughout history there has been a struggle of control over the female body and a woman’s sexuality. Courtship and dating has been formed around the idea that society especially men need to control the female body. Thankfully due to feminism and society acceptance a lot has changed from the 18th century to the 21st century but, there are still many problems which we woman face. Control over the female body started with the code of Hammurabi, defines women as men’s property and defined rape as a property crime. Rapist must pay fines for damaged goods to the raped woman’s husband or father, if she is unmarried (Weitz & Kwan).