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An essay on how female circumcision should come to an end
An essay on how female circumcision should come to an end
Research paper on female circumcision
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Female circumcision (sometimes known as Female Genital Mutilation or female genital cutting) has been exercised in many different forms, in many different countries, for a long period of time. Female circumcision is defined as an operation performed to the female genital area that causes harm and changes the organ for no medical reason. Cultural, religious, and social factors are the main causes to FGM, and is mostly practiced on female infants up to the age of 15. This procedure does not benefit any female’s health whatsoever. The majority of people who practice female circumcision are those living in Africa. Coming from an African culture, where people participate in harsh practices such as female circumcision is a huge issue that needs to …show more content…
be taken into action. Being that there is a multitude of different types of Female Genital Mutilation can lead to a profuse number of health risks, but can also be seen as a violation of human rights towards young girls and women; such practices can also lead to long term effects on a females mental and physical being.
Furthermore, female genital cutting can alter a women’s physical and mental being. Severe complications amongst women and adolescent females in Africa have become very common; especially since they undergo every form of circumcision with out proper medical attention. Consequences resulting from female circumcision can be determined as soon as the procedure is done. The African Women Organization asserts that “Female genital mutilation has detrimental effects on the physical and psychological health of the infants, girl-children, and women operated.” Taking this into consideration, one will realize that because female circumcision is such a harsh measure in a …show more content…
culture or a society, there will always have some sort of effect to the youthful girls and women. Female genital cutting makes the regular work of a female’s body conflicting. An illustration of long term physical consequences from circumcision can be “recurrent bladder and urinary tract infections; cysts; infertility; an increased risk of childbirth complications and new born deaths. . .” (Female Genital Mutilation). Particularly, the author is trying to say that there are no benefits that come from female circumcision, and many young girls and woman are found to be at high risk of problems. Because a variety of girls who undergo female circumcision are adolescents, they can not quite wrap their head around what they are experiencing and why they are e experiencing what they are experiencing. Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been compared to Female Genital Mutilation when dealing with the psychological issues women have. After countless procedures done, it has been shown that women can go into depression and can even have more anxiety after the procedure. In particular, it has been shown that many health risks are affiliated with Female Genital Mutilation. As a matter of fact, the rate for female circumcision has been estimated to be as high as eighty percent. One of the reasons as to why that percentage is so high is because of the different types of circumcisions that can be done. A multitude of people who practice Female Genital Mutilation can choose which type of circumcision they want performed; the health risks vary depending on which type is chosen. The different types of female circumcision is clitoridectomy, excision, and infibulation. Clitoridectomy is a procedure where all or partial of the clitoris is removed. Excision can be defined as, partial or the complete removal of the clitoris and the labia minora. Infibulation is the harshest; after the excision is done the labia majora are scraped or cut down to where the whole vaginal exterior becomes raw. Althaus affirms that, “even the less extensive types of genital cutting can lead to potentially fatal complications, such as hemorrhage, infection and shock.” Based on this assertion a person will believe that no matter which type of circumcision is chosen, they can all lead to major health risks of some sort. Some of the plenty health risks that comes with FGM are being that there is a cut where the female circumcision was implemented, there is always that chance that the cut can get a tear. This can be caused from child birth or sexual activity, and can later cause urinary tract infections. In addition, another health risk is a low fertilization rate. More over, studies have shown “that infibulated women are almost twice as likely as other women to have lower fertility. . .” (Althaus). With that being said, women who have experienced the most crucial type of circumcision have a lesser chance of having kids than women who either have not been circumcised or women who have had a lesser type of circumcision. Lastly, female circumcision has become a violation of a woman and young girl’s human rights.
As mentioned previously, female circumcision can cause women to have long term problems. Due to the complications women face, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights have mentioned that the practice of female genital cutting should be laid to rest. After analyzing and researching the practice of this harmful operation, there has been “growing international support for condemning FGC and a call for severe penalties given to those who practice it” (Female Genital Mutilation). Given these points and given the harmful experiences women and adolescent females go through, a variety of people have come to a realization that this practice should be banned. An abundance of people would like to argue that women and youths should not have to go through such horrific involvement. Those who practice female circumcision are short sited to the problems that this procedure can cause. Living a life as a female in an African society means not having the authority to choose whether or not to be circumcised. To put it another way, females are stripped from having a say so to what happens to their own bodies. According to Gruenbaum, “It should not be too surprising that external condemnations of female circumcision . . . might be similarity criticized as being unjustified and offensive.” To put it another way, the author is saying that because a variety of people do not appeal to female genital
cutting, it is nothing new to realize that it is not reasonable; especially to a women’s human right. However, people who practice female circumcision would like to argue that the cutting of the clitoris can be more sanitary or a type of initiation rite. On the other hand, it is believed that FGM is mostly preformed with an unsterile sharp object. The use of the items can be the main cause of infections that spread throughout the women’s vaginal area. It is interesting that “in the past the procedure was typically preformed by a local women using anything from a razor blade to a piece of broken glass . . .” (The Economist). If women who preform these rituals use any sharped edged object, then it is highly doubtful that female genital cutting is more hygienic. Some families that have their daughters undergo the procedure would assert that they are now requesting doctors to do the cutting; rather than local women doing it. The families feel that if a doctor were to operate of the females it would allow them to be free of harm. No matter if physicians are preforming the procure, this totally sabotages the fact that people are trying to put a stop to this practice. By people ensuring that having physicians preform the circumcision is more safe, it “may encourage more parents to inflict it on their daughters” (The Economist). If women live in a society where female genital cutting is allowed, then more women are at risk everyday. Those who think that female circumcision can be safe for any women have imposed pure fabrications. Surely there is no specific evidence that points to FGC being free of harm to young girls and women. Countless approaches have been done in order to try and stop female genital cutting. Specifically, substituting rituals, changing attitudes, and enforcing laws. Putting an end to female circumcision can be beneficial to young girls and women’s physical/mental health, along with their human rights. Having the satisfactions that female genital mutilation has been stopped will also allow other adolescent girls and women to be able to live a normal life. For instance, women would be able to have a normal sex life, they are able to conceive and deliver babies without being affected by the harms of circumcision. In all honesty, women today who choose not to take part in female circumcision, but live in a culture where female circumcision is popular feel as if they are cheating their culture. Thus, the only way to get rid of this sense of feeling is for physicians to inform the females of the risk factors and give them other choices that do not involve vaginal cutting.
I argue that female genital mutilation (FGM) should not be covered under the universal code of ethics when dealing with cultural tolerance, parents should not be able to make harmful decisions for their children, and doctors are under no obligation to perform such rituals to conform to the beliefs and traditions of their patients such as in cases of
In the Maasai society, genital cutting is a rite of passage from childhood to adulthood, and both men and women go through the process of circumcision. As society ages, opinions on cultural norms change. This is true for the Maasai society, where the views on female circumcision have and are changing. Female circumcision is classified into three categories, and defined by the World Health Organization, Type I is the removal of the foreskin on the vagina, Type II is the removal of the clitoris, and Type III is the removal of all external genitalia with the stitching or narrowing of the vaginal opening (“New Study”). Traditionally in the Maasai society, women underwent Type II or Type III circumcision. Written in 1988, “The Initiation of a Maasai Warrior,” by Tepilit Ole Saitoi, and is an autobiographical story of Saitoti’s circumcision in his initiation to a warrior. Though his story mainly focuses on the male circumcision part of the Maasai society, women’s circumcision and other basic traditions are discussed. Throughout the short story, the topic of circumcision and the rite of passage, both long- standing traditions in the Maasai society, are central themes.
The women in Nampossela lack the social and economic rights to make many significant decisions about their life. Due to her simultaneous position as an outsider and a member of the group, Holloway becomes an unbiased outlet that Monique and other woman can speak with regarding their difficulties. One such difficulty amongst women in Mali that Holloway discovered was female circumcision. Holloway, prior to her visit to Mali, was aware of the practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in rural villages. However, the intense birth of Korotun’s daughter causes Holloway to question the reasoning behind the traditional cutting. In response to Holloway’s mention of FGM, Monique explains her painful experience of circumcision at nine or ten and her thoughts on the subject, “Here we say that koloboli helps girls become good wives and bear children…it does not help the baby pass through…”(114). The practice of FGM in Mali occurs often enough that Monique had never met an uncut woman prior to Holloway, whose western background does not practice FGM.
This is a case study regarding a family in Senegal that follows the Muslim culture. However, unlike most Muslims, they practice the form of female circumcision. The tradition is to have all girls coming of age to be circumcised; otherwise they would be shunned and would never be able to get a husband. The family’s tradition believes that if a girl does not have this procedure done, they will be considered deformed and their clitoris will hang down to their knees. Awa is concerned because she and her husband, Joseph, have two daughters who are coming of age and her mother-in-law is demanding to know why they have not made the arrangements for the girls’ circumcision. Awa’s dilemma is whether or
"I remember the blade. How it shone! There was a woman kneeling over me with the knife. I bit her; it was all I could do. Then three women came to hold me down. One of them sat on my chest. I bit her with all my might." These words reflect Banassiri Sylla’s account of her experience undergoing female circumcision, also known as female genital mutilation (FGM), at the young age of eight in the Ivory Coast. This disturbing description of her struggle makes it hard to understand why any culture could support such a practice. Yet, it is estimated that about 132 million women and girls in about thirty African countries have undergone the same, or at least similar, cultural procedure as Banassiri. According to the World Health Organization, about two million girls undergo female genital mutilation every year and the percentage of women circumcised is as high as ninety-eight percent in countries such as Djibouti .
Today, 85 to 114 million girls and women in more than 30 countries have been subjected to FGM. Female genital mutilation has long been performed to ensure chaste or monogamous behaviour by suppressing female sexuality. It is commonly -- although erroneously -- attributed to religious edict. In fact, neither Islam nor Christianity officially sanctions it.
Female genital mutilation (also known as female circumcision) is the cutting of female clitoral hood and removing clitoris. Following the cutting of female genital organ, there are many short-term and long-term health risk problems, and even death due to some complicated infections. The reasons for performing female genital mutilation are connected with socio-cultural beliefs, attitudes, values and customs, transition of girls into womanhood, tradition and cultural heritage, the fear of not having access to resources and opportunities as a young woman, perception to reduce sexual desire of females; hence, will sustain premarital virginity, and maintain marital fidelity. Actions have taken at international, national and regional levels since the past many years and have begun to bear fruits, but the practice is still undergoing in many countries in the world and highly prevalent in Africa. To continue and motivate further reduction in changing the society’s attitudes towards female genital mutilation in the countries where the prevalence has remained stable so it’s therefor...
Routine infant circumcision (RIC) is a common, normalized procedure on male infants in the United States of America. Many new parents do not question circumcision, they consent to the procedure without doing much research because they believe it is a necessary procedure for cleanliness. The doctors and nurses that care for new parents and infants offer little to no counsel on circumcision, there is no risk vs. benefits explanation offered. Thus, many parents choose circumcision for their male infants without realizing that it actually isn't necessary and can often times be detrimental. It's misconceptions like these that fuel the normilization of circumcision.
What a society deems a normal natural way of life, other cultures may view it as a violation of ones natural born rights. Some societies’ view the female anatomy differently than others. In retrospect, the role of deviance as it relates to female genital mutilation is one that includes the ideology of several African countries and hundreds of years of a practice from which their society believe that females will be better protected and better suited for marriage. In the American society, quite the contrary is focused on. The necessity for a bride to be sealed and purified is not held to such standards as FGM societies.
For the past decade, France has criminally prosecutes immigrants who’ve had their daughters circumcised, and in October 1996 the U.S. congress outlawed female genital mutilation in the country. Announced, a global campaign in 197 to eradicate the practice, and a growing number of refugee, women’s, and human rights originations in Africa and around the globe have called for its ban. But progress has been rather slow. Western forms of movement have been very counterproductive, with Africans resisting the dictates of patronizing outsiders. Outlawing the practice had already been favored by colonial regimes in Africa during the first century, instigating only resistance and protest. African leader have additionally been ineffective. Kenya, Sudan,
Traditional practices passed down through generations are common in Africa and certain parts of Asia. Often times known to possess cultural importance, some of these practices have affected the lives of the inhabitants in both positive and negative ways. One of such practices is female circumcision (FC), which has such negative effects that those who oppose it call it female genital mutilation (FGM). Though not everyone agrees that FGM is the most appropriate term that applies to this tradition, in modern times, audiences worldwide have begun to accept female genital mutilation as a more fitting expression to articulate such horrid violation of human rights. Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is the collective name given to the several different traditional practices that involve the cutting of female genitals. The procedure is commonly performed on girls as a rite of passage of womanhood. It is generally performed by a traditional practitioner – often an older woman – who comes from a family in which generations of women have been traditionally practitioners, their heritage gives them the authority to proceed without a medical degree. FGM has been found to have significant cultural importance for people who uphold the practice which in local dialects is often times synonymous with purification or cleansing. Therefore, how people view FGM can be seen in the change in the rates of prevalence
The leaders of many communities are educated so they can spread the word and make changes to existing laws that favor FGM. Of course they face many challenges and struggles to terminate a cultural and a religious ritualistic practice that has existed for decades. Above, we have examined and analyzed many different media sources by comparing and contrasting. These sources present accurate and reliable information for the reader on female genital mutilation. The practice of female genital mutilation, unlike conditions such as Diabetes type 2 or Cancer, depends on the society in which it occurs.
A. The United Kingdom is full of organizations that provide help to women around the world. The Women’s National Commission is the official and independent advisory body giving the views of women to the government. This organization is in charge of taking in account (by the Government) women’s points of view and needs. This also involves taking all of these opinions to a public debate. The Women’s National Commission (as well as many organizations in the UK) is aware of the problems around the world and how rights of women are violated in many ways. Since there job is to inform the government and the public, they do, and the government has taken time and money to invest in women’s well beings. But also, the UK has a group called Womankind Worldwide that is dedicated to raising the status of women around the world. They work with 20 countries in Africa, South Asia, Western Europe, Central and South America. The Womankind Worldwide organization, works to achieve an improvement in women’s lives – socially, financially, in terms of health and participation in society. Religion and gender-based violence is a very important issue for this group, which is why they created a special project (called Body Literacy) that focuses in helping women understand and confront the taboos of their society. This organization works directly with women and men internationally with the hope of transforming communities and achieving equality between women and men.
Imagine being a girl almost 6 years old and hearing from your mom that you are going to have some of your private parts removed. Your mom goes on and tells you that this will help you be a good girl and a good man will marry you if you undergo this procedure. “The term Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), applies to any procedure involving the removal of all or part of the vulva and/ or clitoris”( Boyle, 2005). This is a practice that exists in most African countries and small parts of Asia. The main purpose of this is in the, “social desire in terminating or reducing feelings of sexual arousal in women so that they will be much less likely to engage in premarital sexual relationships or adultery”(Boyle, 2005).
Female circumcision, also known as Female genital mutilation, or female genital cutting is a custom that has sparked controversy among many people belonging to other cultures not accustomed to the practice. Within the argument lay a series of debates surrounding the issue as culture and tradition clash with human rights over whether or not this practice should be allowed. Advocates against the practice draw on the prevalence, perceptions, and reasons for conducting FGM to combat what they believe is a human rights issue.