Female Genital Cutting Essay

1536 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essay causes and solution of female genital mutilation

Female Genital Cutting (FGC) is also known as female circumcision or female genital mutilation. We know three types of FGC. First type is Clitoridectomy, which consists in removing clitoris or its part. The second type is excision during which the clitoris and labia minor is being cut off. Infibulation is the last and the most invasive type of FGC. The last type includes cutting and narrowing the vaginal opening and repositioning of the inner and outer labia leaving only a small opening for urinating and menstruating. Procedures of FGC vary from country to country; and it depends from local customs how this procedure is done. Young women are forced by society and their families to undergo this horrible procedure, which leaves not only physical but also emotional footage on them. Leyla Hussein, an anti-FGC activist and psychotherapist, describes her personal experience with female genital mutilation, “Someone said: “Go get Leyla, it’s her turn”. I was pinned onto the table by four women. They said, “It's not going to be painful, silly girl”. Apparently they gave me an injection to numb it, but I felt everything, I felt my flesh being cut off” (2013). Female circumcision is a cultural “rite” in Muslim community. FGC is usually done …show more content…

They claim that female genital mutilation has variety of health benefits for women. Dr. Haamid al-Ghawaabi says, “The secretions of the labia minor accumulate in uncircumcised women and turn rancid, so they develop an unpleasant odor which may lead to infections of the vagina or urethra. I have seen many cases of sickness caused by the lack of circumcision” (2012). So the FGC should avoid health complications and keep women healthy. Other health benefit that proponents of FGC mention is prevention from HIV transmission. This is the main support of their believe that FGC has medical

Show More
Related

  • Female Circumcision: Rite Of Passage Or Violation Of

    1501 Words  | 4 Pages

    In Althaus’ article, she provides in-depth information about female circumcision; a highly controversial cultural ritual that is practiced in at least 28 countries

    Read More

  • Analyzing Edgerton's Argument

    1094 Words  | 3 Pages

    Female genital mutilation is mostly practiced in Islamic and African cultures, claiming young girls as t...

    Read More

  • Female Circumcision As An Example Of Ethnocentrism In Western Culture

    935 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On Male Circumcision

    1138 Words  | 3 Pages

    Freedom of choice is a desire for most, but as we are young we depend on the decision of our parents. With this dependent nature of a child the freedom of choice is limited, for males this can lead to a life long consequence. Male circumcision is the surgical removal of the foreskin; the skin covering the head of the penis. Circumcision is practiced for religious purposes in Jewish and Muslim communities. Normally, the boy’s age varies from 4 to 11 years old. In the United States, this procedure is also done but without a religious purpose. The boys in this case are commonly newborn. This practice became popular after medical groups claimed that there were many health benefits that came with circumcision. Though it has been proven otherwise, it is still a common practice in the U.S. fueled by ignorance. Circumcision is an unnecessary surgery that leads to psychological problems, issues with sexual activities and lasting physical damage.

    Read More

  • Genital Mutilation In Sudan

    6326 Words  | 13 Pages

    The lights are dim and the voices quiet. Tension fills the room where Nafisa, a six-year-old Sudanese girl lies on a bed in the corner. Her aunt, 25-year-old Zeinab, watches protectively as her niece undergoes the procedure now known as female genital mutilation (FGM), formerly called female circumcision. In this procedure, performed without anaesthesia, a girl's external sexual organs are partially or totally cut away. Zeinab does not approve.

    Read More

  • Hysterectomy Essay

    1602 Words  | 4 Pages

    Evaluating the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in women who have undergone hysterectomy: A review of literature

    Read More

  • Essay On Body Modifications

    878 Words  | 2 Pages

    She states “Dirty razor blade, and I could see the dried blood on it from the person she had cut before me.” She went on with the process with the pain and unsanitized tools being used on her. Shes also goes onto explain what society believes what happens to women if they go uncircumcised. “They think if you haven’t been circumcised, you're going to sleep around. They cut you so that you won’t be horny.” Female circumcision was seen in her culture as a way to prevent women from having sex with multiple partners. Men basically used it as a way to control the women in their society(177).This is significant because it shows how many young women go through this process. Dirie shows us how a woman's childhood is taken from them at such a young age. Female circumcision restricted women to enjoy a desirable life where they could feel free with there

    Read More

  • Cultural History Of Circumcision

    860 Words  | 2 Pages

    Unlike male circumcisions which were practice for religious purposes, female circumcision is done for social convention and is practiced as a way to prepare girls for marriage, as well as conform to societal norms of femininity. Female circumcisions are often motivated by what would be considered proper female behavior and as a way to promote virginity as well as cause pain during intercourse to uphold these beliefs. Much like male circumcision these societal beliefs about sex and purity, have affected these cultures in their convictions that circumcision must be performed to be pure and free of

    Read More

  • Female Genital Mutilation: A Violation of Human Rights

    3259 Words  | 7 Pages

    Yirga, Kassa, Gebremichael (2012). Female Genital Mutilation: Prevalence, perceptions and effect on women’s health. International Journal of Women’s Health, 4, 45-54.

    Read More

  • Female Genital Mutilation

    1710 Words  | 4 Pages

    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 ...

    Read More

  • Female Genital Mutilation Is a Violation of the Rights of the Girl Child

    666 Words  | 2 Pages

    Little, Cindy M. "FEMALE GENITAL CIRCUMCISION: MEDICAL AND CULTURAL CONSIDERATIONS." Journal of Cultural Diversity 10.1 (2003): 30-34. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 18 Apr. 2011.

    Read More

  • essay

    1246 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Searching for “Voices”: Feminism, Anthropology, and the Global Debates over Female Genital Operations, Walley discusses the social issues concerning female genital operations as perceived by “westerners”, as well as discusses her ethnographic account of female circumcision. Her main purpose of doing this was to lay the groundwork for “a more productive feminist and anthropological debate” capable of going beyond the binary terms in which female circumcisions are usually discussed. Since female circumcisions are known by a variety of names, such as female genital mutilation and female genital torture, and with her understanding of the negative connotation often associated with those varieties of names, Walley makes the decision to adopt the term female genital operations instead. In 1988, Walley went in the village of KiKhome, in western Kenya as an English teacher and immersed herself in the lives of the people living around the village to better understand the practice of female genital operations as an outsider. One day, some of her students invited her to assist at a female genital operation ceremony. She found out that the participants see circumcision as a rite of passage into adulthood. However, she truly wanted to know the participants’ personal views on the topic rather than the imposed views of their parents and their culture. The four women she interviewed told her that “their custom was good,” and it was something that a person needs to accept with her whole being not to feel the pain. Nevertheless, some of the women told her that they would not want their daughters to undergo circumcision, and that they themselves regretted having done the procedure. Walley finally gave up “searching for real voices,” because what t...

    Read More

  • Female Genital Mutilation

    1756 Words  | 4 Pages

    It is hard to determine the direct origins of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). Some researchers believes Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) originated in either ancient Egypt, Ethiopia, or Greece during the fifth century BC (Nawal, 2008, pp. 135-139). However, presently, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is performed on millions of young girls and women (Rahman, 2006). Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) occurs in Africa, Europe, Australia, Canada, and in the United States (Mascia-Lees 2010, pp. 66-68). Furthermore, there are four types of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) procedure. Type 1 hood of skin that sits over the clitoris (prepuce) is removed, type 2 the entire clitoris is removed, type 3 the external genitals are partly or totally removed and the wound stitched together, and type 4 is other practices including piercing, cauterizing, scraping or using corrosive substances designed to scar and narrow the vagina (anonymous 2014).

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Female Circumcision

    1200 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Female Circumcision

    1463 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

More about Female Genital Cutting Essay

Open Document