Female Genital Mutilation
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), also known as female circumcision, is a destructive and invasive procedure involving the removal or alteration of female genital. The procedure is carried out at a variety of ages, ranging from shortly after birth to some time during the first pregnancy, but most commonly occurs between the ages of four and eight. There are three main types of FGC that are practiced: Type I (Sunna circumcision), Type II (Excision), and Type III (Infibulation). These three operation range in intensity, from the "mildness" of Type I, to the extreme Type III.
The practice occurs in Africa, the Middle East, parts of Asia, and in immigrant communities in Europe and North America. An estimated 135 million of the world's girls and women have undergone genital mutilation, and two million girls a year are at risk - approximately 6,000 per day - about one every 15 seconds. (1) Although Female Genital Mutilation predates Islam and is not practiced by the majority of Muslims, it has acquired this religious dimension. However, FGM is a cross-cultural and cross-religious ritual. In Africa and the Middle East it is performed by Muslims, Coptic Christians, members of various indigenous groups, Protestants, and Catholics; to name a few.
The type of mutilation practiced, the age at which it is carried out, and the way its done varies according to a variety of factors, including the woman or girl's ethnic group, what country they are living in, whether in a rural or urban area and their socio-economic background. The first and "mildest" type of FGM is called "sunna circumcision" or Type I. The term "Sunna" refers to tradition as taught by the prophet Muhammad. This specific procedure involves the...
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...ted with a blunt penknife.
After the operation, no one was allowed to aid me to walk. The stuff they put on my wound stank and was painful. These were terrible times for me. Each time I wanted to urinate, I was forced to stand upright. The urine would spread over the wound and would cause fresh pain all over again. Sometimes I had to force myself not to urinate for fear of the terrible pain. I was not given any anesthetic in the operation to reduce my pain, nor any antibiotics to fight against infection. Afterwards, I hemorrhaged and became anemic. This was attributed to witchcraft. I suffered for a long time from acute vaginal infections."
Hannah Koroma, Sierra Leone
(4)
Internet Sources:
1) http://www.religioustolerance.org/fem_cirm.htm
2) http://www.fgmnetwork.org/intro/fgmintro.html
3) http://www.amnesty.org/ailib/intcam/femgen/fgm1.htm#a4
The purpose of this paper is to provide anthropological perspectives on female circumcision. But first, it will summarize Althaus’ article “Female Circumcision: Rite of Passage or Violation of Rights?”. This summary will include the main arguments presented in the piece. Next, this paper examines this cultural practice through critical cultural relativism. Power dynamics are examined in this section as well. Once this is done, this piece then incorporates a cultural constructionis analysis of this widely practiced cultural phenomena.
Internationally, issues revolving around the female body and reproduction are extremely controversial. For a woman, her body is a very private matter. At the same time, however, a woman's body and her reproduction rights are the center of attention in many public debates. Several questions regarding women's reproductive rights remain unanswered. How much control do women have over their bodies? What kind of rules can be morally imposed upon women? And who controls the bodies of women? Although the public continues to debate these topics, certain conclusions can been made concerning women and their reproductive rights. An undeniable fact is that government has a large degree of control over female reproductive organs. All around the world, time and time again, several national governments have implemented policies, enacted laws, and denied women control over their reproductive organs. Several governments have crossed the border between intimate and public matters concerning women's reproductive organs, by making laws about contraceptives, abortion, and family planning programs.
Desiderius Erasmus, a man of few spoken words, wrote many arguments about how the church was being run. He felt that everyone acted “godly” and thought that they were above people. He critiqued not only those in the church, but many broad generalizations of people as well, citing the bible. Most of Erasmus’ disdain for the way things were run was due to the circumstances he was raised in. With his “The Praise of Folly” Erasmus shows his humanistic worldview, as well as tells people what they should change in order to live a better life.
Female genital circumcision (FGC) is a cultural ritual that is performed to the vast majority of women within the countries of Sudan, Kenya, Mali, Benin, Togo, and parts of the Middle East. Female genital circumcision also termed as female genital mutilation is used based upon a person’s beliefs. This ritual has been highly controversial for many years especially in the western society, due to the health risks that women may have to go through. Doctor Gruenbaum, and anthropologist who studied FGC in Sudan, has researched this topic and believes that outsiders need to have an open mind about diverse cultures. I believe that this procedure should not be illegal; however, education about the risks of the procedure should be enforced in the countries where this takes place, in order to create a safer environment for the ritual to be performed in. The goal of this essay is to know what Female Genital Circumcision is and different types of FGC and why this is performed and why it is important for outsiders to not have ethnocentric views when dealing with this. This essay also deals with why it should be medicalized instead of enforcing laws to ban this years long tradition in all African countries. When challenging female genital circumcision, we are also challenging the people who perform this procedure, their culture, values and beliefs.
Female genital mutilation is a heartbreaking practice which violates basic human rights and must be banned worldwide. FGM it's a operation on which the clitoris and genitals are completely cut off. Referring to (www.mtholyoke.edu) The cause of this procedure may fluctuate it can be either for family honor, virginity protection, religion, or excessive sexual satisfaction for their partner. Also, this is done by traditional midwives with no medical experience, no anesthesia, or any drug. The tools used for this practice are pieces of glass, knives, scissors, razors and other sharp basics.
A hot button issue in our society over the years has been the topic of male and female circumcision. This issue has been portrayed in both ethical and political paradigms. “It is estimated that about 30% of males are circumcised worldwide for religious, cultural, and health reasons, most of whom live in major parts of the Middle East, Central Asia, West Africa and Israel, as well as in the United States of America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand,” according to Demuth (1). Male circumcision is the medical process of the removal of the foreskin that covers the head of the penis. In continuation, the article “Prevalence of Female Genital Cutting among Egyptian Girls,” estimates that between “100 and 130 million girls and women now alive in at least 28 African countries and the Middle East have been subjected to female circumcision or female genital mutilation (FGM)” stated by Tag-Eldin (3). The female genital mutilation is a bit different than a male’s circumcision, generally consisting of three types. “Type 1 is the removal of the clitoris, Type 2 is the removal of the clitoris and the labia minora, and Type 3 is the removal of all parts of the external genitalia, which includes: the clitoris, the labia minora/majora, and then sewing the rest of the tissues,” according to Pauls (4). The origin of circumcision is currently unknown, but according to the article “Circumcision”, there is a theory that in Ancient Egypt, Egyptians men were circumcised and eliminated all of their body hair for probably hygienic reasons. In addition, in the “Book of the Dead” it describes the sun god, Ra, to have circumcised himself (40). This suggests that it may have also been for religious reasons.
Khan, M. M., & Mian, A. I. (2010). ‘The one truly serious philosophical problem’: Ethical aspects of suicide. International Review Of Psychiatry, 22 (3), 288-293. doi:10.3109/09540261.2010.484017
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.
“Suicide is a major public health issue; it takes the life of over a million people a year.” (“Suicide Widely”) Suicide is a growing epidemic that has very negative effects and views against it. Suicide is immoral because it is said to taint your soul. Numerous side effects from it can help you understand why it is wrong. Families and friendships are torn apart by the destructive acts. Understandably, people considering killing themselves aren’t immoral because at that point you’re able to go get help and tell someone how you’re feeling. I hope to encourage more awareness for this issue to save more lives and encourage more communication.
"Life of King Arthur." Timeless Myths. N.p., 24 May 2006. Google. Web. 20 May 2014. .
King Arthur’s legacy in the literature world relies solely on his ability to convey a litany of symbols; as stated in the text, “...he still looms large today as a potent symbol of the fearless, all-conquering, idealistic warrior king” (Jenner 64). Firm belief in the legend resides in the belief of what he embodies -- a classic “hero” in literature. Representing fearlessness and warrior-esque traits, people are able to look to King Arthur and his legends in time of need for strength and courage. This is similar to how his Knights of the Round Table look towards him. Being able to conquer all but still remain idealistic and -- depending on the legend -- merciful, allows King Arthur to retain his status as popular, and it also allows his legends to continue existing.
Another instance, in which suicide could be justified as not wrong, is when it deals with the mentally unstable. This is also like child suicide, because the insane are not capable of judging right from wrong. No one knows the degree of sanity one needs to be able to decipher their own actions, so this is also completely left up t...
This argument can quickly be viewed as false when one thinks about a person that causes a great nuisance in the community, such as a serial killer or rapist. The community would want the individual imprisoned at the very minimum and the idea that they would want them dead would not be far-fetched, especially if they caused great personal harm. From the utilitarianism stand point it would be beneficial if the murderer or rapist committed suicide. This ultimate opt-out could be the most the most beneficial for the individual and community. The individual that committed the heinous crimes, such as rape or murder, especially if it was towards a child, would face serious punishments from the prison community. This is because those who molest or murder children are viewed as the lowest of the low in the prison community and will be harmed if any opportunity is seen by another inmate. So, by allowing suicide, it will allow the murderer or rapist to take his or her own life rather than the community taking it without the opinion on how the act is completed for them. David Hume agrees that one who has committed a great harm should remove themselves from the community. “Suppose, that my life hinders some person from being much more useful to the public. In such my registration from life must not be only innocent but laudable” (Hume
For example, in the movie “The Gods Must Be Crazy”, two different men from completely different societies are presented in the same situations. Their umwelts have been developed according to the environment they grew in, so we can see them giving different meanings to the same things because of the exposure they have had before and the use they give to that thing. On one side we have a man who has grown up in civilization by the name of Andrew Steyrn. He lives by the technological advancements created by his society for the environment to adapt to their lifestyle. He is constantly adapting to new situations and processes. He has grown, just as many of other people, in an environment that has been adapted to the human being. On the other hand there is a “bushman” named Xi that comes from a society that lives in the wilderness. His social environment is normally made up by a family and they live fully off the earth. They have no knowledge of laws, rules, punishment, etc. They have no sense of time more than that of the day and night. For them everything that exists in this earth is good, nothing is evil. They live in isolation unaware of ot...
“Death and Dying”. Suicide: Sourced. en.wikiquote.org. Social Issues Resources Series, Vol. 1. 7 July 2010. Web. 30 July 2010.