Female genital mutilation, sometimes abbreviated FGM, is any of several different traditional practices that involve causing intentional injury to a girl’s external sex organs. Female genital mutilation is sometimes called female circumcision in the places where it is practiced. It is also called female genital cutting. Reasons for the practice vary among societies. For example, in some societies it is performed as part of the traditional rites of passage into womanhood. But the practice is considered mutilation by the World Health Organization (WHO), an agency of the United Nations, and other groups. Medical experts point out that the procedure is not medically necessary, causes great pain, and can lead to serious medical complications. Many groups and individuals worldwide oppose female genital mutilation on humanitarian grounds.
Female genital mutilation is practiced in at least 28 African countries, particularly Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Mali, Sierra Leone, Somalia, and Sudan. Some minority groups in Asia and the Middle East also practice it, as do some immigrants to Australia, Canada, Europe, New Zealand, and the United States.
Female genital mutilation is sometimes associated with religious traditions, but no major religion requires or recommends the practice. The tradition of female circumcision predates both Christianity and Islam. An ancient Greek manuscript from 163 B.C. mentions girls in Egypt undergoing circumcision. Most scholars believe the practice originated in ancient Egypt.
Methods.
The age at which female genital mutilation is practiced differs among cultural groups. It may be done in infancy, childhood, adolescence, at the time of marriage, or during or after the first pregnancy. It is most commonly performed between the ages of 4 and 12.
Female genital mutilation is usually performed by people with no medical training and often in unsanitary conditions. The practice ranges from partial cutting to total removal of the clitoris (small knob of tissue in front of the urethra), the prepuce (skin that covers the clitoris), and the labia (folds of skin around the vaginal opening). Other forms of female genital mutilation include the pricking or piercing of the genitals; the burning of the clitoris and surrounding tissue; the scraping of tissue surrounding the vaginal opening; and narrowing the vagina by stitching it or inserting corrosive substances or herbs into it.
Consequences.
Females who undergo genital mutilation may suffer complications that include scarring, infertility, infection, pain during sexual intercourse, and incontinence. The practice can also result in complications in childbirth. Health experts also worry that genital mutilation may have lasting psychological effects on women. Women who have undergone the practice may feel physically incomplete or suffer anxiety and depression.
Humanitarian opposition.
In 1997, the World Health Organization issued a joint statement with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations Population Fund against female genital mutilation. A new statement, with wider United Nations support, was issued in 2008 to expand the effort to eliminate the practice. International organizations have observed an increase in the use of trained medical professionals to perform female circumcisions in some countries. But WHO and other medical organizations continue to insist that the procedure should not be performed at all.
In Africa today, there is also a social movement to eliminate female genital mutilation. The Inter-African Committee on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children, an international African welfare organization, works to eliminate female genital mutilation by working directly in the communities that practice it.
See also Circumcision
