Is Female Circumcision Torture?Essay Preview: Is Female Circumcision Torture?Report this essayIs Female Circumcision Torture?Female circumcision, better known as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), is an ugly monster finally rearing its head from out of the depths of time. The practice of FGM occurs throughout the world, but it is most common in Africa. It can attack a girl at any age, with a little prompting from her society, and the aid of an unsuspecting human wielding a knife. Usually, it is performed from a few days after birth to puberty, but in some regions, the torture can be put off until just before marriage or the seventh month of pregnancy (Samad, 52). Female genital mutilation is a tradition and social custom to keep a young girl pure and a married woman faithful. In Africa it is practiced in the majority of the continent including Kenya, Nigeria, Mali, Upper Volta, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Mozambique and Sudan. It is a cross-cultural and cross-religious ritual, which is performed by Muslims, Coptic Christians, Protestants, Catholics and members of various indigenous groups. Female genital mutilation is usually performed on girls before they reach puberty. It is a procedure where either part or the entire clitoris is surgically removed leaving a reduced or total lack of sexual feeling. This procedure is an attempt to reduce the sex drive of women, making them less likely to be sexually active before marriage or engage in extra-marital affairs. Women that have gone beyond the primary level of education are much less likely to fall victim to the tradition (Mens, 34). The average victim is illiterate and living in a poverty-stricken community where people face hunger, bad health, over-working, and unclean water (Female…, 1714). This, however, is not always the case.
As one can see in the following story of Soraya Mire, social classes create no real barriers. Soraya Mire, a 13-year-old from Mogadishu, Somalia, never knew what would happen to her the day her mother called her out of her room to go buy her some gifts. When asked why, her mother replied, I just want to show you how much I love you. As Soraya got into the car, she wondered where the armed guards were. Being the daughter of a Somalian general, she was always escorted by guards. Despite her mothers promise of gifts, they did not stop at a store, but at a doctors home. This is your special day, Sorayas mother said. Now you are to become a woman, an important woman. She was ushered into the house and strapped down to an operating table. A local anesthetic was given but it barely blunted the pain as the doctor performed the circumcision. Soraya was sent home an hour later. Soraya broke from her cultures confining bonds at the age of 18 by running away from an abusive arranged marriage. In Switzerland, she was put in a hospital emergency room with severe menstrual cramps because of the operation. Seven months later, the doctor performed reconstructive surgery on her. Now in the U.S., Soraya is a leading spokeswoman against FGM (Bell, 58). In addition to being active in the fight against FGM, she is an American filmmaker. She has come a long way.
Being well educated about the facts of FGM also brings to light the ugly truth. It is happening on American soil, insists Soraya. Mutilations are occurring every day among immigrants and refugees in the U.S. (Brownlee, 57). Immigrants have also brought the horrifying practice to Europe, Australia, and Canada (McCarthy, 14). Normally, it is practiced in North and Central Africa (Mens…, 34), the Middle East, and Muslim populations of Indonesia and Malaysia (Female…, 1714). Although it seems to have taken root in Muslim and African Christian religions, there is no Koranic or Biblical backing for FGM (Mens…, 34). Many times female circumcision is treated as a religion in itself. It can be a sacred ritual meant to be kept secret forever. As a woman told poet Mariama Barrie, You are about to enter Society, and you must never reveal the ritual that is about to take place. (Barrie, 54). The ritualistic version of FGM is much more barbaric than the sterile doctors world that Soraya Mire passed through. Mariama Barrie had to endure the most severe form of FGM at the tender age of ten. Mariamas torture is known as infibulation. There are three major forms: “Sunna” circumcision, Clitoridectomy, and Infibulation. Sunna circumcision consists of the removal of the tip of the clitoris and/or the prepuce (covering). Clitoridectomy, also referred to as excision, consists of the removal of the entire clitoris (both prepuce and glands) and removal of the adjacent labia. Infibulation, also referred to as pharaonic circumcision, is the most extreme form. The clitoris is removed as well as the adjacent labia and the scraped sides of the vulva are joined across the vagina. The sides are secured with thorns or sewn with catgut or
thread, allowing a small opening for the passage of urine and menstrual blood. Excision is a clitoridectomy and sometimes the removal of the labia minora; Sunna is the only type that can truthfully be called circumcision. It is a subtotal clitoridectomy (Female…, 1714). To put this in perspective, infibulation would be like cutting off a mans penis completely, cutting the testicles to the groin, and making a hole in them to have the semen siphoned out (McCarthy, 14). But still, it can get worse. The instruments that can be used to perform the operation are usually crude and dirty. They can include kitchen knives, razor blades, scissors, broken glass, and in some regions, the teeth of the midwife. Because of this, there are many dangers threatening the victim. The most immediate danger is exsanguination: there is no record of how many girls bleed to death because of this operation (Female…, 1715). Other physical consequences include infection, gangrene, abscesses, infertility, painful sex, difficulty in childbirth, and possibly death (Mens…, 34).
Re-infibulation is carried out on women who are divorced or who become widowed. When a woman marries or remarries she must be de-infibulated, enlarging the enclosed vulva. In some parts of Africa this must be done by the husband on the wedding night, using a piece of glass or wood. In the northern part of Somalia a midwife opens up the woman on her wedding night in the presence of her husbands relatives. Besides the initial pain of this operation there are long-term physiological, sexual and psychological effects. Unsanitary conditions result in infections of the genital and surrounding areas and often results in the transmission of the HIV virus. Other side effects include: hemorrhaging, shock, painful scars, keloid formation, labial adherence, clitoridal cysts, delayed menarche, genital malformation, urinary infection and pelvic infections. When the woman is older she will most likely have gynecological and obstetric problems including
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Men may have an advantage over women because they tend to have lower sex drive. However, it is clear that both men and women are affected by increased risk. Women’s testosterone levels in the womb may help them to be more fertile during pregnancy. Men’s lower testosterone levels in the womb are most likely to protect from HIV infection. Some men who live longer who do not have a history of chronic pain may experience lower sex drive than women who are sexually active. Men at higher risk for HIV infection are better educated about their HIV/AIDS and may want to stop.
Women should have the option of using condoms at least every two years or they may not accept them after the first year to be protected. For many women, their sex drive and sexual needs decrease. Many women are afraid to use a condom for fear they will be sexually inactive. If they do, a new provider may be needed who knows the risks. Some women are even discouraged from even having sex. While women have many choices, all of them should know their rights and should protect themselves.
Women should have all the information, procedures and support they need. However, there will always be men with an advantage over poor women who have problems with using condoms. Women’s medical doctors and practitioners need to be involved in all aspects of the new health care system, from the prevention of risky sex to the treatment of HIV. Many healthcare providers in Africa advise women about the use of condoms and that they may recommend taking them only if the need arises.
Women who may have sexual problem and will need to use condoms often have sex outside their comfort zone. In women’s situations, they often must use a condom if at all possible because of the risks involved. To get these needs met, many women choose to use condoms only if they may be sexually active to some extent or because of a need to satisfy their sexual needs. At the age of 30 years, all the necessary medical and contraceptive services can be used up for use only by men who are physically unable to tolerate sex outside their comfort zone.
In some countries, men may also be more likely than women to be infected with the transmission of HIV. The possibility of these problems is limited to women only. However, there are many things that contribute to the transmission of HIV to those who still do not have the resources to use condoms for treatment.
In some places, such as the Middle East and Central Asia, the incidence of infection has been substantially reduced. Women, who might be experiencing a milder form of infection such as viral meningitis, rarely develop serious disease after first few days after first sex but at an increased likelihood of developing other complications from infections. Infections are mainly transmitted when the blood of a person has contracted multiple times with the blood containing HIV. Infection can continue for quite a while but at least a second blood transfusion can help to provide a blood meal. During pregnancy this may affect whether the woman is pregnant or giving birth in order to stop the spread of HIV infection. If infection persists during this period, the mother may or may not be able to get the child of this donor, who might not have received any new blood to stop it. There are reports of pregnant women of reproductive age having their unborn children conceived at unsafe and often risky places. It may be that this pregnancy might also end up as a result of having a miscarriage.
There may be people who do not have sex but can access the sex work and medical services provided by a provider of medical care. Many women may be treated by a practitioner