Under the Knife by Meg Seehan

under

the

knife

An in-depth look at

Female Genital Mutilation

By Meg S.

Table of

contents

Introduction & Laws

Procedure & Effects

Statistics Personal Interviews

Beliefs Works Cited

introduction

My name is Meg, and for my senior English research project I was asked to pick a social issue, research it and somehow present it to the public. I choose female genital mutilation, as I view it as a terrible practice or tradition that others should be aware of. FGM or female circumcision, as it is also known, is performed around the world by different cultures in different countries. As it will be explained later on, FGM involves the alterations of female genitalia from removal of the clitoris to sewing almost the entire vagina shut. The purposes of this practice vary from religious to social, where a woman may be an outcast if she is left uncircumcised or may be undesirable to men and unfaithful. A huge reason that this is done

is to decrease a woman’s sexual drive and pleasure, therefore discriminating against women and their bodies entirely. FGM can be viewed as controversial, as some would say it is their tradition and therefore shouldn’t be changed or prevented; it’s their way of life. Others may say that tradition or not, the practice needs to end for multiple reasons, including the way it is performed on young girls, the horrendous mental and physical effects it has on these women, and the purpose behind it. This project is meant to bring awareness to a taboo subject that many are either unaware of or choose not to recognize. Whether it should be left alone as a tradition or stopped as a form of abuse, the first step is educating

ourselves and taking a stand on the issue. I would like to thank you for taking time to read my project and I hope it provides with new insight about cultures around the world. As part of the requirements for my project, I need feedback from the public. I would greatly appreciate it if you could send your responses to megcsheehan@gmail.com.

What is...and isn’t being done about FGM As African countries become more educated and aware of the dangers of FGM, more is being done about it. Uganda now dedicates one day each year to recognize the practice and bring attention to the bad effects of it. The Maputo protocol, a treaty against FGM, is trying to be pushed through for African nations to outlaw the practice. It has faced many obstacles, however, such as poverty and long-standing tradition. Many countries have already banned

the practice, but that simply sent it underground and families are ignoring the petty laws. In Uganda where FGM is illegal in the constitution, the number of cases in the Kapchorwa region, an area known for its extreme traditions, dropped from 1,100 in 1998 to 647 in 2002 (Buckwalter, 2005). However, as people immigrate to the United States from countries where female circumcision is heavily practiced, the procedure is becoming more and more

common, and there is almost no legal protection for young girls who are subjected to FGM in the U.S. If a native born American father performed this on his daughter it would automatically be considered child abuse, but immigrant fathers have no restrictions on what they can and can’t do to their daughters (Burstyn, 1995).

statistics And Facts Almost half of the women in Africa are circumcised* Contributing to that half is Somalia, where 99% of their women have undergone the procedure**

“Cutters” (those who perform female circumcision) rely on the practice for their livelihood. They can make $12.60 for each operation, when the rest of the population earns less than $1 a day***

The procedure dates back 4,000 years**

FGM is practiced in 28 African countries and only outlawed in 16****

*Female Cirumcision Comes to America, **Worldwide Women’s Watch, ***No End in Sight, ****From Mutilation to Salvation

beliefs About FGM

Female Genital Mutilation is still being performed today for many of the same reasons it was thousands of years ago: tribes in Africa are uneducated about their bodies and the way they work. African women believe that if the clitoris is left alone it will grow and drag on the ground, their daughters will be wild and crave men, circumcision aids in menstruation and childbirth, is a religious Islamic requirement and no man would want to marry an uncircumcised woman. All of these beliefs are false, and prove to be the exact opposite. Female circumcision actually complicates menstruation and childbirth, and men say they prefer an uncircumcised woman. Also, nothing is said in the Islamic culture that women are to be circumcised (Burstyn, 1995). In fact, an excerpt from the Qur’an states that a mutually satisfying sexual relationship is a gift from Allah. There are also beliefs stating that FGM supposedly decreases a woman’s sexual drive, which

in turn makes her faithful and pure, increases fertility, improves hygiene and her looks, and creates social ties that the woman can never escape from (Buckwalter, 2005). Circumcision is also some times performed during the 7th month of a woman’s first pregnancy, because it is believed that if the infant comes in contact with the clitoris it will die (Burstyn, 1995). Countries in Africa, South Africa and the Middle East aren’t the only ones to ever perform circumcision, however. In the 1950s, the Americans and British performed clitoridectomies and castration (removal of the ovaries) to cure nymphomania, melancholia, hysteria and epilepsy in young girls (Burstyn, 1995). Circumcision also has many ties to marriages. Parents in Africa believe that if their daughters aren’t circumcised the won’t find husbands, and the procedure is done as a symbol of virginity and men are believed to only want to marry virgins. This could

be a serious worry for many, as a Sudanese woman without a husband would be a social outcast and starve to death, because she couldn’t provide for herself (Bell, 1996). The Mende people of Sierra Leone perform circumcision on both girls and boys for a very spiritual purpose. First, they must rid the female body of the male element (located in the clitoris), and then they rid the male body of the female element (located in the foreskin). Then a man and woman can unite in marriage for the reproduction of a child. They believe that circumcision fully genders the body and those that have not been circumcised cannot participate in adult life, marry, or have a family (Hayes, 2007). FGM is also seen as a right of passage from girlhood to womanhood in many third-world countries. The mutilations are thought to make girls tougher for childbearing and the wifebeating they must endure during their marriage (Goodwin, 2008).

The procedure Female circumcision can be done any time between infancy and puberty, but is more commonly performed on girls between the ages of 3 and 8 (Bell, 1996). FGM is usually done with a razor, kitchen knife or scissors, and involves removing some or all of the clitoris, and much of the inner and outer labia (Burstyn, 1995). Anesthesia is rarely used, much less sterile instruments. There are four types of genital mutilation: type 1, otherwise known as a clitoridectomy, includes the partial or total removal of the clitoris and hood, called the prepuce. Experts say that the removal of the clitoris is equal to the removal of much of the penis

(Burstyn, 1995). Type 2, excision, is the removal of the entire clitoris, hood, some or all of the labia minora (inner lips) and some or all of the labia majora (outer lips). Type 3, the most extreme form of FGM called infibulation, includes the removal of the tissues in types 1 and 2, plus the joining of remaining vaginal tissue. A straw or other small utensil is then inserted into the tiny opening left in the vagina to create a hole for urination and menstruation (Gruenbaum, 2007). During the several week healing period the victim must endure, her legs are bound from the ankles to the waist, so the

effects

scar tissue can heal almost closing the entire vagina (Burstyn, 1995). Infibulation is most commonly done in northern Sudan, Somalia, Eritrea and Djibouti. It makes intercourse extremely difficult and results in severe tissue damage, or the bride having to be sliced open by a midwife. Some times it is done each time after a woman gives birth to re-tighten her. Type 4 is any other practice that involves procedures done on the genitalia such as custom labia stretching, use of astringents or piercings (Gruenbaum, 2007).

Of Female Mutilations

The immediate physical effects of FGM include acute infection, tetanus, bleeding of other organs, shock from the violent pain, hemorrhaging and death. Lifelong physical and psychological effects include chronic pelvis infections, keloids, vulval abscesses, sterility, incontinence, depression, anxiety, psychosis, sexual dysfunction, mari-

tal disharmony, obstetric complications and risks to the infant or fetus and mother (Burstyn, 1995). FGM can cause severe complications in child birth because the scar tissue cannot stretch properly and many women end up being cut open with unsterilized instruments and die from infection or bleeding (Goodwin, 2008).

interviews with: Dr. Edward J. Vogel Ellen Gruenbaum & Experts in the field of FGM

What would be the first steps in educating women about the dangers of circumcision? Dr. Vogel

Education of adult women and men in the societies that practice female circumcision would be most important because it is the family members that subject their female children to this practice. Its intent is to remove the ability to enjoy sexual contact. These cultures feel that by doing so they decrease infidelity in marriage and promiscuity prior to marriage. The immediate risks are infection, bleeding, and rarely death. Long term these patients have painful intercourse, an inability to orgasm, and increase incidence of anterior (the top part of the vaginal opening externally) vaginal lacerations at childbirth.

Ms. Gruenbaum That depends where you are. Women already know the dangers of circumcision in

most countries where it is performed, but they accept the dangers because they view it as an important [tradition]. The “first steps” in many places would be to provide opportunities for girls to go to school, for women to achieve literacy, and for the societies to meet other basic needs of people, like clean water, sanitation, and health services. Female genital cutting is not that high on the list of things that need to be changed in many places, so an outsider or agency that comes in saying “you should change your harmful practices” might be seen as unsympathetic to the really serious and life-threatening difficulties people face in their lives, like war, poverty, etc.

Is it possible to reverse the damage done to a circumcised woman? Dr. Vogel

There is no way to replace the clitoris. The vagina can be widened if there is a significant amount of scaring causing painful intercourse.

Ms. Gruenbaum Yes. There are surgeons who can do some reconstructive surgeries if the woman

wants to alter her genitals. Some of the damage is not reversible, such as when parts are removed. But there are African women’s health clinics in several countries where immigrant women who have changed their views on “FGM” can go for assessment and some reconstructive surgeries. I think there is one such clinic at Brugham and Women’s Hospital, in Boston.

works Cited

Bell, Alison. “Worldwide women’s watch. (plight of young women around the world).” Teen Magazine June 1996: 58+. General Reference Center Gold. Web. 16 May 2011. Buckwalter, Rebecca. “No end in sight: female mutilation unabated.” Harvard International Review 27.1 (2005): 7. General Reference Center Gold. Web. 17 May 2011. Burstyn, Linda. “Female circumcision comes to America.” The Atlantic Oct. 1995: 28+. General Reference Center Gold. Web. 17 May 2011. Goodwin, Jan. “From mutilation to salvation: millions of young women around the globe are still being subjected to a shockingly primitive surgery that leads to lifelong health problems— if not death. But in a faraway corner of Kenya, one survivor is fighting for change. MC’s Jan Goodwin met the woman who’s setting an example for the world.” Marie Claire Jan. 2008: 92+. General Reference Center Gold. Web. 16 May 2011. Gruenbaum, Ellen. Email Interview. 24 May 2011. Gruenbaum, Ellen. “Female Genital Mutilation.” Encyclopedia of Sex and Gender: Culture Society History. Ed. Fedwas Malti-Douglas. Vol. 2. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2007. 529-531. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 17 May 2011. Hayes, Kelly. “Body Modifications.” Encyclopedia of Sex and Gender: Culture Society History. Ed. Fedwa Malti-Douglas. Vol. 1. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2007. 170-171. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 18 May 2011. Vogel, Edward J. Email Interview. 23 May 2011.

All photos are from www.nationalgeographic.com and were converted to black and white in Photoshop