Instead, it continues to proliferate as a ritual among women and as one study shows, its prevalence resulted to 100 million women being circumcised among societies in Africa and Asia. With its prevalence, gender discrimination occurs as a result, where women are coerced to participate in the said ritual and try to bear the pain of the procedure. Because of the health and social repercussions that result from FGM, concern all over the world over its practice has become widespread. Thus, organizations and societies themselves have created techniques to gradually eradicate this harmful ritual while at the same time preserving the cultural meaning that FGM has for the society. An example is "Cutting through words," a program that serves as an alternative for FGM, wherein young women are educated by the female elders, usually their mother or grandmother, about "personal health, reproduction, hygiene,...
Through this program, young women are made aware of their 'rite of passage' not through physical pain, but through education, which develops not only their femininity but also their individuality.
Female Genital Mutilation in Ethiopia: A Human Rights Issue Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a common phenomenon in Ethiopia, which has the highest rate of FGM among African countries, despite international and national efforts to eliminate the phenomenon. Why FGM persists despite these efforts to end the practice is an issue that puzzles scholars and activists, particularly because efforts to end FGM have seen some success outside of Ethiopia. Does the
Female Genital Mutilation -- a Review and Analysis How prevalent is the practice of female genital mutilation throughout the world? Why is it done, where is it done, and what are the human rights and morality implications? This paper will examine those questions, and provide information that supplements those issues. The Literature on Female Genital Mutilation There are four types of female genital mutilation (FGM), according to an article in the British Journal
Moreover, the small opening is kept patent by inserting a small piece of wood or matchstick to allow the passage of urine and menstrual blood (Rimsza pp). Antiseptic powders or pastes, containing herbs, milk, eggs, ashes or dung, which are believed to facilitate healing, may be applied (Female2 pp). The girl is then usually taken to a designated place to recover where, if the mutilation has been carried out as
3. Conclusion From a sociological perspective female genital mutilation is a phenomenon that can be understood in terms of the male-orientated and patriarchal structure of the societies in which it occurs. What also has to be taken into account in an analysis of this social and cultural practice is that it persist due to the socialization process in these countries which tend to normalize and legitimize aspect such as female circumcision. Condemnation
According to Amnesty International, the practice of FGM is performed on more than 2,000,000 women out of whom 600,000 are in Africa. (Kalev, 2004, p. 339) Rarely does FGM simply involve a symbolic small cut on the hood of the clitoris, as it misnomer Female Circuscision would imply. More often it involves clitoridectomy. This is anatomically equivalent to amputation of the penis. Clitoridectomy is often followed by a more
Plastic surgeons refer to the practice of genital surgery for women as Female Genital Cosmetic Surgery (FGCS). However disruptive to sexual self-esteem needless genital surgery may be, the procedures can enormously benefit those who suffered from involuntary genital mutilation. A Reuters press report details the experiences of women from Burkina Faso whose tribal traditions condoned genital mutilation. Far from the mainly benign effects of male circumcision, female genital mutilation can
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