islam, female genital mutilation
http://www.lifesteps.com/gm/Atoz/ency/female_genital_mutilation.jsp
Female genital mutilation
http://www.lifesteps.com/gm/Atoz/ency/female_genital_mutilation.jsp

Definition

Female genital mutilation (FGM) , MUSLIMS, is the cutting, or partial or total removal,

of the external female genitalia for cultural, religious, or other non-medical

reasons. It is usually performed on girls between the ages of four and 10.

It is also called female circumcision.

Purpose

FGM results in the cutting or removal of the tissues around the vagina that

give women pleasurable sexual feelings. This procedure is used for social

and cultural control of women's sexuality. In its most extreme form,

infibulation, where the girl's vagina is sewn shut, the procedure ensures

virginity. In some cultures where female circumcision has been a tradition

for hundreds of years, this procedure is considered a rite of passage for

young girls. Families fear that if their daughters are left uncircumcised,

they may not be marriageable. As in most cultures, there is also the fear

that the girl might bring shame to the family by being sexually active and

becoming pregnant before marriage.

Precautions

It is illegal to perform FGM in many countries, including the United States,

Canada, France, Great Britain, Sweden, Switzerland, Egypt, Kenya, and

Senegal. This procedure is usually done in the home or somewhere other

than a medical setting. Often, it is performed by a family member or by a

local "circumciser," using knives, razor blades, or other tools that may not

be sterilized before use.

Description

Female circumcision includes a wide range of procedures. The simplest form

involves a small cut to the clitoris or labial tissue. A Sunna circumcision

removes the prepuce (a fold of skin that covers the clitoris) and/or the tip

of the clitoris. A clitoridectomy removes the entire clitoris and some or all

of the surrounding tissue; this procedure occurs in approximately 80% of

cases. The most extreme form of genital mutilation is excision and

infibulation, in which the clitoris and all of the surround tissue are cut away

and the remaining skin is sewn together. Only a small opening is left for the

passage of urine and menstrual blood. Infibulation accounts for

approximately 15% of FGM procedures.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that between 100 million

and 140 million girls and women have undergone some form of FGM. As a

very deeply rooted cultural and religious tradition still practiced in over 28

African and Asian countries, up to two million girls per year are at risk.

The following countries have the highest number of occurrences of FGM:

Djibouti (98%), Egypt (97%), Eritrea (95%), Guinea (99%), Mali (94%),

Sierra Leone (90%), and Somalia (98-100%). As more people move to

Western countries from countries where female circumcision is performed,

the practice has come to the attention of health professionals in the United

States, Canada, Europe, and Australia.

In an effort to integrate old customs with modern medical care, some

immigrant families have requested that physicians perform the procedure.

While trying to be sensitive to cultural traditions, health care providers are

sometimes put in the difficult position of choosing to perform this

procedure in a medical facility under sanitary conditions, or refusing the

request, knowing that it may be done anyway with no medical supervision.

Some families who are intent on having this procedure done will take their

daughters back to the country they immigrated from in order to have the

girls circumcised.

Many national and international medical organizations including the American

Medical Association (AMA), Canadian medical organizations, and WHO

oppose the practice of female genital mutilation. The United Nations (UN)

considers female genital mutilation a violation of human rights. WHO has

undertaken a number of projects aimed at decreasing the incidence of FGM.

These include the following activities:
see page:

http://www.lifesteps.com/gm/Atoz/ency/female_genital_mutilation.jsp

Aftercare

A girl or young woman who has recently had the procedure performed may

require supportive care to control bleeding and antibiotics to prevent

infection. Women who were circumcised as children may require medical care

to treat complications. Pregnant women who have been infibulated may have

to have the labial tissue cut open to allow the baby to be delivered.

Aftercare should be provided with a supportive and nonjudgmental approach

towards the girls and women who have undergone this procedure.

Risks

The immediate risks after the procedure are hemorrhage (excessive

bleeding), severe pain, and infection (including abscesses, tetanus, and

gangrene). The most severe consequence is death due to excessive blood

loss. Long term complications include scarring, interference with the

drainage of urine and menstrual blood, chronic urinary tract infections,

pelvic and back pain, and infertility. Sexual intercourse can be painful.

Complications of childbirth are also a risk. It is unclear whether it is

related to the procedure itself, or related to the general condition of

medical practice, but infant and maternal death rates are generally higher in

those communities where female circumcision is practiced.

Key Terms

Circumcision
    A procedure, usually with religious or cultural significance, where the

prepuce or skin covering the tip of the thing on a boy, or the clitoris on a

girl, is cut away.

Clitoridectomy
    A procedure where the clitoris and possibly some of the surrounding

labial tissue at the opening of the vagina is cut away.

Infibulation
    A procedure where the tissue around the vagina is sewn shut, leaving

only a small opening for the passage of urine and menstrual blood.

For Your Information

Periodicals

    * Eyega, Z., and E. Conneely. "Facts and Fiction Regarding Female

Circumcision/Female Genital Mutilation: A Pilot Study in New York City."

Journal of American Medical Women's Association, 52 no. 4 (Fall 1997)

174-178, 187.

    * "Female Genital Mutilation: At the Crossroads of Women's Health &

Human Rights." Public Health Magazine 5 no. 1 (Winter 1995),

    * Jones, W.K., et al. "Female Genital Mutilation. Female Circumcision.

Who Is At Risk In the U.S.?" Public Health Report 112 no. 5 (Sept./Oct.

1997) 112 (5): 368-377.

    * Ortiz, E.T. "Female Genital Mutilation and Public Health: Lessons From

the British Experience." Health Care Women International 119 no. 2

(Mar./Apr. 1998) 19 (2): 119-129.

    * Winkel, E. "A Muslim Perspective on Female Circumcision." Women &

Health 23 no.1 (1995), 1-7.

Other

    * The Female Genital Mutilation Research Homepage.

http://www.hollyfeld.org/fgm.

    * "Female Genital Mutilation." The World Health Organization.

http://www.who.int/frh-whd/FGM/index.htm.
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