Some believe that it is a poisonous organ that can cause a man to sicken or die if contacted by a man's penis. - Men can become impotent by contacting a clitoris - A baby will be hydrocephalic (born with excess cranial fluid) if its head contacts the clitoris during birth - Milk of the mother will become poisonous if her clitoris touches the baby during childbirth. Preservation of virginity, prevention of promiscuity (multiple sex partners; dirty) Enhancement of fertility
[FGM makes childbirth dangerous; babies are often born with brain damage due to obstructed labour, and maternal mortality rates are high]
Increase of matrimonial opportunities, pursuance of aesthetics, improvement of male sexual performance and pleasure - FGM makes a woman's face more beautiful - FGM makes a woman more sexually more pleasing to her husband. The tighter she is sewn, the more pleasure he has. - Men typically prefer a circumcised wife because they are considered more likely to be faithful - If FGM is not done, older men may not be able to match their wives' sex drive and may have to resort to illegal stimulating drugs. Promotion of social and political cohesion
These claims appear to have little or no support outside of countries where FGM is common!!
Is it Religious? MANY PEOPLE LINK FGM WITH THE RELIGION OF ISLAM. IT IS ACTUALLY A SOCIAL CUSTOM THAT IS PRACTICED BY ANIMISTS, CHRISTIANS, AND MUSLIMS IN THOSE COUNTRIES WHERE FGM IS COMMON. Islam: No. "All practices of female circumcision and mutilation are crimes and have no relationship with Islam. Whether it involves the removal of the skin or the cutting of the flesh of the female genital organs... it is not an obligation in Islam." It is commonly believed by illiterate Muslims as an Islamic practice On the contrary, Islam holds dear the concept of health as a gift from God!
FGM is often justified by a controversial saying attributed to the Prophet Mohammed that seem to favor sunna circumcision involving minor cutting of the clitoris. The authenticity of these sayings are unconfirmed, and some scholars have refuted them. Even if true, they only permit the practice; they do not mandate it.
MALE DOMINATION???
Desire to terminate or reduce feelings of sexual arousal in women so that they will be much less likely to engage in pre-marital intercourse or adultery Only way to guarantee girls will remain "pure" until marriage
2. Where is FGM Practised in? [Refer to Annex 1 for detailed statistical overview]
Nations which prohibits FGM African Nations [Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Cte dIvoire, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Niger, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, and Egypt] Developed Countries [Australia, Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States, and France] -> Mostly caused by immigrants
4. Other Information
An estimated 130 million African women have undergone FGM; as many as 98% of Somalian women may have done so Clitoridectomy, excision, infibulation (also known as "Pharaonic circumcision") Clitorecdomy in its less invasive form, removal of the prepuce alone, Sexual feelings are either inhibited or terminated. Sexual intercourse is often extremely painful for the woman. Childbirth often involves a Caesarian section . Sources: http://www.religioustolerance.org/fem_circ.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Female_genital_cutting
Annex 1
COUNTRY Benin Burkina Faso Cameroon Central African Republic 16.8 76.6 1 35.9
FGM STATISTICS
PREVALENCE (%) II II Performed throughout the country in all but a few provinces. I, II I, II II Widely practiced in all parts of Chad. Chad 44.9 III Confined to areas bordering Sudan in the eastern part of the country. TYPE PERFORMED
44.5
Djibouti
II I, II, III I, II, III I Commonly practiced among Amharas, Tigrayans and the Jeberti Muslims living in Tigray. II Most commonly practiced form. The Gurages, some Tigrayans, Oromos and the Shankilas practice this form. III Practiced in the eastern Muslim regions bordering Sudan and Somalia. IV Referred to as Mariam Girz in Ethiopia, it is practiced mainly in Gojam in the Amhara region. I The Sarahulis perform this on girls one week after birth. The Bambaras perform the procedure on girls between 10-15 years of age. II Nearly all Mandinkas, Jolas and Hausas practice this form on girls 10-15 years old.
Ethiopia
79.9
Gambia
60-90 III The Fulas perform a procedure similar to Type III that is described as vaginal sealing on girls from one week old to 18 years old. IV The Fulas perform this type on girls from one week old to 18 years old.
Kenya
Liberia
50
II I, II, III
Mali
Mauritania Niger
71.5 4.5
I, II II
DEFINITIONS OF TYPES OF FGC/FC : Type I Circumcision is the excision (removal) of the prepuce (clitoral hood) with or without removal of a part of the clitoris (a.k.a. sunna circumcision). Type II Excision or clitoridectomy is the excision of the clitoris together with part or all of the labia minora (the inner vaginal lips). Type III Infibulation is the excision of part or all of the external genitalia (clitoris, labia minora and labia majora) and stitching or narrowing of the vaginal opening, leaving a very small opening, about the size of a matchstick, to allow for the flow of urine and menstrual blood. The girl or womans legs are generally bound together from the hip to the ankle so she remains immobile for approximately 40 days to allow for the formation of scar tissue (referred to as Sudanese circumcision in Egypt; referred to as Pharaonic circumcision in Somalia). Type IV Unclassified includes the pricking, piercing or incision of the clitoris and/or labia; also includes symbolic rituals. The application or insertion of corrosive substances into the vagina is also considered Type IV. Defibulation or deinfibulation Cutting open the scar tissue that has formed around the vaginal opening to allow penetration by her husband or for the birth of a child. Refibulation or reinfibulation or recircumcision The sewing up of a circumcised womans vaginal opening after childbirth or periodically during her life when she feels as though her opening has gotten too big or loose. Alternative rituals An alternative to FGM in which the traditional ceremony takes place without the actual cutting. In Kenya, girls go through a week-long program designed as a coming-of-age workshop. This ritual is called Ntanira Na Mugambo or Circumcision Through Words. Introcision A form of FGM/C that is practiced by the Pitta-Patta aborigines of Australia where the vaginal orifice is enlarged by tearing it downward with three fingers bound with an opossum string. The procedure is performed by an elderly man when the girl reaches puberty. In other districts, the perineum is split with a stone knife. Compulsory sexual intercourse with a number of young men usually follows the introcision. Mexico, Brazil, and Peru reportedly practice this form of FGM/C. In Peru, among a division of Pano Indians, an elderly woman uses a bamboo knife to cut around the hymen from the vaginal entrance and severs the hymen from the labia, at the same time exposing the clitoris. Medicinal herbs are applied, followed by the insertion of a phallic clay object into the vagina.
Statistical Sources
Amnesty International, Demographic Health Surveys (DHS), UNICEF, USAID, US Dept. of State, World Health Organization http://www.fgmnetwork.org/intro/world.php
Annex 2
Female genital cutting (FGC, also known as female circumcision, clitoridectomy, infibulation, or female genital mutilation) is a painful and dangerous practice whereby part or all of the female childs external genitalia are cut away. It affects about a 130 million women in 28 African countries today, and is one of the worlds major public health problems. Rather than diminishing with modernization, FGC instead has been expanding. Legal prohibition has consistently failed, but so also has noncoercive education about the many severe health consequences of FGC. However, it is plain now how to end FGC. The way to end FGC was invented, reinvented actually, by women in Africa themselves. This discovery should be publicized, developed, and adapted to local conditions across Africa. This bewildering practice is nearly universal within the groups where it is found, has persisted for many centuries, and in some areas is becoming more widespread and extreme. One local woman said it will take 300 years to bring it to an end, and the casual observer would likely agree that it would take a very long time to erode such a fundamental cultural trait. However, it turns out that within an intramarrying group, if FGC ends, it will only end suddenly and universally. Furthermore, without the right sort of reform program, FGC will never end, regardless of the degree of economic development or cultural internationalization. Fortunately, the way to end FGC is almost as simple as the formation of associations whose members pledge to abandon the practice. Why do I say that FGC must either persist indefinitely or end rapidly? Before proceeding with an explanation, first we have to listen to what the people who do FGC say about it. They say that FGC is required for a proper marriage, for the virtue of the woman, for the honor of her family. Moreover, most, until recently, would be unaware that other peoples do not do FGC, and would think that the only people who do not do FGC are unfaithful women or indecent people. Like other outsiders I find FGC horrifying to imagine, but for an insider FGC is more like dentistry than it is like violence. Americans subject their children to painful and frankly exotic dentistry practices, and not to provide dental care to ones child is to damage his or her chances in life and marriage. Imagine that some foreigners come along who claim that dentistry is dangerous and leads to fatal diseases in middle life. We would find it very difficult to believe that there is a danger, and after we independently confirmed the information we would find it difficult to give up pretty teeth for our children if other parents didnt give them up too. FGC is a matter of proper marriage and family honor. An individual in an intramarrying group that practices FGC cant give it up unless enough other people do too. FGC is a certain kind of convention (for a complete exposition, see my Ending Footbinding and Infibulation: A Convention Account, American Sociological Review, December 1996, 61:999-1017). To understand, imagine that there is a group that has a convention whereby audiences (at the cinema, at plays, at recitals) stand up rather than sit down. Sitting has been forgotten. Standing is both universal and persistent. An outsider comes along and explains that elsewhere audiences sit. After the shock of surprise wears off, some people begin to think that sitting might be better, but it would be better only if enough other people sit at the same time. If only one person sits, she doesnt get to see anything on the stage. If only one family abandons FGC, their daughter doesnt get married, because only unfaithful women lack FGC. However, if a critical mass of people in the audience can be organized to sit, they realize that they can attain both the ease of sitting and a clear enough view of the stage. This critical mass then has incentives to recruit the rest of the audience to sitting. Similarly, if a critical mass of people in an intramarrying group pledge to refrain from FGC, then the knowledge that they are a critical mass makes it immediately in their interest to keep their pledges, and suddenly makes it in everyone elses interests to join them. Without an understanding of the underlying mechanism, the abrupt end of such an entrenched practice by means of a mere public pledge would seem to be nearly miraculous. A peculiar characteristic of a convention like this is that even if each individual in the relevant group comes to think that it would be better to abandon the practice, no one individual acting on her own can succeed. Each person could come to think that sitting is better than standing, but any individual sitting on her own would only make herself worse off. Enough people have to sit at the same time. The way to do this is to declare a public pledge that marks a convention shift. Every family could come to think that FGC is wrong, but that is not enough, FGC would continue because any family abandoning it on its own would ruin the futures of its daughters. It must be abandoned by enough families at once so that their daughters futures are secured. Speculation? No. I have shown elsewhere that the convention model explains the binding of womens feet in China. The practice was beginning about the age of eight to bend the toes under the feet, force the sole to the heel, and tightly wrap the girls foot so that as she matured her feet remained tiny, perhaps a mere five inches in length. Footbinding was painful, dangerous, and disabling. Why did the Chinese do it? Again, it was necessary for a proper marriage, for the virtue of the woman, for the honor of her family. Footbinding and FGC are essentially equivalent practices, and originate from similar causes, which I do not discuss here in order to remain brief. Footbinding and FGC persist because of the same convention mechanism. Footbinding lasted for a thousand years, was universal among all decent Chinese, and was undented by liberal agitation and imperial prohibition in the 19th century. However, footbinding ended in less than a generation. In localities where it did end, it ended suddenly and universally, just as the convention model predicts. Therefore, the methods used to end footbinding in China should work to end FGC in Africa. The work of the antifootbinding reformers had three aspects. First, they carried out a modern education campaign, which explained that the rest of the world did not bind womens feet. The discovery of an alternative is necessary but not sufficient for change. Second, they explained the advantages of natural feet and the disadvantages of bound feet in Chinese cultural terms. New information about health consequences, again, is necessary but not sufficient for change. Third, they formed natural-foot societies, whose members publicly pledged not to bind their daughters feet nor to let their sons marry women with bound feet. The problem is that if only one family renounces footbinding their daughters are thereby rendered unmarriageable. The pledge association solves this problem if enough families abandon footbinding then their children can marry each other. The first antifootbinding society was founded in 1874 by local missionaries for their converts, who accidentally discovered the effectiveness of the public pledge. This local success went unnoticed, until it was rediscovered and advocated on a national level in 1895