Female Genital Circumcision

Female circumcision, also known as female genital mutilation or female genital cutting is any procedure involving the partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs whether for cultural, religious or other non-medical reasons. The procedure has no health benefits for girls and women. It involves removing and damaging healthy and normal female genital tissue, and interferes with the natural functions of girls’ and women’s bodies. Procedures can cause severe bleeding and problems urinating, and later, potential childbirth complications and newborn deaths. Immediate complications can include severe pain, shock, haemorrhage (bleeding), tetanus or sepsis (bacterial infection), urine retention, open sores in the genital region and injury to nearby genital tissue. It is one of the most shocking and painful pussy torture procedure.

Despite all above between 100 to 140 million girls and women worldwide are living with the consequences of female circumcision. In Africa, about 92 million girls are estimated to have undergone female circumcision. About three million girls are at risk for female genital mutilation annually.

The practice of female circumcision is most common in the western, eastern, and north-eastern regions of Africa, in some countries in Asia and the Middle East, and among certain immigrant communities in North America and Europe. Pussy mutilation is practised in various forms in over 20 African countries and also in Oman, the Yemen, and the United Arab Emirates and by some Muslims in Malaysia and Indonesia. In the Iraqi village of Hasira, a recent study found that 60 percent of the women and girls reported having undergone pussy mutilation. In Ethiopia 70 to 80 per cent of women are circumcised.

It is uncertain when female genital mutilation was first practised, but it certainly preceded the founding of both Christianity and Islam. There is no basis for the belief that the procedure was advocated or approved by Mohammed nor is it in any way part of the Islamic faith. Though the operation is largely confined to Muslims, it is also performed in certain Christian communities in Africa. A Greek papyrus from 163 B.C. mentions girls in Egypt undergoing circumcision and it is widely accepted to have originated in Egypt and the Nile valley at the time of the Pharaohs.

The causes of female genital mutilation include a mix of cultural, religious and social factors within families and communities. For example, female circumcision is often considered a necessary part of raising a girl properly, and a way to prepare her for adulthood and marriage. Pussy mutilation is often motivated by beliefs about what is considered proper sexual behaviour, linking procedures to premarital virginity and marital fidelity. Genital mutilation is believed by some to reduce a woman’s libido and help her resist “illicit” sexual acts. Pussy mutilation is associated with cultural ideals of femininity and modesty, which include the notion that girls are “clean” and “beautiful” after removal of body parts that are considered “male” or “unclean”. In some societies, female circumcision is considered a cultural tradition, which is often used as an argument for its continuation.

The procedure involves the slicing away of the clitoris and the removal of the inner and sometimes the outer lips of her vagina. The genitals are then held together using thorns or stitches with the girl’s legs tied together for six weeks to allow the healing of the two sides of the vulva.

Female circumcision is classified into four major types:
Clitoridectomy: partial or total removal of the clitoris (a small, sensitive and erectile part of the female genitals) and, rarely, the prepuce (the fold of skin surrounding the clitoris) as well.
Excision: partial or total removal of the clitoris and the labia minora, with or without excision of the labia majora (the labia are “the lips” that surround the vagina).
Infibulation: narrowing of the vaginal opening through the creation of a covering seal. The seal is formed by cutting and repositioning the inner, and sometimes outer, labia, with or without removal of the clitoris.
Other: all other harmful procedures to the female genitalia for non-medical purposes, e.g. pricking, piercing, incising, scraping and cauterizing the genital area.

The practice is mostly carried out by traditional circumcisers, who often play other central roles in communities, such as attending childbirths. Increasingly, however, female circumcision is being performed by medically trained personnel.

The effect of female circumcision on a woman’s sexual experience varies depending on many factors. Female circumcision does not eliminate all sexual pleasure for all women who undergo the procedure, but it does reduce the likelihood of orgasm (which may be the intended objective of the procedure). Although sexual excitement and arousal for a woman during intercourse involves a complex series of nerve endings being activated and stimulated in and around her vagina, vulva (labia minora and majora), cervix, uterus and clitoris, psychological response and mindset are also important.

A study in 2006 found that in some infibulated women, some erectile tissue fundamental to producing pleasure had not been completely excised. Defibulation of subjects revealed that a part of or the whole of the clitoris was underneath the scar of infibulation. The study found that sexual pleasure and orgasm are still possible after infibulation, and that they rely heavily on cultural influences — when mutilation is lived as a positive experience, orgasm is more likely.

Despite laws forbidding the practice, female genital circumcision remains an enduring tradition in many societies and cultural groups. Some countries that prohibited female circumcision still experience the practice in secrecy.