Female Genital Cutting (FGC) is a traditional form of body mutilation practiced throughout western, north central, and northeastern Africa. Also known as female circumcision, it can be defined as a wide range of practices involving the partial or total alteration or removal of the external genitalia for non medical reasons.
There are four recognized types of FGC. Type I is a “clitoridectomy” that is an excision of the prepuce* and Type II is an “excision” that includes removal of the prepuce, clitoris, and potentially the labia minora. More severe, Type III is called “infibulation” and it is the removal of all outer genitalia and stitching of the vaginal opening. The most drastic form is Type IV is considered “unclassified” as it includes all of the above, plus burning, piercing, pricking, or stretching of the genitalia.
The health problems that arrive from the procedure are too numerous to count, but they include uncontrolled bleeding, infection of the cuts, fistulae, and life-threatening complications during childbirth.
Although there has been a plethora of technical information on the practice since it was brought to the fore of international human rights discourse, it is actually little understood for its cultural entrenchment. We do know that the operation is performed generally
before or around puberty. There is intense social stigma for those adult girls who have not undergone genital cutting, which interferes with their abilities to have their own families. Therefore, many parents insist on FGC because they believe it will make the girls less
promiscuous and therefore better wives to potential husbands. On a continent where a daughter is often viewed as an economic burden, FGC is mainly practiced in impoverished rural areas to ensure that the daughter does not remain at home unmarried.
Although the practice spans all religions in Africa, it is commonly associated with Islam
and the most severe form of FGC is practiced in countries with a Muslim majority, such as Somalia and Sudan.
Public awareness campaigns were first prevalent internationally, and those campaigns only later became localized. The most well-known film about FGC is Alice Walker and Pratibha Parmar’s 1993 British film Warrior Marks. It internationally convinced large numbers of people that a highly damaging, oppressive ‘ritual’ was being inflicted without reflection, based on patriarchy and lack of education. The goal of the filmmaker was to galvanize a global movement against the practice. A year earlier, the Inter-American Committee had produced a film on Nigeria called Female Circumcision: Beliefs and Misbeliefs. It depicts how FGC can be done even on a three-year old through decorative scarification and tattooing by a male barber. This film weakened the cultural argument that the ritual is solely helping young women make the transition into womanhood. Contrary to Warrior marks, Beliefs and Misbeliefs was actually intended for African audiences as an education tool. It includes spoken language and subtitles in various indigenous languages and includes culturally-pertinent images related to FGC. Interestingly, when this film was screened by a health worker to groups of women, the health worker had the chance to clarify certain misconceptions of audience members about health. For example, she debunked the myth that if the clitoris touches the baby’s head during labor, the baby will die. The screening led to a great discussion about other violations of women, such as early marriage.
Perhaps the spread of technical health education coupled with culturally-relevant media is the key to mitigating the harm caused by female genital mutilation.
written by Laine Strutton
*prepuce is a retractable piece of skin which covers part of the genitals of primates and other mammals.
On a male, this covers the head of the penis (glans penis).
On a female, it surrounds and protects the head of the clitoris (glans clitoridis).
Sources:
Gruenbaum, E. (2001). The female circumcision controversy: An
anthropological perspective. Philadelphia: Philadelphia: University of
Pennsylvania Press.
Shell-Duncan, B., & Hernlund, Y. (2000). In Shell-Duncan B., Hernlund
Y. (Eds.), Female "circumcision" in Africa : Culture, controversy, and
change. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers.
Rahman, A., & Toubia, N. (2000). In Center for Reproductive Law &
Policy, RAINBO (Organization) (Eds.), Female genital mutilation: A
guide to laws and policies worldwide. London ; New York: Zed Books in
association with Center for Reproductive Law and Policy and Research,
Action and Information Network for the Bodily Integrity of Women.
The World Health Organization's website,
<http://www.who.int/gender/other_health/en/index.html>.
The thing that I find interesting is how incensed people are about female genital cutting---yet male genital cutting is viewed by many as totally ok since it doesn't technically interfere with sexual relations, etc. Regardless, I think society holds a double-standard.
ReplyDeleteLaine, I read this with a lot of interest: I've been working on the subject for the past couple of years, I'd be very interested in reading more of what you write on the subject, and/or exchanging info. Thanks, Doctor D., for creating this forum!
ReplyDeleteI think the thing that would help these girls/women most is education. Educating them about their bodies and sexual reproduction in general. And educating the men, too! You hit the nail right on the head, I think. It is a culture issue and it is hard for us to understand it from their point of view. I do think it still needs to be stopped, however. Your posts are just so informative and well researched! Good job!
ReplyDeleteYou sound like a real Westerner. I have a deep suspicion that you don't really know about FGC or how the practice was originated, or how Sahara African females might think about it. So please, spare me your "they need to be educated" comments and try to make an effort to learn more about it than from a European or North American point of view.
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