Female Genital Mutilation

By: Caitlin Hammond

What is Female Genital Mutilation
(FGM)
• Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a procedure which involves
the removal of partial or total removal of the female genitalia.
It could also include injury to the female reproductive organs
which are not for medical purposes.
• There are no health benefits to FGM, but instead damages
healthy female tissue and affects the regular functioning of a
girl’s body.
• There are 4 types of FGM, but each type is considered a
fundamental violation of human rights, and infringes on a
woman’s right to security, physical integrity, and health. It is a
degrading practice which often inflicts pain and cruel
treatment.
Why FGM is Practiced
and How Common
• FGM is practiced in many communities due to long
standing customs and traditions. Often the
perspective is that FGM promotes chastity and
social acceptance by ensuring a young girl is a
virgin until she is married.
• Additionally, there are erroneous views that FGM
promotes cleanliness and fertility.
• FGM is not required by any religion and not part of
any religion, although the majority of women with
mutilation being Muslim.
• Over 130 million girls and women are currently
living with FGM, and 28 million of these girls are
between 10-19 years old.
Sexual and Reproductive
Health Issues
• There are immediate as well as long-term
health effects from FGM:
• Immediate: excruciating pain,
hemorrhage, bacterial infections, shock,
urine retention, and sores
• Long-term: infertility, obstetric
complications, risk of newborn death,
cysts, and recurrent bladder infections
• For some countries in Africa, FGM is seen as
a way to purify girls and to prevent rape. This
is a very damaging way of thinking because it
teaches girls that their bodies are not right
the way they are, and that men will rape
them if they are not “sterilized”. This is a
major gender rights and equality issue.
Why FGM Should be
Stopped
• While there are unfortunately some women in
rural communities who believe the practice
should be continued due to tradition, FGM
often persists in areas where girls believe it
should end.
• Overall support for FGM is declining, which
means young girls and women are beginning to
reject the practice as part of their cultural
norms.
• FGM causes a wide range of health issues as
previously discussed. Many of these health
issues persist for the majority of a woman’s life,
beyond just the initial procedure.
• In addition to the physical complications of
FGM, many women also experience lasting
physiological and psychosexual issues, as well as
post traumatic stress disorder.
What We Can Do
• Making people aware is the first step to ending FGM. While
male circumcision may offer some medical benefits such as
reduced infection, there are no health benefits to FGM.
• The BanFGM Worldwide Project is working to make FGM
legislation that will ban the practice. More awareness and
support is needed for this project in order for it to be
universally effective.
• Girls need to be educated and empowered about the actual
facts related to FGM. Many girls believe that maintaining
their virginity will make them desirable for marriage, as well
as socially accepted. These beliefs need to be changed and
girls need to be empowered to make their own decisions
regarding their sexuality.
 How Increased
Investments Will Help
• FGM as a medical issue has gained some
awareness in parts of Africa where it is practiced,
therefore health care providers need to continue
investments and efforts to advocate a ban on the
practice.
• Girls whose mothers are uneducated are more
likely to have endured FGM, which shows that
investments in education could likely help to
diminish this practice.
• Again, educating girls is the most important parts.
Sending increased efforts of relief groups to
communities and villages is going to be so vital to
ending female genital mutilation.
References
• E. (Producer). (2016). FGM: The UK's Hidden Crime [Video file]. Retrieved July
23, 2020, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?
time_continue=158&v=6rfG62eBUxE&feature=emb_title
• Saab, A. (Director). (2016). FGM a Ritual of Agony [Video file]. Retrieved July
23, 2020, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=267&v=e-
Arq_LqdXU&feature=emb_title
• U. (2014). A Statistical Snapshot of Violence Against Adolescent Girls. Retrieved
July 24, 2020.
• UNICEF. (2010). Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting: What might the future
hold? [Brochure]. New York, NY: Author. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
• United Nations Economic Affairs for Africa. (n.d.). Ban FGM
Worldwide [Brochure]. Author. Retrieved July 24, 2020.