Melissa_Gonsalves

 ***DISCLAIMER:** The following article includes graphic content and controversial issues.*  ** Female Genital Mutilation: A Female’s Rite of Passage **  media type="youtube" key="9kNMC65pNsg" height="344" width="425" // "I was genitally mutilated at the age of ten. When the operation began, I put up a big fight. The pain was terrible and unbearable… I was badly cut and lost blood… I was genitally mutilated with a blunt penknife. After the operation, no one was allowed to aid me to walk… Sometimes I had to force myself not to urinate for fear of the terrible pain. I was not given any anaesthetic in the operation to reduce my pain, nor any antibiotics to fight against infection. Afterwards, I haemorrhaged and became anaemic. This was attributed to witchcraft. I suffered for a long time from acute vaginal infections."//  -Hannah Koroma, Sierra Leone (Amnesty International, 1998)  **Introduction** Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), otherwise known as female circumcision, is the practice of partially, or completely, removing the external female genitalia through the process of cutting. It is performed on young female girls and adolescents from 4-14 years of age. FGM is considered an initiation for girls into womanhood. Approximately 100-140 million females worldwide are subjected to FGM (WHO, 2008). This practice is customary in Africa, parts of Asia and the Middle East. However, FGM is beginning to be found in immigration communities in countries such as Europe, Australia, Canada and the US (UNICEF, 2002). The procedure is usually performed by elderly women or traditional birth attendants. Their tools range from unsanitary knives, scissors, razor blades, and broken glass due to the poor medical standards in developing countries. Female Genital Mutilation is a human rights concern for the girls coerced to take part. It is a life-threatening procedure that imposes health and psychological risks upon the victims. Furthermore, it is a manifestation of gender inequality and disregards female empowerment.  **Risks and Consequences**  FGM has no health benefits. On the contrary, many health risks and consequences come with this procedure. The practice damages the vaginal tissue and interferes with the natural growth of the female. Several complications can occur immediately after procedure; such include: >  Some symptoms can be severe enough to cause death. The procedure by itself is a humiliating and traumatic experience for the girls that are victim to it. Prior to the operation they are stripped naked, held down, and gagged. Following the procedure, the girls are stitched up and get their legs bound together for several days or weeks (WHO, 2008). Complications can also occur during child birth such as Caesarean sections, prolonged labour, resuscitation of the infant, low birth weight, and in-patient prenatal deaths (WHO, 2008).  <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Purpose for the Practice** <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> media type="youtube" key="TMSQPDd1B2g" height="295" width="480" <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">There are several reasons that perpetuate of the practice of FGM. Firstly, FGM is carried out for cultural and religious purposes. It is considered a coming-of-age ritual for girls into womanhood. If they do not follow the practice, it will result in condemnation, ostracism, and harassment within their community (WHO, 2008). FGM is also considered a social convention in which girls are pressured or forced into by their families to maintain their status within their community. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">FGM is considered necessary for a female to transition into adulthood. The ritual enables girls to become suitable for marriage. After going through the procedure the girls are awarded with gifts or a feast. It is also a method for sustaining a woman’s virginity and sexual desire until marriage. Many girls are forced to believe that FGM is a standard for womanhood and a feminine ideal. The video cited above exemplifies how the community justifies the practice through myths and false beliefs. It is believed that the external female genitalia are attributed to masculine parts and removal of the external genitalia will insure beauty and cleanliness. Furthermore, it is believed that FGM enhances male sexual pleasure (UNFPA, 2008). <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">FGM is also carried out for religious reasons. The practice is performed among Christians, Jews, and Muslims; however, the practice is not mention in any of the holy texts, respectively. Furthermore, FGM pre-dates both Christianity and Islam (UNFPA, 2006). Essentially, the practice is an important part of cultural and female identity in the countries that carry out FGM. Moreover, the desire to maintain tradition and relations within their community perpetuates the practice. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Eliminating FGM** <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Several humanitarian organizations are committed to abolishing FGM, such as the UN, WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, Amnesty International, and World Vision among many others. In April 1997, a statement was issued by the WHO, UNICEF, and UNFPA in favour of eliminating the practice of FGM worldwide (Popline, 1997). Since FGM is usually executed under the parent’s consent it is, therefore, considered a violation of human rights of a child. UNICEF states that FGM, <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">//“…violates the rights to equal opportunities, health, freedom from violence, injury, abuse, torture and cruel or// <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">//inhuman and degrading treatment, protection from harmful traditional practices, and to make decisions concerning// <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">//reproduction.” (UNICEF, 2002).//
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Severe pain
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Excessive bleeding
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Shock
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Urinary infection
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Tetanus or sepsis from contaminated tools
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Infertility
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Hemorrhaging
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Spreading HIV/AIDS from unsterilized tools

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Furthermore, UNFPA’s standards for human rights declare that the basis of human rights is //“the affirmation that human well-being and health is influenced by the way a person is valued, respected and given the choice to decide on the direction of her/his life without discrimination, coercion or neglect.”// (UNFPA, 2007). Essentially, the girls subjected to FGM are coerced into receiving this procedure for tradition’s sake and that by itself is a violation against their agency and basic human rights. As a result, these organizations have been working to raise public awareness of this issue worldwide, as well as, educate natives of the dangers and risks of FGM. There are many active campaigns that are fighting against the practice. Amnesty international ran a campaign to raise awareness of the practice of FGM. The campaign included striking images of stitched roses that implied the dangers behind FGM. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Several initiatives have been implemented by UNFPA, WHO and UNICEF to stop the practice. Such initiatives include promoting alternative methods of rituals and initiation such as the offering presents. Safe houses have been established to protect girls from the practice and provide them with education of the issue and their reproductive health. They work closely with professional and non-governmental organizations to implement programs and workshops that help abandon FGM. For example, UNFPA provided programming, involving men and boys, on gender equality and empowerment (UNFPA, 2008). On a national scope, awareness of the issue has been raised through use of the media to inform people about the social changes and ways they can help diminish the issue. These organizations have also worked to change and amend the laws and policies of the countries that harbour FGM. They also have to maintain close ties with religious leaders to stop FGM within their country. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Conclusion** <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It is evident that FGM is a controversial issue that has brought concern to the lifestyles of the countries that carry out this practice. Several factors of FGM go against the human rights and agency of the girls that have to take part in it. FGM is still not completely abolished due to traditional, religious and cultural beliefs; however, humanitarian organizations are putting effort into raising awareness of the issue worldwide. Progress has made FGM an internationally recognized issue that violates human rights and the rights of a child. These organizations rely heavily on public advocacy and awareness to help abolish such issues. They continue to fight for the rights, and are working to help aid and protect the girls that are at harm because of FGM. <span style="font-size: 90%; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Works Cited** <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> > <http://www.unfpa.org/publications/detail.cfm?ID=361>. > <span style="font-size: 90%; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 90%; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
 * <span style="font-size: 90%; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 90%; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-size: 90%; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). __A Holistic Approach to the Abandonment of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting__. 2007. <http://www.unfpa.org/publications/detail.cfm?ID=350 >.
 * <span style="font-size: 90%; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 90%; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">World Health Organization (WHO). __Eliminating female genital mutilation: an interagency statement__. 2008.
 * http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs241/en/
 * http://www.unicef.org/protection/index_genitalmutilation.html
 * http://www.wma.net/e/policy/c10.htm
 * http://www.popline.org/docs/1209/127657.html
 * http://www.africanews.com/site/Sierra_Leone_US_Condemns_FGM/list_messages/23058
 * http://www.unfpa.org/gender/practices1.htm#work
 * http://www.yaleph.com/archive/vol1no2/story7.html
 * http://www.amnestyusa.org/violence-against-women/female-genital-mutilation--fgm/page.do?id=1108439 <span style="font-size: 90%; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 90%; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
 * http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kNMC65pNsg&NR=1
 * http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMSQPDd1B2g