The "circumcision of women" or "female genital mutilation"...is a very sensitive subject in many African countries and even among African decedents in Britain. The thought alone is painful, but the circumcision of women particularly in Somalia is not only extremely common, but a highly esteemed practiced. Most men in Somalia will not marry a woman if she is not circumcised. A young girl's mother, grandmother, and aunts want her to be circumcised because it is considered as a "Rite of Passage"....an entry into full womanhood. Many Somalians are Muslim. Though the Koran does not say anything about circumcising women it has become a ritual, a tight woven part of their cultural fabric, and basically unwritten law. Women have kept their complaints to themselves until now...it's us 21st century women! We don't take no stuff! As you can imagine this is extremely painful...it involves cutting part or all of the woman's clitoris (filled with nerves like a man's scrotum sack), the surrounding labia, and sometimes includes sewing up the vagina leaving only a minute opening for urine and menstrual. Women in Somalia are often wide awake when having this operation done without medicine or sedatives, held down by females in their family. This pain does not only last after surgery but for a woman's entire life...it makes it hard to urinate, painful to menstruate, painful to have intercourse and often painful/impossible to give birth. Sometimes if the birth of a circumcised woman goes wrong, it can cause uncontrollable leakage of her anal/vagina. For this she will be an outcast in society and her husband and family will abandon her. So with all these negative effects one, especially an American, would wonder well why do they continue to do this?
Again, it is a practice highly esteemed and engrained into their culture. However, today many of the young ladies are questioning why their mothers and grandmothers, knowing how painful of a lifestyle this is, allowed them to get the surgery done anyhow. They feel it is inhumane and just downright painful! What makes the situation worse is that young women are not supposed to speak out against it. One young Somali woman got beat almost to death for speaking to TV documentary programme-makers. Another young Somalian woman out of Britain pleaded with writers not to use her name. How can these women fight back if their societies won't even let them? It's one thing to value tradition, it's another thing to hold up tradition at the expense of a person's health which will cause them a LIFETIME OF PAIN! I can barely imagine. Women go through enough pain menstruating and having babies without being circumcised. I honestly believe as with every other unhealthy tradition, that this one will lessen and fade off with time. Our 20th and 21st century young men and women AIN'T HAVING IT! You better come correct. lol
If you want to read/learn more:
1) http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-505796/The-unspeakable-practice-female-circumcision-thats-destroying-young-womens-lives-Britain.html
2) http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/journals/2313097.html
3)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTHGYJ-47h8
4)Documentary "Fire Eyes"
Hi Yaz,
ReplyDeleteA couple of things. First, female circumcision is practiced all over the world. You mention Africans in Britian, but it is done anywhere that people who adhere to the practice have settled. You may want to re-word that sentence. Second, the practice is most prevelant in cultures that a) believe in the natural inferiority and sinfulness of women and b) seek to keep to uphold male domination. Women are much less likely to engage in sex outside of marriage in these instances and women how refuse the rite, have limited ability to care for themselves. In order to combat female circumcision, people will have to deal with the underlying causes. Without understanding the roots of the practice, you will never be able to end it. What self respecting older woman would allow her daughter/niece/etc to go uncircumcised knowing that young lady will never be able to attract a husband? Who, then, would take care of that young lady in places where women have few options and where a woman’s social prestige is tied to her mate? And then if the young lady doesn’t have a husband, who will take care of that older woman should she outlive her husband? It is more complicated than saying female circumcision is wrong and we should stop it.
Deep thoughts. Too Early.
Dr. J