Female Genital Mutilation - World Health Organization

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FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION
STUDENT MANUAL
● In Muslim societies which practise FGM, people
believe that it is required by the Koran. However
FGM is not mentioned in the Koran.
It is important to note that neither the
Bible nor the Koran subscribe to the
practice of FGM, although it is
frequently carried out by communities –
especially Muslim communities – in the
genuine belief that it is part of their
religion.
Psycho-sexual reasons
● The unexcised girl is believed to have an overactive
and uncontrollable sex drive so that she is
likely to lose her virginity prematurely, to disgrace
her family and damage her chances of marriage,
and to become a menace to all men and to her
community as a whole. The belief is that the uncut
clitoris will grow big and pressure on this organ
will arouse intense desire.
● It is also believed that the tight vaginal orifice of an
infibulated woman, or a woman who has had
chemicals placed in the vagina in order to narrow
it, will enhance male sexual pleasure, in turn
preventing divorce or unfaithfulness.
● In some communities it is believed that excising a
woman who fails to conceive will solve the problem
of infertility.
Who are the excisors?
● In cultures where FGM is the custom, the
operation is performed by traditional excisors,
commonly elderly women in the community
specially designated this task. FGM is sometimes
performed by traditional birth attendance and
village barbers.
“Medicalization” of FGM
FGM is increasingly being performed in hospitals
and in health clinics by health professionals using
anaesthetics and antiseptics. The justification is that it
reduces the pain and the risks to the victim’s health
because the operation is performed hygienically.
Health professionals who perform FGM claim that
medicalization is the first step towards prevention of
the practice, and that if they refuse to carry out an
operation, the client will simply have it performed by a
traditional excisor in unhygienic conditions and
without pain relief.
FGM, whether carried out in a hospital
or any other modern setting, is willful
damage to healthy organs for nontherapeutic
reasons. It violates the
injunction to “do no harm”, and is
unethical by any standards.
The Prevalence of FGM
It is estimated that 100 – 140 million girls and
women have undergone some form of female genital
mutilation and that at least 2 million girls per year are
at risk of mutilation. Most girls and women who have
undergone genital mutilation live in 28 African
countries although some live in the Middle East and
Asia (see Table 1). It has also been reported to be
practiced in India by the Daudi Bohra Muslims. Due
to migration of people who follow this tradition, FGM
is today seen in Europe, Australia, Canada, and the
United States of America.