Reasons Why the Female Genital Mutilation is Practiced

The practice of cutting or removing some or all of the female’s outer genitalia is known as female genital mutilation, sometimes known as female genital cutting or female circumcision. Along with the communities from the societies from the countries where the practice of female cutting is well-known, this type of customs can be found in Asia, Africa, and portions of the Middle East. Over 200 million women are estimated to be alive today, based on figures collected by UNICEF in the year 2006. About thirty nations, where in Africa, about 27 countries have undergone this kind of practice as well as the states such as Iraqi, Yemen, and Indonesia along with Kurdistan (Van Damme, 2012).

Procedure of the female genital mutilation

It is critically carried out by a traditional person by the use of a blade. It is performed from days after the day birth to the time puberty and beyond. Almost the half of the countries for which the numbers nationally in known, several girls are being cut at the young age of five. The process varies according to the nation or state or the tribal group (Peters, 2010).

The process is entrenched in gender inequality, which tries to have power over female’s sexuality, as well as information concerning the purity, beauty, and modesty. It is always performed and initiated by women, who observe it as a foundation of respect, and who panic that for not having their girls and their granddaughters circumcised will expose their daughters to common elimination. Health impact relies on the method. Some of these of these health effects include experiencing difficulty in urinating as well as passing out menstrual flow, the growth of cysts, failure in getting pregnant, problems during delivery, a critical flow of blood, sexual dysfunction as well as increased dangers of transmission of HIV (Van Damme, 2012).

Reasons Why the Female Genital Mutilation is Practiced

For the purpose that girls are practicing circumcision in various societies across the world, different reasons why it is taboo is identified, and these rights are all extremely chauvinist. Some communities remove the clitoris along with the labia for the reasons they consider as sanitized. This is because they trust that the outer female genital parts are unclean. On the other hand, other communities see it as a rite of passage for a girl in becoming a grown woman. Some view circumcision of girls will help in controlling the women’s sexual desires, and they believe that this is a one way of ensuring that they remain virgins up the time they get married and are faithful when they are married (Peters, 2010). In some societies, they even trust that it raises the sexual pleasures of men. Such concerns are widespread, and it is so hard to solve it but is significant that there should be an understanding of what it means, the areas it is happening and the reason it is commonly practiced to discuss about it critically.

Types of Female Circumcision

Female genital mutilation is a comprehensive term which summarizes various female circumcision categories. They are such as Clitoridectomy, excision, infibulations, as well as further types like scraping or selecting the genital part, and also the incising. The main types are discussed below (Momoh, 2005)

Clitoridectomy-This is the incomplete or overall elimination of the clitoris, and in fewer cases, only the double of the covering that surrounds the genital parts of the clitoris is eliminated. The next category of female circumcision is cutting out also known as excision, where this is the complete exclusion of the clitoris as well as the labia minora, using or not using removal of the labia primary. Lastly is the infibulation, which is the tightening of the widening of the vaginal by the formation of a layer close up. The seal is created by wounding as well as relocating the labia minora or labia majora, in some cases by stitching, by or with pout the elimination of the clitoris.

According to Kopelman (1998), several countries that are developed, a woman provides consent in having any process that is surgical. But the question is what it would take from nations like Indonesia, Africa, as well as Arabic countries for a woman to offer approval in having any surgical method. In various communities as well as some countries, public pressures are so powerful that only the woman decides to be an outcast gives her no choice of practicing the ritual. Several times it is not a guarantee that only a mother chooses to make a decision, but this happens to the whole family and society that are associated with the conclusion making procedure. In the most communities, it is very hard in changing the mind of the community leaders who are ready in their ways and not even a single person who agrees to be a black sheep of their traditions.

Many of the NGO’s, rallies and campaigns and rules that have put in place to ban this procedure since it is no longer a health issue, instead it is a human custom issue. Where the countries from the west have declared kindness, compassion as well as the love in their religious trump but there is a challenge in the tribal communities in controlling this kind of practices (Ball, 2008).

What Happens Once The Damage To The Female Genital Mutilation Is Performed? Can It Medically Solve?

This can be said that it all depends on the category of mutilation. Some of girls or women have the incomplete or complete elimination of the clitoris, and others contain the folds of flesh around their private parts detached, others have the vaginal opening tightened, always through edging, along with the others having some way of shooting, scraping, and cauterizing to genitalia. For women who have experienced infibulations or narrowing of the opening of the vaginal leaving only a tiny opening for intercourse and the flow of menstrual, doctors, midwives, and nurses are the only people who can recommend the reopening of the vaginal, oral cavity. That may reduce many complications, and it has to be performed at the time of the childbirth (Momoh, 2005).

Conclusion

According to the research that has been conducted, there is a process that can be performed, but there is not enough truth in recommending the process. This procedure is known as the reconstruction of the clitoral. What is there now is treating the current complications, such as the infections or cysts or scarring from the custom? Most significant is the curing for mental medical problems that can cause such issues as despair, anxiety as well as post upsetting trauma. Therefore, in my argument, I am not confident that this method and practices should not continue to be performed, but there is a challenge in changing the mind of the community leaders whose attitude toward sexuality are those from a long time of lack of knowledge as well as lack of enough of information. Then it remains for the individual in making their own decision in making a change in our communities through education and love in our bodies.

References

Ball, T. (2008). Female genital mutilation. Nursing Standard, 23(5), 43-47.

Kopelman, L. M. (1998). Female Circumcision and Genital Mutilation.

Momoh, C. (Ed.). (2005). Female genital mutilation. Radcliffe publishing.

Peters, K. (2010). Reasons why women choose a medical practice or a women’s health centre for routine health screening: worker and client perspectives. Journal of clinical nursing, 19(17‐18), 2557-2564

Van Damme, L., Corneli, A., Ahmed, K., Agot, K., Lombaard, J., Kapiga, S., ... & Temu, L. (2012). Preexposure prophylaxis for HIV infection among African women. New England Journal of Medicine, 367(5), 411-422.