" The Ugly Hand that Maims " painting by Wande George.
FMG- female genital mutilation - female circumcision.
It really makes my blood boil that this is still going on in our day and age and that it often it is women doing this to their daughters !!!! UNBELIEVABLE !!!
I happened to mention this subject to Haley, the 18 year old girl who was staying with me from Austin, Texas . She's a smart girl , but she knew NOTHING of this, so I fear that many don't know that this is going on,
One woman describes what she had to endure :
I had my Circumcision done when I was 7 years old.
When I was little and knew nothing about it. The procedures I had to endure are:
1. Set in a chair, (legs open) and let a midwife (da3ia in Arabic) cut me and then stitched me while three other women hold me back.
2. For about two weeks I wasn’t allowed to run or play any sports.
3. Using the bathroom was painful for about 3 days. After the process was done women and children came to my house ate candy, drank juice, said Mubark (congratulation) and if I was luck I got money.Circumcision in Sudan is treated just like a wedding, graduation or even better then a Birthday.
Thank you for your concern for the women who endure this procedure, it means a lot to them to see that the world cares and campaigns for their basic rights.
If you are on FB , please join the group “2 Million people against Female Circumcision {FGM: Female Genital Mutilation”. Two million is the number of women who are circumcised each year {around 6000 a day}.
Hopefully by the end of 2008 we can have two million members. The possible side effects of female genital mutilation are numerous. They include urine retention, haemorrhaging, infection, pain, menstrual complications, infertility, and loss of sexual pleasure or inability to perform sexual intercourse, death and psychological disturbances. In some cases, babies have been seriously harmed during prolonged labor, due to circumcision, resulting in brain damage or death of the child please have a heart Join and invite others. This is for the four to thirteen year old females who can’t make that decision.
Thank you.
This group was created on the 15th of January,2008
~Consequences of FGM
Depending on the degree of mutilation, FGM can have a number of short-term health implications:
1. severe pain and shock
2. infection
3. urine retention
4. injury to adjacent tissues
5. immediate fatal haemorrhaging
~Long-term implications can entail:
1. extensive damage of the external reproductive system
2. uterus, vaginal and pelvic infections
3. cysts and neuromas
4. increased risk of Vesico Vaginal Fistula
5. complications in pregnancy and child birth
6. psychological damage
7. sexual dysfunction
8. difficulties in menstruation
In addition to these health consequences there are considerable psycho-sexual, psychological and social consequences of FGM.
~Justifications of FGM
The roots of FGM are complex and numerous; indeed, it has not been exactly possible to determine when or where the tradition of FGM originated.
The justifications given for the practise are multiple and reflect the ideological and historical situation of the societies in which it has developed. Reasons cited generally relate to tradition, power inequalities and the ensuing compliance of women to the dictates of their communities
Reasons include:
1. custom and tradition
2. religion; in the mistaken belief that it is a religious requirement
3. preservation of virginity/chastity
4. social acceptance, especially for marriage
5. hygiene and cleanliness
6. increasing sexual pleasure for the male
7. family honour
8. a sense of belonging to the group and conversely the fear of social exclusion
9. enhancing fertility
10. a social weapon of war
source: http://www.forwarduk.org.uk/key-issues/fgm
THANK YOU !
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