Fighting Female Genital Mutilation

Despite laws against the muilation of females, the treatment still continues in many pparts of Africa today. There are different organizations in palce that work against this practice, but the fight has been very hard against traditions that support this tpractice.

According to the afrol web site there FGM is in four types:

Gemale Genital Mutilation (FGM), aka female circumcision or female genital cutting has been in practice for several 1,000 of years in almost 30 African coutnries and Middle Eastern nations. Is it practiced by Muslims, Christians, Jews and followers of AFrican religions.

(DIRECT DEFINITION)
The World Health Organization also classified FGM into four types:

Type I
The WHO defines Type I FGM as the partial or total removal of the clitoris (clitoridectomy) and/or the prepuce (clitoral hood); see Diagram 1B. When it is important to distinguish between the major variations of Type I mutilation, the following subdivisions are proposed: Type Ia, removal of the clitoral hood or prepuce only; Type Ib, removal of the clitoris with the prepuce. In the context of women who seek out labiaplasty, Stern opposes removal of the clitoral hood and points to potential scarring and nerve damage.


Type II
The WHO's definition of Type II FGM is "partial or total removal of the clitoris and the labia minora, with or without excision of the labia majora (excision). When it is important to distinguish between the major variations that have been documented, the following subdivisions are proposed: Type IIa, removal of the labia minora only; Type IIb, partial or total removal of the clitoris and the labia minora; Type IIc, partial or total removal of the clitoris, the labia minora and the labia majora. Note also that, in French, the term ‘excision’ is often used as a general term covering all types of female genital mutilation.


Type III: Infibulation with excision
The WHO defines Type III FGC as narrowing of the vaginal orifice with creation of a covering seal by cutting and appositioning the labia minora and/or the labia majora, with or without excision of the clitoris (infibulation)." It is the most extensive form of FGM, and accounts for about 10% of all FGC procedures described from Africa. Infibulation is also known as "pharaonic circumcision."

In a study of infibulation in the Horn of Africa, Pieters observed that the procedure involves extensive tissue removal of the external genitalia, including all of the labia minora and the inside of the labia majora. The labia majora are then held together using thorns or stitching. In some cases the girl's legs have been tied together for two to six weeks, to prevent her from moving and to allow the healing of the two sides of the vulva. Nothing remains but the walls of flesh from the pubis down to the anus, with the exception of an opening at the inferior portion of the vulva to allow urine and menstrual blood to pass through; see Diagram 1D. Generally, a practitioner recognized as having the necessary skill carries out this procedure, and a local anesthetic is used. However, when carried out "in the bush," infibulation is often performed by an elderly matron or midwife of the village, with no anesthesia used.

A reverse infibulation can be performed to allow for sexual intercourse or when undergoing labor, or by female relatives, whose responsibility it is to inspect the wound every few weeks and open it some more if necessary. During childbirth, the enlargement is too small to allow vaginal delivery, and so the infibulation is opened completely and may be restored after delivery. Again, the legs are sometimes tied together to allow the wound to heal. When childbirth takes place in a hospital, the surgeons may preserve the infibulation by enlarging the vagina with deep episiotomies. Afterwards, the patient may insist that her vulva be closed again.

This practice increases the occurrence of medical complications due to a lack of modern medicine and surgical practices.[citation needed]

A five-year study of 300 women and 100 men in Sudan found that "sexual desire, pleasure, and orgasm are experienced by the majority of women who have been subjected to this extreme sexual mutilation, in spite of their being culturally bound to hide these experiences."

Most advocates of the practice continue to perform the procedure in adherence to standards of beauty that are very different from those in the west. Many infibulated women will contend that the pleasure their partners receive due to this procedure is a definitive part of a successful marriage and enjoyable sex life.[citation needed]


Type IV: Other types
There are other forms of FGM, collectively referred to as Type IV, that may not involve tissue removal. The WHO defines Type IV FGC as "all other harmful procedures to the female genitalia for non-medical purposes, for example, pricking, piercing, incising, scraping and cauterization."This includes a diverse range of practices, such as pricking the clitoris with needles, burning or scarring the genitals as well as ripping or tearing of the vagina. Type IV is found primarily among isolated ethnic groups as well as in combination with other types.


The practice is brought by fear of a daughter's marriageablity and honor in the community. Historic reasons were more for marital fidelity, by controlling a woman's sex drive, preventing lesbianism, ensuring paternity, "calming" her personality and hygiene. In these practices it is considered an important rite of passage.
FGM practices by country

Country Prevalence Type
Benin 5-50% excision
Burkina Faso up to 70% excision
Cameroon local clitoridectomy and excision
Central Afr. Republic 45-50% clitoridectomy and excision
Chad 60% excision and infibulation
Côte d'Ivoire up to 60% excision
DRC (Congo) local excision
Djibouti 98% excision and infibulation
Egypt 85-95% clitoridectomy, excision and infibulation
Eritrea 95% clitoridectomy, excision and infibulation
Ethiopia 70-90% clitoridectomy, excision and infibulation
Gambia 60-90% excision and infibulation
Ghana 15-30% excision
Guinea 65-90% clitoridectomy, excision and infibulation
Guinea Bissau local clitoridectomy and excision
Kenya 50% clitoridectomy, excision and some infibulation
Liberia 50% excision
Mali 94% clitoridectomy, excision and infibulation
Mauritania 25% clitoridectomy and excision
Niger local excision
Nigeria 60-90% clitoridectomy, excision, some infibulation
Senegal 20% excision
Sierra Leone 90% excision
Somalia 98% infibulation
Sudan 90% infibulation and excision
Tanzania 18% excision, infibulation
Togo 12% excision
Uganda local clitoridectomy and excision
Based on statistics from Amnesty International and US govt





According to those who fight the practice of FGM, stopping this practice requires "a profound social change," according to the Director of the International Programme at the Center for Reproductive LAw and Policy, ANika Rahman.



Acccording to Amnesty International, a non-governmental based organization that conducts research inorder to prevent abuse on human rights that are violated. Amnesty has estimated over 130 million women wordwide will be affecgted by some type of FGC with over 2 million procedures being performed every year.