Female Genital Cutting Controversy

FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION AND ITS ETHICAL ISSUES A Research Paper Presented to Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Colleges General Santos City In Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements For Philo 3 Vinna P. Boholst Glicen Lou L. Monton Patrick L. Villas March 2012 Table of Contents PAGE TITLE PAGE i CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION 1 Statement of the Problem 2 Scope and Limitation of the Study 3 Definition of Terms 3 II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE 6 Cultural Justification of Female Genital Mutilation 6 Ethical Issues in Female Genital Mutilation 6 Female Genital Mutilation – What it is and Why it Still Continues 9 Classification 9 How Widely it is On the contrary, it is known to be harmful to girls and women in many ways. First and foremost, it is painful and traumatic. The removal of or damage to healthy, normal genital tissue interferes with the natural functioning of the body and causes several immediate long-term health consequences. For example, babies born to women who have undergone female genital mutilation suffer a higher rate of neonatal death compared with babies born to women who have not undergone the procedure.

Female Genital Mutilation, is a topic which has caused many controversies worldwide. Female Genital Mutilation is a tradition since antiquity, which occurs in twenty eight countries in Africa, and among certain communities in the Middle East, and Asia. The latitude of this issue is massive. The United Nations estimates that this practice has been performed on about 140 million females, who encounter immediate complications of shock, infections, damage to the urethra, scar formation, tetanus, bladder infections, HIV, along with long -term complications that lead to death (Lauren V, 2011). It is estimated that 3 million girls are at risk annually! During this paper, I will discuss in depth the two ethical theories (Deontology and Utilitarianism). These ethical theories will be a guide, to help understand the moral issues of Female Mutilation, and whether one can view female mutilation to be right or wrong. Aside from the ethical theories, I

The horrible practice of female circumcision in sections of Africa as summarized in Female Circumcision: Rite of Passage or Violation of Rights? must be stopped. Female circumcision has been exercised for centuries in Africa and is usually performed without any anesthetic by practitioners with insufficient knowledge of human medicine or

Female circumcision: Form of social acceptance In the story written by Frances A. Althaus’s “Female Circumcision: Rite of Passage or Violation of Rights? She explores female circumcision within African Culture and the health complications after the ritual is completed. Female circumcision is the practice of partial or total removal of the female external vaginal area and is still practiced in several countries today , dut was ruled as illegal in America in 1997. Females did not have the option to chose if they wanted to have the procedure performed, mothers often made that decision for them. The practice is to transition a girl into womanhood and to ensure that virginity is not lost before marriage, prevention of infidelity and

Topic: FGC-Reasoning behind the Female genital circumcision. General Purpose: To inform my audience Specific Purpose: To inform my audience about female genital circumcision and why it is practiced. Thesis: Female Genital Circumcision is a cultural procedure that is performed on young girls for a variety of reasons. Members of this culture chose

Imagine this! Being either a young girl or a woman forcefully bound against your will while elders perform a procedure called Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). The young girls and women who are forced to have this procedure done not only loses their rights to sexual pleasure but their rights are sliced, chopped, punctured, and finally burnt away. Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) otherwise known as Female Genital Circumcision (FGC) is also a controversial topic in Western societies. This paper will examine the history of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), hegemonic perspective on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), health consequences of having this procedure done, how Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) affects women’s sexual function, and women who

Female circumcision in the Global South is a controversial regarding this topic. People are continuingly debating about it how harmful the practice. People who are against the practice claimed that the practice is very harmful for these young girls and women. This practice is not only physically harmful, but also psychologically affect them. So anti-female circumcision is doing everything in their power to stop the practice in the Global South. Program such as the TOSTAN is encouraging young girl to say no the practice. On the other hand, there are people who defending the female circumcision. They claim that the practice has not harm. And they are denying the fact that this practice decreases sexual pleasure in these young women and female.

Female Genital Mutilation in America Female circumcision has been a cultural tradition practiced in different parts of the world for many years in order to secure virginity until marriage. In Africa female genital mutilation tradition is a part of the Muslim culture and parts of the Middle East, for the women to be desirable by her husband. (JPEG) Consequently, girls the ages of 4 through 14 are to endure the severe pains of female circumcision in order to not betray their culture and family beliefs. (Ali, 2016) In the US, the estimated number of females between 15 and 49, who are either at risk of genital mutilation or who have already undergone a procedure, has reached more than 500,000, triple the amount reported in the 1990 national census. (Female genital mutilation in the US tripled in 25 years, 2015) This controversial practice performed on females lead advocates to believe that this is a form of female genital mutilation that must come to an end. (Ali, 2016)

Female Genital Mutilation Introduction Pain, shame, lack of ability to reproduce. Marie, who suffers from each of these symptoms, is one of the many women from Africa who have suffered from female genital mutilation. When Marie was only two years old, she had her clitoris and labia cut off. Since then, she has moved to New York yet is still suffering from the many consequences you get from female genital mutilation. Female genital mutilation, also known as FGM, is a very common procedure primarily done in Africa for cultural beliefs. There are no known beneficial medical reasons as to why people would get the procedure done. FGM became a thing several decades ago by African tribes and is only now being brought up into the light as

Cindy Little, the writer of “Female Genital Circumcision: Medical and Cultural Considerations” and several other articles on the topic, concentrates her writing on the procedure’s process and side effects, while briefly touching on ethical issues and cultural issues. Little, a PhD, MSN, and BSN in Nursing, currently works as the Assistant Clinical Professor at Drexel University, a U.S. News top fifty nursing school. Little specializes in Women’s Health developing courses for undergraduates in obstetrics, pediatrics, and women's health. In the United States, medical personnel are held in high regard in terms of medical ethics. Little concentrates her research on medical information, for example, “The American Medical Association also condemns the practice of [Female Genital Mutilation] and supports the enactment of legislation to criminalize the practice” (Little 30). By keeping clear focus, Little and other medical authors on the topic of female circumcision enhance their credibility by speaking on the health impacts of the procedure rather than the emotional impacts. As references, Little uses sources such as the World Health Organization, an international organization that concerns itself with the physical, social, and mental health of all beings. The use of reliable sources strengthens her argument against the fatal nature of female circumcision and its detriment to human

In some cultures, the common practice of Female Genital Mutilation in Africa and the Middle East, are causing concerns amongst these young girls.

Female Genital Cutting and Western Influence Female Genital Mutilation is practiced in parts of Africa, Asia, and the Middle East as a way for girls to be inducted into womanhood. This medical procedure is extremely controversial for it goes against many westernized feminist ideologies. Though seemingly hurtful and damaging towards the

Introduction The main objective of this paper is to explore both the physical and psychological effects of women and girls after they have been genitally mutilated. Female genital mutilation is the removal or alteration of external female genitalia (WHO, 2017). In literal terms, female genital mutilation encompasses all procedures that remove partial or all of the external female genitalia (WHO, 2017). It has been determined that there are four major ways in which the female genitalia can be cut. The first one is considered Type I or clitoridectomy, which is the partial or total removal of the clitoris. Type II is excision, which includes a partial or total clitoridectomy along with the labia majora. Type III is referred to as infibulation,

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), otherwise known as female circumcision, is a traumatic procedure performed on women and young girls, primarily in Eastern parts of the world. Among these parts, it is most common in North-Eastern, Eastern, and Western Africa, parts of the Middle East, and South East Asia. By destroying the external female genitalia, a woman cannot produce sexual desires. This approach assures that a girl will remain abstinent and a virgin until marriage. Although is has been kept a private issue, organizations such as Tostan are trying to reach out to communities and teach about the harmful effects of these cuttings. FGM survivors are trying to spread awareness as well. Depending on the severity of mutilation, short and long term ramifications can result. This can make the women affected physically and psychologically scarred. It is not only important to spread awareness, but to enforce harsher laws and put an end to social ostracism.

In some cultures, the reasoning for this procedure, is that it will reduce the woman’s desire for sex, therefore reducing the chance of sex outside the marriage (Amnesty International USA, Par. 7). We can refer this to the purity aspect of the hedonic calculus, which states that some pleasures or pains are purer than others. Why is it fair to take away the pleasure of sexual intercourse from women, but not from men in this culture? What prevents the men from going outside the vows of a marriage? What is reducing their desire for sex and why are they considered “clean” without performing some kind of horrendous procedure? In this culture, since marriage is often the only role available for women, it is impossible for them to marry if they have not undergone this procedure (Par. 7). Is this procedure only being done to women in this culture because they do not value women? Is their only role in the community