Female Genital Mutilation Video Analysis

In Chapter Thirteen, “Grassroots vs. Treetops” of Half the Sky by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn the act of genital mutilation is discussed. It starts off by giving gory details on genital mutilation, stating that every ten a girl is mutilated. Despite the medical problems surrounding female genital mutilation, it thrived in parts of Africa as a serious problem for young girls. FGM is sometimes described as a female circumcision, it’s cultural significance is to reduce sexual trends and to make the girls more marriageable. However, often these procedures are done with no new medical supplies and are performed with dirty materials leading to infection and sometimes death for girls partaking. A woman in Illinois is doing her best to stop female genital mutilation by working closely with each village and getting to the main source of the problem. Most people were under educated about what was wrong with female genital mutilation, it was a cultural rite of passage. But through working with each individual village, this woman could help ban female genital mutilation is thousands of villages and increased school attendance at the same time.

major part in a human's life, a close control over this specific aspect in a

The side that was pro FGC, wasn't necessarily pro-mutilation, but was against the Western nations imposing their so called "superior" teachings and culture upon the Africans. The issue of Imperialism along with the stigma attached with someone who was "mutilated". The article discussed how the stigma surrounding a woman who was cut is similar to using the N word to describe someone of African descent. The side against FGC brought up many solid arguments including health problems, and mental toil on the recipient. Many health problems come along with FGC, as many women have to be cut open to have intercourse with their husbands, and then resown. Thousands of women every year either die or suffer serious and life lasting injuries due to this tradition. While no-one was pro imperialism, the idea of "educating" the people who practice this tradition seemed

Think back and imagine your own personal worst experience in life… then multiply it by a thousand; to what a person would have to endure daily in one of these buildings. The brutality, abuse, neglect, pure mental and physical torture is something uncompressible. For someone, anyone to benefit from such circumstances is shameful and honestly the most disrespectful thing I can imagine, I personally don’t think

Today alone 6000 girls around the world are being held down screaming, crying, and blacking out from the pain pleading for their elders to stop. Their voices fall on deaf ears as their right to sexual pleasure is sliced, chopped, pricked, scraped and burnt away.

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.

Now that we know little about the mutilation process these females undergoes; let’s ask ourselves “Why would someone ever agree to conduct such procedure on their own will?” If mutilation emphasizes the clear violation of human rights, why is this procedure being implemented in many different countries? Well, this issue is due to different ethical, and moral perspective; one may believe that female mutilation is morally right; while others may think it’s a violation of human rights. Let’s first explore the ethical theories on this

Female Genital Mutilation is a practice in which external portions of female genitalia are removed for non-medical, cultural reasons. In many countries and cultures, young girls are forced to go through this procedure before getting married, based on the belief that the practice will keep them pure and virgins. This practice, set in place by a patriarchal hegemonic system, controls and decides the lives of any girls in a lot of places. Often times, these lives are ended because the practice is non-medical, not safe, and definitely not even done the right way.

Female genital mutilation (FGM) also known as female circumcision is a tradition passed down from generation to generation occurring all around the world affecting millions of women and young girls. FGM is controversial matter most prevalent in Africa (Ahanonu and Victor, 2014). To this day it’s estimated that about 28 African countries still practice this ritual including Nigeria (Ahanonu and Victor, 2014). In the past twenty years there has been a worldwide increased interest in FGM due to its multiplicity and lifelong effects. Some people believe FGM violates basic human rights where others believe this ritual is required to increase their chances of marriageability and that this practice is a transition from adolescents into adulthood

"I remember the blade. How it shone! There was a woman kneeling over me with the knife. I bit her; it was all I could do. Then three women came to hold me down. One of them sat on my chest. I bit her with all my might." These words reflect Banassiri Sylla’s account of her experience undergoing female circumcision, also known as female genital mutilation (FGM), at the young age of eight in the Ivory Coast. This disturbing description of her struggle makes it hard to understand why any culture could support such a practice. Yet, it is estimated that about 132 million women and girls in about thirty African countries have undergone the same, or at least similar, cultural

During the 20th century in East Africa, there was a woman named Wanjiku, and she went through difficult obstacles in her life. “Her life encompassed the dramatic intrusion of British colonialism, the coming of Christianity, the Mau Mau rebellion against European rule, the achievement of independence for Kenya in 1963, and the challenges of modernization in the decades that followed” (Strayer, p. 676). Strayer points out that, Wanjiku was able to experience the process of a new religion coming down their area and watching many things that are changing drastically. Wanjiku was part of the Gikuyu, and there were strict rules to follow. Trying to be labeled as a mature woman was a painful experience in the Gikuyu culture, and it was not simple as getting “ears pierced.” “Far more important, however, was her “circumcision,” a procedure that involved the cutting of her genitals and the excision of the clitoris” (Strayer, p.676). Strayer depicts that, young women have to go through this dangerous process to be known as a grown adult. Wanjiku did not want one of the young girls to go through this, and she wanted to protect them from being sexually abused by men. Therefore, Wanjiku formed a small group of

In my video I used the concept of torture. More specifically, my central idea was: Torture is cyclical but it is a cycle that can be stoped. This cycle was demonstrated by the shots of the circle drawn in the dirt and the shots of someone shoving others after being shoved herself. The breaking of the cycle is show when Grainol, the person in the moth mask, decides to care for something rather than hurt it. This is accompanied by the symbolic image of the circle being destroyed, and thus the cycle is destroyed.

The social construction in most of these villages is the good woman and girls are circumcised and those who are not aren’t fit to be in their society. A circumcised women symbol will be her cut and re-sewn genitlia. Which labels them as clean, pure, and a good wife. Which basically means she has no choice, but to do what her husband wants so they turned their women into glorified sex slaves. The girl who do not have this done are called things like un-pure, slut, and other negative things. What the article leaves out is that these women defy the men of these societies and it makes them scared. They think that the women might ban together and over power them, as a result they shame them so women are scared to rebel. Their interactions with these uncircumcised women is little to none they are ostracized from their society, and will be seen by most unfit to marry. The article leave out though that even though the majority of the more traditional society does not see them as pure, their friends and some revolting newer generation males will sometimes associate them and marry them regardless of wither they are circumcised or

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

     Many of us never heard of Female Genital Mutilation until the story of Kauziya Kasinga, a woman from West Africa. Her father did not believe in polygamy, forced marriage, or "female circumcision". He died when she was 17 and the father's sister inherited the home, banished the mother, ended Fauziya's schooling, and