Reasoning behind the Female Genital Circumcision

Female genital mutilation is a huge apart of the culture in Africa, and the idea of Westerners coming in to change and enforce their own way of life by stopping it hasn’t gone over well amongst the local villagers. But the reasons behind the Western ideals are good ones, no one knows how many people have died from infection from FGC because it’ often reported as malaria, making it impossible to understand and know just how many young people have been effected by it

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

Throughout history, there has been a controversial argument on whether female genital mutilation should be banned from Africa. Some people describe female genital mutilation or FGM as a violation of women’s rights and others view it as served for a religious purpose having to do with the Islamic holy book, the Qur’an. Female Genital Mutilation is the removal of all or part of the external parts of the female genitalia. There are three different types of FGM; the first type of FGM is the Sunna Circumcision which is the removal of the tip of the clitoris. The second type is Clitoridectomy which is the removal of the entire clitoris and the adjacent labia. The third type is Infibulation which is the removal of the clitoris and the entire labia including the labia majora and minora. After the removal of the entire labia, the joining of the scraped sides are brought together using thorns or catgut, leaving only a small portion open for menstruation and urinating. Africa has the highest rates of FGM being performed. About 100 million women and girls are affected by FGM and at least 3 million girls are at risk undergoing this process every year. FGM is usually carried out by an elderly woman who is paid fees from the family of the girl undergoing this process (P.a.p.-Blog par. 2, 4). Female Genital Mutilation is usually performed on girl between the ages of three and adulthood. According to the UNICEF or United

Gibeau, Anne M. 1998. "Female Genital Mutilation: When a Cultural Practice Generates Clinical and Ethical Dilemmas." Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic & Neonatal Nursing 27 (1): 85-91.

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 anatomy. Female genital cutting is a component for preparing adolescent girls for womanhood and marriage. There are three general types of genital excision: clitoridectomy, excision, and infibulation - the severity is in ascending order. Infibulation is the most severe and is “particularly likely to cause long-term health problems” (Althaus 245). Despite the ample amount of risks and health problems, some practitioners view female circumcision as an “integral part of their cultural and ethnic identity, and some perceive it as a religious obligation” (Althaus 243). The cultural practice of female circumcision requires the scrutiny of the West and should be abolished altogether because genital excision is injurious to women's health, has no health benefits, and is a violation of human rights.

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.

How do you end a tradition that a culture has had around for centuries? Every culture has a different and original tradition. What happens though when the tradition is a horrible and painful one? Female Circumcision is a procedure that is a tradition to many cultures. The purpose of this procedure is to make women stay faithful to their husbands and not become promiscuous, as they get older. This procedure is not safe and has many side effects. Female Circumcision is a shocking procedure that cause women pain and suffering for the rest of their lives.

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.

Even though FGM is a controversial topic and many oppose it I feel Ahanonu and Victor were able to effectively analyze their audience. The authors were able to appeal to the readers especially mothers by eliciting feelings through connotative meanings and emotional tone (Purdue OWL: The Rhetorical Situation). When reading this article I thought about what I would do if I were in this situation. Whether I agree with FGM or not the authors made me feel empathy for the mothers and feel that they are doing what they think is best for their daughters. Data analyzed from the study showed that 44.2% of the mothers felt by getting their daughters circumcised they were preventing them from becoming promiscuous, preserving their virginity, preventing premarital sex and increasing their chances of marriageability. 30.5% of the mothers believed getting circumcised would promote their daughters to be faithful to their spouses (Ahanonu and Victor,

"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

Female genital mutilation is a very disturbing act that we must eliminate; even if will have to pull this bull by its horns. According to Sarah Boseley, health editor at The Guardian explains, female genital mutilation is a procedure that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. Sadly, this act is recognized as a violation of the human rights of girls and women. In addition, as per World Health Organization, this practice is mostly carried out by traditional circumcisers, who commonly play other central roles in communities like attending childbirths (Mutilation). However, this is a traditional practice which has been practiced by several generations in many communities and cultures. Moreover, the operation is usually performed at a very youthful age. Female genital mutilation is classified into four major types: clitoridectomy known as type one, excision as type two, infibulation as type three, and the forth type includes type two and three combined.

Female Genital Mutilation is a prevalent custom for many cultures across the African continent, and it has affected 140 million girls and women worldwide. The amount of damage afflicted depends on which type of FGM is undergone. A small prick, scratch, and other non-invasive forms of symbolic circumcision should be viewed as merely ‘bad’ practices in these communities because they “restrict the basic liberties of their members.” There are minor health consequences of procedures like clitoridectomy and excision, and women are often times forced to have these done in order to enter into womanhood or to fit the social norm. On the other hand, more extreme and oppressive forms of mutilation such as infibulation are altogether a violation of human

As one would expect, there are many social issues and problems that are presently raising issues within this day and age. As well, there are many social problems and cases of phenomenon that have occurred much before this current time period. These issues, in some cases, have had harmful effects that are still visible to this day. These problems, while all being important, carry their own sort of significance in regards to the people in which were involved with this social issue or problem. In this case, the social issue of female circumcision as a ritual and/or custom is one that has had an incredible amount of backlash and negativity surrounding it. This is important for many reasons. To begin, many people have come to view this ritual as harmful, degrading and something that should not be done anymore. Most of these critical comments stem from people whom are not apart of culture who practice female circumcision, as it is something that is unfamiliar and unnecessary. But if informants, or people who live within a culture or group that practices this ritual were asked their opinions, it is obvious that their ideas

In certain societies and culture, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a rite of passage and the young girls are aware of the procedure (Nawal, 2008, pp. 135-139). Furthermore, the societies and cultures who partake in this procedure as a rite of passage, religious reasons, so the girls will not be promiscuous before they get married, so the men’s penis does not fall off, and men in certain societies would prefer their wife to be circumcised (Mascia-Lees 2010, pp. 159). Even though certain societies and cultures have their reasoning for performing Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), FGM can cause medical, psychological, and pyscho-sexual consequences (Reyners, 2004, pp. 242-251). According to Reyners (2004) most of the girls and women who had Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) type three conducted, they tend to experience heavily affected reproductive and urological functioning. Furthermore, according to Reyners (2004) also recommended if any woman is pregnant and has had any form of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) done, they should be monitored for their safety as well as the infants.

     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