Female Genital Mutilation
A Brutal and Senseless Human Rights Violation
The practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is one of the most sickening and deplorable crimes against humanity.
There is nothing good to say about it. It's part of a culture that's based on
controlling women
and their sexuality.
Female genital mutilation happens to about 6000 women and girls...
per day! In this picture an adolescent woman shows her recently
mutilated vagina. The pubic hair was removed to reveal the extent
of the damage. Her clitoris and inner labia were cut off with a
piece of glass, leaving her scarred and sexless for life. The
people responsible for this decided not to hack off her
labia majora. I guess they were in a good mood that day...
The procedure is simple: When a girl reaches a certain age she is
captured and gagged. Then they force her legs open and use scissors,
the lid of a can, or even broken glass to cut off her inner
and outer labia and her clit. They usually sew the bloody edges of
her vagina together, effectively shutting her vagina closed. It is
only to be opened again — with a knife — when her future
husband decides to have sex with her. When the procedure is over, the
people in the village throw a party to celebrate their cowardly act,
while the bleeding victim lays in a corner, silently crying...
The healed genitals of a 20-something Sudanese FGM survivor. In
her youth she was a victim of a Type III mutilation (infibulation).
All structures of the external genitals were sliced off and the
remains of her outer labia were sewn together. Only a tiny opening
is left at the bottom to allow her to urinate.
Why do they do it? Well, they say a woman's labia and clit are
'unclean'. As long as she is uncut she is considered unmarriageable.
Obviously it's done to keep a woman from having sexual pleasure, and
men believe it will keep her faithful. Anyway, it makes me sick to my
stomach to think about this. It's the genital equivalent of cutting
off her tongue, lips and nose. It leaves her physically deformed,
without the ability to enjoy or 'taste' sexual sensations.
So Let's Eradicate It
You and I can help stop female genital mutilation. But what
organization should we support? Amnesty International? Unicef?
They do some great work but are not specialized in this.
EqualityNow.org
used to be heavily involved in the fight against FGM but nowadays
the organization seems to
focus more on other women's rights issues.
Luckily there
is the Desert
Flower Foundation, which focuses purely on ending
the crime of FMG. It was started by Somali model
Waris Dirie
who herself was a victim of female genital mutilation. Any
donations are welcome:
Donate to end FGM
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