MillyFemale Circumcision... will it ever cease?
October 27th 2006 03:51
Can you imagine having your vagina ripped apart and sown up again, without so much as a swig of alcohol to num the pain?
This week I went to a UNIFEM talk on female circumcision, otherwise known as Female Genital Mutilation and was horrified by what I heard. I am ashamed to say that though I had previously heard snippets of what the process involved, I was vastly ignorant about the horrific ordeals these women endure.
According to the spokesperson, FGM occurs widely around the world, not just in backward places like I had originally thought. It is especially prevalent in the hub of Africa, where girls as young as FIVE YEARS OLD are operated on, without anaesthetics. It is not associated with one religion. Though it was banned in Australia, many women here are circumcised too.
There are a variety of different torturous operations...some of which involve massacring the clitoris and labia, while others involve sewing up the vagina. The latter makes urinating (can take 20 mins) and menstruation particularly difficult. If the woman falls pregnant, the vagina is sewn back up afterwards. Apparently doctors in Australia do this too.
The thing that really surprised me was that these women continue doing this to themselves. It is immensely ingrained in their lifestyle and culture. My questions are 1) Do you think westernised countries should try to interfere? 2) What can be done to overcome the cycle?
This week I went to a UNIFEM talk on female circumcision, otherwise known as Female Genital Mutilation and was horrified by what I heard. I am ashamed to say that though I had previously heard snippets of what the process involved, I was vastly ignorant about the horrific ordeals these women endure.
According to the spokesperson, FGM occurs widely around the world, not just in backward places like I had originally thought. It is especially prevalent in the hub of Africa, where girls as young as FIVE YEARS OLD are operated on, without anaesthetics. It is not associated with one religion. Though it was banned in Australia, many women here are circumcised too.
There are a variety of different torturous operations...some of which involve massacring the clitoris and labia, while others involve sewing up the vagina. The latter makes urinating (can take 20 mins) and menstruation particularly difficult. If the woman falls pregnant, the vagina is sewn back up afterwards. Apparently doctors in Australia do this too.
The thing that really surprised me was that these women continue doing this to themselves. It is immensely ingrained in their lifestyle and culture. My questions are 1) Do you think westernised countries should try to interfere? 2) What can be done to overcome the cycle?
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Comment by the bitch is back
Bitch Loves to Gossip
The Bitch Is Back
I especially find it hard because I've always supported a harm minimisation / legalisation approach to drugs, on the basis that if prohibition can't stop drug use altogether, at least you can minimise the consequent harm to drug users and society.
But I just can't bring myself to extend that kind of argument to female circumcision (for pretty obvious reasons), even though logically I think it would help the situation, in the short-term at least. Did the lecture have any thoughts that resonated with you on the action that could / should be taken?
Comment by Milly
Travel Adventures
The questioning mind
If you're interested in this, my friend has recommended a book called 'Desert Flower'. I've forgotten the author's name, but she said it is terrific. I'm also about to read one called Aman on the same topic, so I'll let you know how that goes. Have you read much about this?