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v. t. e. Female genital mutilation (FGM) (also known as female genital cutting, female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and female circumcision[a]) is the cutting or removal of some or all of the vulva for non-medical reasons. FGM prevalence varies worldwide, but is majorly present in some countries of Africa, Asia and Middle East, and within ...
Apr 8, 2015 · Why Some Women Choose to Get Circumcised. An anthropologist discusses some common misconceptions about female genital cutting, including the idea that men force women to undergo the procedure. A ...
There are four types of FGM. Type 1: Clitoridectomy. That's the total or partial removal of the sensitive clitoris and its surrounding skin. Type 2: Excision. The partial or total removal of the ...
Female genital mutilation (FGM), also known as female circumcision or female genital cutting, is the partial or total removal of the external female genitalia for non-medical reasons. FGM has been categorised into 4 types, ranging from a symbolic pricking to the clitoris, to the removal of the clitoris and virginal lips or sealing of the ...
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An estimated 200 million girls and women alive today are believed to have been subjected to FGM; but rates of FGM are increasing, a reflection of global population growth. Girls and women who have undergone FGM live predominately in sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab States, but FGM is also practiced in select countries in Asia, Eastern Europe and Lat...
If FGM practices continue at recent levels, 68 million girls will be cut between 2015 and 2030 in 25 countries where FGM is routinely practiced and more recent data are available.
A key challenge is not only protecting girls who are currently at risk but also ensuring that those to be born in the future will be free from the dangers of the practice. This is especially important considering that FGM-concentrated countries are generally experiencing high population growth and have large youth populations. In 2015, an estimated...
FGM has serious implications for the sexual and reproductive health of girls and women. The effects of FGM depend on a number of factors, including the type performed, the expertise of the practitioner, the hygiene conditions under which it is performed, the amount of resistance and the general health condition of the girl/woman undergoing the proc...
Immediate complications include severe pain, shock, haemorrhage, tetanus or infection, urine retention, ulceration of the genital region and injury to adjacent tissue, wound infection, urinary infection, fever, and septicemia. Haemorrhage and infection can be severe enough to cause death.
Long-term consequences include complications during childbirth, anaemia, the formation of cysts and abscesses, keloid scar formation, damage to the urethra resulting in urinary incontinence, dyspareunia (painful sexual intercourse), sexual dysfunction, hypersensitivity of the genital area and increased risk of HIV transmission, as well as psycholog...
Very recent estimates by WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, The World Bank and the United Nations Population Division reveal that most of the high-FGM-prevalence countries also have high maternal mortality ratios and high numbers of maternal death. Two high-FGM-prevalence countries are among the four countries with the highest numbers of maternal death globally. ...
When one tool is used to cut several girls, as is often the case in communities where large groups of girls are cut on the same day during a socio-cultural rite, there is a risk of HIV transmission. Additionally, due to damage to the female sexual organs, sexual intercourse can result in the laceration of tissue, which greatly increases risk of HIV...
The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified four types of FGM: Type II, also called excision: Partial or total removal of the clitoris and the labia minora, with or without excision of the labia majora. The amount of tissue that is removed varies widely from community to community.
Type I, also called clitoridectomy: Partial or total removal of the clitoris and/or the prepuce. Other terms related to FGM include incision, deinfibulation and reinfibulation:
Type III, also called infibulation: Narrowing of the vaginal orifice with a covering seal. The seal is formed by cutting and re-positioning the labia minora and/or the labia majora. This can take place with or without removal of the clitoris.
Type IV: All other harmful procedures to the female genitalia for non-medical purposes, for example: pricking, piercing, incising, scraping or cauterization.
Reinfibulation is the practice of sewing the external labia back together after deinfibulation. Hygiene and aesthetic reasons: In some communities, the external female genitalia are considered dirty and ugly and are removed, ostensibly to promote hygiene and aesthetic appeal.
The origins of the practice are unclear. It predates the rise of Christianity and Islam. It is said some Egyptian mummies display characteristics of FGM. Historians such as Herodotus claim that, in the fifth century BC, the Phoenicians, the Hittites and the Ethiopians practiced circumcision. It is also reported that circumcision rites were practice...
In the Middle East, the practice occurs in Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen, as well as in Iraq, Iran and the State of Palestine. In Eastern Europe, recent info shows that certain communities are practicing FGM in Georgia and the Russian Federation. In South America, certain communities are known to practice FGM in Columbia, Ecuador, Panama...
FGM is usually carried out by elderly people in the community (usually, but not exclusively, women) designated to perform this task or by traditional birth attendants. Among certain populations, FGM may be carried out by traditional health practitioners, (male) barbers, members of secret societies, herbalists or sometimes a female relative.
FGM is carried out with special knives, scissors, scalpels, pieces of glass or razor blades. Anaesthetic and antiseptics are generally not used unless the procedure is carried out by medical practitioners. In communities where infibulations is practiced, girls' legs are often bound together to immobilize them for 10-14 days, allowing the formation ...
In every society in which it is practiced, female genital mutilation is a manifestation of deeply entrenched gender inequality. Where it is widely practiced, FGM is supported by both men and women, usually without question, and anyone that does not follow the norm may face condemnation, harassment and ostracism. It may be difficult for families to ...
Psychosexual reasons: FGM is carried out as a way to control womens sexuality, which is sometimes said to be insatiable if parts of the genitalia, especially the clitoris, are not removed. It is thought to ensure virginity before marriage and fidelity afterward, and to increase male sexual pleasure. Sociological and cultural reasons: FGM is seen as...
Jun 8, 2016 · More than 200 million girls and women alive today have undergone procedures to alter their genitalia for non-medical reasons, known as female circumcision or female genital mutilation (FGM ...
At least 200 million girls and women alive today have been circumcised.1 Female circumcision usually happens to girls before they turn 15 years old. Circumcision is unfair and goes against the human rights of women and girls. Some girls who go through this cutting can have problems with their physical, mental, sexual and reproductive health ...
