The Price for Beauty, For Someone Else’s Pain Female Genital Cutting, FGC, is the practice of partially or completely removing the external female genitalia. FGC is also commonly referred to as Female Circumcision, Female Genital Mutilation, and Forced Female Circumcision. It is estimated that more than 200 hundred million women are recipients of this tradition (WHO). The external female genitals include the labia majora, labia minora, clitoris, vaginal opening, and the urethra (Marshall). FGC is performed for “health” reasons, cosmetic preferences, and cultural beliefs predominantly. FGC should be more widely accepted as an unethical procedure or practice due to physical and psychological damages and complications despite some cultures
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Throughout most of the world, it is deemed to be unethical and illegal to perform or assist in the procedure. However, in the countries that do not consider FGC as on offensive action, then the majority of the female population has had the procedure done to them. “Karimjee was 7 and growing up in Karachi, Pakistan, she had part of her clitoris removed, in accordance with the beliefs of the Dawoodi Bohra sect of Islam” (Karimjee). Countries such as Somalia, Egypt, and Indonesia are some of the countries that have the highest percentages of their women being affected by FGC. Most women who have it performed are under the age of fifteen but in many communities they try to complete the procedures before the age of five. This precaution is to reduce the likelihood of remembering the pain and to prevent the girls from asking questions as to why it needs to performed. Discussions of intercourse and anything relating to it, including FGC, are strictly off limits and highly taboo in practicing communities (Rudulph). Women are encouraged to never look at their genitals, which often leads to shame and lack of assistance physically or psychologically from professionals or family members for anything pertaining to their feminine …show more content…
Even if the communities had access to proper resources such as medicine, sanitary objects, and tools it is not healthy to constantly cut the skin on a human; especially an area that’s sole purpose is to provide life and release fluids. “Sex is painful, and I hate, hate, hate it. I hate being touched. It feels like rape every time. I cry inside, I cry out loud, and my husband does not care. It does not hurt him. I had Type-3 FGM, and I was reopened after we were married. My husband will kill me if he ever finds out that I spoke out against FGM and my parents will back him up” (Rudulph). FGC can have an immediate physiological impact on women because of the severity of the pain that often leads to people holding down the girls, serious bleeding, infections which can become life threatening if not treated, and infectious diseases like HIV (US Department of Health). Long-term health complications can include infections, difficulties having sexual intercourse, painful and prolonged menstrual periods, urinary issues, fistula where urine runs into the vagina, complications during pregnancy and childbirth (US Department of Health). “‘I hate it. It hurts. I hate it,’ says another woman in the room, talking about sexual relations with her husband,”
Throughout most of the world, it is deemed to be unethical and illegal to perform or assist in the procedure. However, in the countries that do not consider FGC as on offensive action, then the majority of the female population has had the procedure done to them. “Karimjee was 7 and growing up in Karachi, Pakistan, she had part of her clitoris removed, in accordance with the beliefs of the Dawoodi Bohra sect of Islam” (Karimjee). Countries such as Somalia, Egypt, and Indonesia are some of the countries that have the highest percentages of their women being affected by FGC. Most women who have it performed are under the age of fifteen but in many communities they try to complete the procedures before the age of five. This precaution is to reduce the likelihood of remembering the pain and to prevent the girls from asking questions as to why it needs to performed. Discussions of intercourse and anything relating to it, including FGC, are strictly off limits and highly taboo in practicing communities (Rudulph). Women are encouraged to never look at their genitals, which often leads to shame and lack of assistance physically or psychologically from professionals or family members for anything pertaining to their feminine …show more content…
Even if the communities had access to proper resources such as medicine, sanitary objects, and tools it is not healthy to constantly cut the skin on a human; especially an area that’s sole purpose is to provide life and release fluids. “Sex is painful, and I hate, hate, hate it. I hate being touched. It feels like rape every time. I cry inside, I cry out loud, and my husband does not care. It does not hurt him. I had Type-3 FGM, and I was reopened after we were married. My husband will kill me if he ever finds out that I spoke out against FGM and my parents will back him up” (Rudulph). FGC can have an immediate physiological impact on women because of the severity of the pain that often leads to people holding down the girls, serious bleeding, infections which can become life threatening if not treated, and infectious diseases like HIV (US Department of Health). Long-term health complications can include infections, difficulties having sexual intercourse, painful and prolonged menstrual periods, urinary issues, fistula where urine runs into the vagina, complications during pregnancy and childbirth (US Department of Health). “‘I hate it. It hurts. I hate it,’ says another woman in the room, talking about sexual relations with her husband,”