female genital mutilation
(tw: torture, injury, slightly vivid description of getting hurt)
Mutilation. even the phonetic of the word Mutilation sounds horrific. Mu-til-a-tion.
it sounds unbearable. agonizing. excruciating.
according to the cambridge dictionary, mutilation is ‘the act of damaging something severely, especially by violently removing a part’. and it is estimated that over 200 million girls and women, worldwide today have undergone Mutilation to their genitalia.
Female Genital Mutilation (also known as FGM) is a painful process in which the female genitals are partly or fully removed – and this can result in them being permanently injured during this process. this ‘operation’ is usually and shockingly performed on girls from the age of four and above but recent studies show that it is getting performed on more and more babies who are only a couple days old !
it is usually implemented by professional circumcisers, midwives, nurses, doctors and sometimes healers – but if a medical ‘professional’ is not available, the role of the person who performs this ‘process’ can be a family member, friend or neighbour. this procedure is often performed in un-sanitary circumstances without anaesthetic, using razor blades, scissors, knives or even pieces of broken glass.
here in the uk, FGM has been a criminal offence since 1985. it has also been a criminal offence to take your child out of the country and perform it and anyone found guilty faces a maximum 14 years in prison. however, shocking recent studies have shown that over 137,000 girls and women are still thought to be affected by FGM, in Wales and England, every year, which is why awareness needs to be raised now !
it is thought that FGM is carried out as a way to control women's sexuality, which is sometimes said to be insatiable if parts of the genitalia, especially the clitoris, are not removed (oh look it’s the patriarchal bullshit striking again). it is also thought to ‘ensure virginity’ (which is a social construct, might i add) before marriage and fidelity afterward, AND to ‘increase male sexual pleasure’.
it is disgusting, vile and outrageous. and there are simply no other terms better to describe it other than inhumane and repulsive.
now, what you may hear now may be frightful and of course very concerning if you have never heard about it before, but i believe it is incredibly important for you all to understand and learn the horrors of this topic. let me make myself perfectly clear:
THERE IS NO MEDICAL REASON FROM FGM TO OCCUR.
every year over 200 million women worldwide are being tortured by FGM with their genitals being ripped open and cut with sharp jagged things such as glass, for reasons that are not beneficial or helpful to them but instead causes them more pain and agony.
the immediate consequences of these types of FGM include severe pain and bleeding, shock, difficulty in passing urine, infections, injury to nearby genital tissue because of the major blood loss victims face and unfortunately death can and has occurred. not to mention girls can get diseases like hiv as well. in addition to the physical attributes, FGM can cause huge psychological problems. mental illnesses such as ptsd, depression and anxiety are all common to girls who suffer this horrific mutilation.
now after hearing all the side effects, the trauma, the pain women go through for something that does not help them in anyway but instead leaves them incredibly scarred, why is FGM still occurring? with FGM going on in so many countries, some people state that FGM is not a bad thing – and instead a ‘rite of passage’ so to speak.
Female Genital Mutilation has been documented in 30 countries for centuries, primarily in africa, as well as in the middle east and asia- the people who perform it there believe it is ‘tradition’. many think it is only fair for the future generation to experience what their ancestors have done – to continue something ‘so’ important to the family. some even argue that male circumcision is performed – and that it is similar to FGM. however let us be clear: FGM and male circumcision are not alike – and FGM has to be stopped.
so, how can we help? first thing we must do is speak about it to our family and friends to get the topic known. we can also support organisations, such as 28 TOO MANY, NSPCC, DAUGHTERS OF EVE, NHS, BAN FGM and many more (check the links below), to stop this from happening. companies such as UK Aid make large investments and hope to end FGM worldwide by 2030 – so with great organisations and our education about FGM (hopefully by looking out for signs and spreading the word) we can end FGM faster than that. we can also help these organisations through donating or just engaging. when doing this you can help the ones affected directly and the younger ones who are at risk for the future. most importantly noticing the signs before someone may be potentially cut is very important to help stop FGM. the key signs to look out for are:
- young girls who may be taken abroad would most likely be young and may not fully understand where they are going/ what are going. a planned summer trip to a country that is known to perform FGM is quite an important sign – but concern should only be taken if the girl you’re worried about does not know what is going to happen on the trip – or if she mentions a special ceremony involving her and her family and friends…
- if your peer is feeling nervous and skittish before going on holiday to a country that performs FGM and mentions a ‘ceremony’
- if she is going on a ‘girls trip’ to a country that performs FGM and mentions a procedure or something along those lines
obviously, not everyone who lives or goes to a country that performs FGM are at risk of getting mutilated, however it is better to be safe than sorry ! identifying these signs are one of the main factors in helping achieving the goal to stop FGM. it should be our mission to stop this vile and revolting act – because thousands of innocent young girls are preyed upon and forced to do this against their will; so to stop these girls from suffering and to help avoid the damage - we as a nation, in fact everyone in the world, should stand united and educated about the truth about FGM and aim to get rid of it as soon as possible.
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charities and helpful links:
