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Female Circumcisions

" (Goldberg, 1974). The next group of surgeries is a form Muslims refer to as "sunna", it involves the cutting of the clitoral hood. The third and more radical form of female circumcision is known as excision or clitoridectomy. Under this procedure the entire clitoris and all part of the labia minoria is removed. The most extreme form of female genital surgeries is infibulation, which cuts the clitoris, labia minora and often the entire medial part of the labia majora. "The external sides of the vagina are then sewn together using catgut or thorns, leaving only a tiny opening for the passage of urine and menstrual blood. 15% to 30% of all girls who undergo this mutilation die from tetanus infection, shock, and uncontrolled hemorrhaging." (Hosken, 2001) There are many blood vessels in the clitoris, including the dorsal artery, so that when the clitoris is cut, young girls often bleed to death. Infibulation is practiced mostly in the Sudan, Somalia and Ethiopia; sunna, clitoridectomy and, to a lesser degree, infibulation are performed in other parts of Africa and parts of Asia.
             Critics of the practice argue that the term "female circumcision" inappropriately mislabels the more extreme forms of female genital surgery, specifically, clitoridectomy and infibulations. Many of these critics use the phrase "female genital mutilation" to describe all forms of female genital surgeries, insisting that any irreversible removal of a healthy organ of tissue is mutilated.
             The practice of female circumcision carries potential health risks and consequences. The actual number of deaths resulting from female circumcision is unavailable. Immediate health consequences may include shock, gangrene, and accidental damage to the urethra. More long term effects involved with female circumcision include scarring urinary tract infection, and infertility. Complication with childbirth are almost unavoidable for infibulated woman.


Essays Related to Female Circumcisions

1. Female genital mutilation

... Nations, the United States and international agencies, such as World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF, and whether or not they have a right or the authority to demand a ban on female and male circumcisions. It is not difficult to see why so many people can be outraged by FGM and MGM. Those who campaign against it attack the practice as " brutal, a violation of ... their same customs? How can one say that this is immoral when we, people living in the United States, are unfamiliar with the values of the societies where male and female circumcisions are practiced? Why should these agen...

  • Word Count: 2184
  • Approx Pages: 9
  • Grade Level: High School

2. Save the Yoni - Female Circumcision

... of passage preparing young girls for womanhood and marriage. Often performed without anesthetic under septic conditions by lay practitioners with little or no knowledge of human anatomy or medicine, female circumcision can cause death or permanent health problems as well as severe pain. Despite these grave risks, its practitioners look on it as an integral part of their cultural ... challenged with meeting African women's health needs, as they are barraged with a debate about the ethics and politics of circumcision. There are significant medical sequelae and public health ramifications ...

  • Word Count: 1858
  • Approx Pages: 7
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

3. The Truth about Female Genital Mutilation "

... . Places such as Indonesia have "professionals " who perform FGM in schools, government hospitals, and private practices. Although they use clean tools and the female is under anesthesia there are still health issues the victims go through. Just because you have "professionals " do the procedure, doesn't mean that it ... has been outlawed in 15 African countries. Many industrialized countries also have similar laws. Both France and the U.S. have prosecuted immigrant residents for performing female circumcisions. Many countries have tried to ban FGM. Burkina Faso in West Africa has made a...

  • Word Count: 2075
  • Approx Pages: 8
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

4. female circumcision

... in this sort of society unless she has undergone the proper procedure. This is what their society expects of them. It's a tradition, which has been practiced for 2,000 years. Although female circumcision is a traditional practice worldwide (performed in countries such as; Bahrain, Oman, Indonesia, Malaysia, Togo, Uganda, Zaire, Sudan, Tanzania, Somalia, Ivory, Niger, Nigeria, Mauritania, Mali, Kenya, Ethiopia, Gambia, etc.) It ... occurs varies from just after the birth of the child, to seven years of age, to adolescence. In the rural Mossi areas of Burkina Faso, group female circumcisi...

  • Word Count: 1534
  • Approx Pages: 6

5. Female Genital Mutilation

... also used it and the United Sates as recently as the 1940s and 1950s to "treat" hysteria, lesbianism, masturbation, and other so called female deviancies. FGM is one of the traditional rituals that prepare girls for womanhood, although the age at which it is practiced varies widely. In ... , in which the foreskin is cut off from the tip of the penis without damaging the organ itself. The degree of cutting in female circumcision is anatomically much more extensive. The male equivalent of clitoridectomy, in which all or part of the clitoris is removed, would be ... minimal sensory capacity ...

  • Word Count: 2699
  • Approx Pages: 11
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

6. Male Circumcision and Female Genital Modification: Humans Ri

... as religious, medical and moral issues may be involved. Though there is much controversy placed on male circumcision, there is none more placed than on female genital modification. There are many arguments, pro and con, for the various modifications. However, from its original roots in anti-masturbation hysteria, male circumcision ... The vast majority of whom are Muslim. So why are these countries imposing and often forcing women against their will to mutilate their own genitalia? Female genital modification is known in three levels of pain and mutilation degree. Sunna circumcision is T...

  • Word Count: 722
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

7. Female Genital M utilation

... of freshly cut branches amid the gloom of charcoal smoke (McKinley 1). This ritual is a harmful and unnecessary procedure. Whether it is a tradition, female circumcisions should be illegal all over the world. Tradition and religion is a very important part of many cultures. Part of the tradition is to circumcise ... women between the ages of birth to before marriage (Gregory 1). The practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) has existed for years. Some scholars believe it to have originated in the Nile Valley during the Pharaonic era when young ... as a form of permanent chastity, to l...

  • Word Count: 975
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

8. Female Genital Mutilation

Introduction Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a destructive, invasive procedure that is usually performed on girls before puberty. It is primarily a cultural practice that started in Africa approximately 2000 years ago, not a religious ... if their husband has to go away on a long trip. (Internet II) Age These procedures are usually carried out between the ages of four and eight. In some villages, Group Female Circumcisions are done every three years and girls are assembled in groups of up to twenty. The girls undergoing the procedure have varying degrees of knowledge about what will happe...

  • Word Count: 965
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

9. Medical Cut-Backs

... . In 1949 the Lancet, a paper in the United Kingdom, put out an article that demonstrated that no supportive evidence for routine circumcisions existed. Following the appearance of this article The National Health Services, otherwise known as the NHS decided routine circumcisions offered no obvious benefit to the patient and should not be provided (Dritsas 249). It was then that the British and ... not believe it because he says he is sensitive enough. Cole believes that all girls would and should want circumcised guys. However an interviewed female by the name of Adrienne Neff says diff...

  • Word Count: 2485
  • Approx Pages: 10
  • Has Bibliography

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