As a Muslim, I can say that there is no mention of practicing FGM in the Quran (holy book). Being a practicing Muslim, my parents, grandparents and their great grandparents had not even heard of circumcision in women so it is highly improbable that it could have been related to Islam. It is probably an outcome of the misinterpretations of religion by early people. It was also practiced in Africa tribes, that weren't of Muslim creed. It is rather interesting to see how one misperception can lead to a whole religion being degraded. I for one was really very shocked to hear that they attribute FGM to Islam. .
Susan Okin (1999), states that the more a culture involves women with domestic life, the less chance she has to be of equal status to men (p 13). Men control women and it is them who require the women to have FGM. The practice had initially started as a measure of subduing women and making them subservient to the will of men. Men make women have their clitoris removed for two major reasons. Firstly, this aims to prevent her from engaging in sexual relations with anyone else other than the husband and secondly so that she cannot think about her own sexual pleasure. It is practiced because men need to feel secure that their women are pure. It also gives them a sense of power and dominance on the women, simply to prove women are inferior to them. .
Okin, briefly mentions that if a woman has had sex, even if she was raped, she is considered unworthy and unmarriageable. In some cultures rape is seen as an injury to family honour and not as an injury to the girl or woman involved. In this case the rapist has to marry the girl raped or she is treated as "damaged goods" (p 15). In some primitive cultures if the women have been raped the culture even condones them to kill the girl or force her to commit suicide to restore the family honour (p 16). This is another reason why the women have their genitals cut off so that she will not put the family honour in jeopardy.
There are different types of FGM/FC. ... Historians believe that FGM/FC was practiced in ancient Egypt. ... - The Sudanese peoples have practiced FGM/FC for thousands of years. ... Finally, the last likely motive for FGM/FC is simply pressure for compliance. ... It is a vicious cycle that perpetuates this problem of FGM/FC. ...
More side effects of FGM include hemorrhages, tetanus, and shock. FGM has been cited by WHO in 2001 as a major health problem. ... "There are no exact data on the prevalence of FGM in Africa. ... For example, as clearly will be seen, although FGM is most common in Muslim countries, FGM prevalence in no way follows the prevalence of Islam. ... They are planning on trying to reduce the number of women who undergo FGM every year by making FGM illegal, the UN and the WHO have also made rigid laws for those who still practice FGM in areas where it is illegal. ...
In the communities where FGM takes place, it is referred to as "female circumcision." ... Approximately 85 percent of all women who undergo FGM have clitoridectomies. ... In countries like Sudan, Somalia, and Djibouti, 80 to 90 percent of all FGM is infibulation. ... It is important to remember that FGM is neither a disease nor a reproductive risk. ... In other words, FGM removes FGM removes the woman's sexual organ and leaves her reproductive organs intact. ...
But internationally financed population, health and safe motherhood programs ignore Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and have failed to implement effective preventive education. ... FGM is painful, dangerous, and disrespectful to the woman/child and her body and I belive evry woman has the right to education to help make this critical decision. ... And that's not all, FGM causes urinary and menstrual problems, frigidity, painful intercourse, and many, many needless deaths. The highest childbirth mortality is recorded in areas where FGM is practiced. ... FGM is desecrating the woman...
But internationally financed population, health and safe motherhood programs ignore Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and have failed to implement effective preventive education. ... FGM is painful, dangerous, and disrespectful to the woman/child and her body and I belive evry woman has the right to education to help make this critical decision. ... And that's not all, FGM causes urinary and menstrual problems, frigidity, painful intercourse, and many, many needless deaths. The highest childbirth mortality is recorded in areas where FGM is practiced. ... FGM is desecrating the woman...
Female circumcision, commonly known as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is practiced in over 30 countries in the world. ... The estimating of women who have gone through FGM has totaled up to about 114 to 130 million women a year. ... The most controversial part of FGM is the many reasons as to why this practice is done to so many women because it hardly makes any sense. The first reason for FGM is that it makes the woman more beautiful facially and in between the legs. ... This statement perfectly provokes the question of the real motive behind FGM. ...
This procedure has been given the names of Female and Male Genital Mutilation, or FGM/MGM, by its opponents. ... (FGM Network). ... FGM and MGM are primarily cultural practices. ... It is not difficult to see why so many people can be outraged by FGM and MGM. ... Imagine growing up in a society where FGM and MGM are the "norm-. ...
FGM, or Female Genital Mutilation, has been practiced worldwide for several thousand years in more than thirty countries throughout the world. ... There are issues and controversies over allowing the practice of FGM to continue throughout the world. ... FGM is usually performed in the houses of neighbors or in the family's home itself. ... Nearly thirty countries worldwide allow FGM; in fact, many of them openly encourage it to be done. ... FGM is deemed critical in order for a girl to be considered a complete woman, and the practice itself separates women from girls. ...
(Internet I) Why is FGM practiced? ... "FGM is primarily a social practice, not a religious one". ... This is more frequent where FGM is part of the initiation into adulthood. FGM is often deemed necessary in order to be considered a complete woman. ... Three types of FGM are: 1. ...
