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FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) has been practiced in many countries, most especially in Africa, for traditional, cultural, and customary justifications. In a report by the UNICEF, it seems that this archaic and irrational practice is finally coming to an end. Let this thread be an information campaign on this topic.
WHAT IS FGM?
FGM is actually a broad term that encompasses a wide-range of practices. Here are the main FGM typologies as characterized by the World Health Organization:
- Type 1: Partial or total removal of the clitoris and/or the prepuce. In medical literature this form of FGM/C is also referred to as ‘clitoridectomy’. A number of practising communities also refer to it as sunna, which is Arabic for ‘tradition’ or ‘duty’.
- Type 2:Partial or total removal of the clitoris and labia minora, with or without excision of the labia majora.
- Type 3:Narrowing of the vaginal orifice by cutting and bringing together the labia minora and/or the labia majora to create a type of seal, with or without excision of the clitoris. In most instances, the cut edges of the labia are stitched together, which is referred to as ‘infibulation’. The adhesion of the labia results in near complete covering of the urethra and the vaginal orifice, which must be reopened for sexual intercourse and childbirth, a procedure known as ‘defibulation’. In some instances, this is followed by reinfibulation.
- Type 4:All other harmful procedures to the female genitalia for non-medical purposes, for example: pricking, piercing, incising, scraping and cauterization. Pricking or nicking involves cutting to draw blood, but no removal of tissue and no permanent alteration of the external genitalia. This is sometimes called ‘symbolic circumcision’, and some communities have described it as a traditional form of FGM.
EVOLUTION OF DISCOURSE AGAINST FGM?
Global campaigns and other efforts to eliminate FGM initially focused on the adverse health consequences of the
practice. By the early 1990s, this emphasis had begun to fall from favour for several reasons – primarily because the campaigns did not result in significant reductions in prevalence, but also because the focus on health may have inadvertently promoted the ‘medicalization’ of the practice, meaning that it is increasingly carried out by medical professionals.20 It was during this period that FGM/C was reconceptualized as a
human rights issue:
The 1993 Vienna World Conference on Human Rights was a landmark event in which two important developments occurred. First, ‘female genital mutilation’ became classified as a form of violence against women (VAW); second, the issue of VAW was for the first time acknowledged to fall under the purview of international human rights law.21
MILESTONES IN ACTION AGAINST FGM?
Actions against FGM started out as pocket efforts by individuals and small non-government organizations to curb the practice under medical mispractice and later involved greater participation from the government and later international organizations. The fight against FGM has had a steady progress since the 1920s.
- 1920s:The first known campaign dates back to the 1920s, when the Egyptian Society of Physicians issues a proclamation outlining the negative health effects of FGM and receives support from the Ministry of Health, the press and religious scholars.
- 1979: FGM appears for the first time on the international agenda on the occasion of the WHO Seminar on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of
Women and Children, also known as the Khartoum Seminar. UNICEF issues its
first statement related to FGM.
- 1989: The UN General Assembly adopts the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which includes provisions to protect children against harmful practices.
- 1990: The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child
is adopted by the Organization of African Unity (now the African Union) and enters into force in 1999. It calls upon States to take appropriate measures to eliminate harmful social and cultural practices.
- 1993: FGM is recognized as a human rights violation at the World
Conference on Human Rights in Vienna.
- 2005: The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, better known as the Maputo Protocol, enters into effect. It calls upon States to take measures to eliminate FGM/C and other traditional practices that are harmful to women.
- 2013: The African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child devotes the 23rd Day of the African Child, commemorated every year on 16 June, to the theme ‘Eliminating Harmful Social and Cultural Practices Affecting Children: Our Collective Responsibility.’
SIGNIFICANT STATISTICS ON FGM FROM THE UNICEF REPORT
General Overview
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/WOQrAob.jpg?1)
Concentration per Country
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/0Rnk2hF.jpg)
FGM in Practice
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/3vex9a9.jpg)
Respondents' (male) opinion on FGM
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/8prV0qI.jpg)
Respondents' (female) opinion on FGM
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/XxghSoM.jpg)
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Statistics are scary sometimes. I knew about the FGM problem but I'm surprised to learn of its prevalence, especially in Egypt.
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Now we just need to stop male genitale mutilation aka circumcision.
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Canada11592 Posts
On July 27 2013 13:19 idonthinksobro wrote:
Now we just need to stop male genitale mutilation aka circumcision.
What do you mean, now? The wording of that seems to suggest female genital mutilation has stopped. Can we at least stay on the same topic for more than two posts rather than derailing it with men's issues? We already have a circumcision thread. We don't need two.
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On July 27 2013 13:19 idonthinksobro wrote:
Now we just need to stop male genitale mutilation aka circumcision.
Why it provides valuable STD protection.
Edit: My penis was called inferior... I was obviously obligated to respond! 
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I strongly suggest to drop the circumcision remarks before it's too late. Don't point out the advantages or disadvantages.
There are other threads for that topic.
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On July 27 2013 13:23 Falling wrote:Show nested quote +On July 27 2013 13:19 idonthinksobro wrote:
Now we just need to stop male genitale mutilation aka circumcision. What do you mean, now? The wording of that seems to suggest female genital mutilation has stopped. Can we at least stay on the same topic for more than two posts rather than derailing it with men's issues? We already have a circumcision thread. We don't need two.
female genital mutilation isn't socially acceptable and there are laws against that in almost every country. More and more countrys try to stop this practice in a couple of years it will be gone. Male genital mutilation is still socially acceptable and this is a problem because if we aren't even trying to stop it more and more males have to suffer.
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Aotearoa39261 Posts
Circumcision discussion ends here. There is another thread for that. Bans will be issued for those that ignore this.
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Northern Ireland27248 Posts
Appalling practice.
That said, I'd like to see more of a breakdown by the 'Type' of FGM. Type 4 seems not much different, if at all for things like clitoral piercings and whatnot that are prevalent in Western societies too.
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On July 27 2013 13:33 idonthinksobro wrote:Show nested quote +On July 27 2013 13:23 Falling wrote:On July 27 2013 13:19 idonthinksobro wrote:
Now we just need to stop male genitale mutilation aka circumcision. What do you mean, now? The wording of that seems to suggest female genital mutilation has stopped. Can we at least stay on the same topic for more than two posts rather than derailing it with men's issues? We already have a circumcision thread. We don't need two. female genital mutilation isn't socially acceptable and there are laws against that in almost every country. More and more countrys try to stop this practice in a couple of years it will be gone. Male genital mutilation is still socially acceptable and this is a problem because if we aren't even trying to stop it more and more males have to suffer.
Since you don't get it, let me say it loud and clear: DO NOT DERAIL THE THREAD BY TALKING ABOUT CIRCUMCISION!
On topic, yeah, statistics is pretty brutal. Mutilation by knife or scissors? Fuck!
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[B]On July 27 2013 13:12 AUFKLARUNG wrote: Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) has been practiced in many countries, most especially in Africa, for traditional and customary justifications. In a report by the UNICEF, it seems that this arcane and irrational practice is finally coming to an end.
I do believe you meant to say archaic and not arcane. Arcane means magical whereas archaic means old-fashioned.
On topic: I didn't know practices like this were so widespread in countries like Egypt. I hope they can get past this "tradition" for the sake of women everywhere.
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While I don't agree with either female or male genital mutilation, I don't think anyone is in the place to use their own morals to judge or, even worse, intervene with those african cultures/practices/whatever.
the "american freedom missile is coming for your rescue!" needs to take a break
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On July 27 2013 13:50 Robotix wrote:Show nested quote +[B]On July 27 2013 13:12 AUFKLARUNG wrote: Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) has been practiced in many countries, most especially in Africa, for traditional and customary justifications. In a report by the UNICEF, it seems that this arcane and irrational practice is finally coming to an end. I do believe you meant to say archaic and not arcane. Arcane means magical whereas archaic means old-fashioned.
I do believe you are right. Thanks.
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On July 27 2013 13:53 JP Dayne wrote:
While I don't agree with either female or male genital mutilation, I don't think anyone is in the place to use their own morals to judge or, even worse, intervene with those african cultures/practices/whatever.
the "american freedom missile is coming for your rescue!" needs to take a break
I think human rights are everybody's business. It's easy to lump everything people do under the "culture" title and pretend that all cultures are equal, but when a given culture butchers its children without giving them a choice, it's cause for concern.
It's a particular problem when it's done at home with razorblades and stuff. No "culture" excuse will make up for the life of children who die or end up with life-long complications due to basement surgery.
IMO it's peculiar that certain despicable acts get lumped under culture and that somehow makes it acceptable... Some people like to pretend to themselves that all cultures are equal, and I can't really argue against that but I can certainly argue against specific practices. In some places, women get prosecuted, sometimes with lashes, for having been raped. You can't just say "well that's how they run things". It is, yeah, it's the particular culture of some villages in some countries or whatever, but that doesn't make it any more acceptable.
Edit: going to bed, so if someone responds to this, maybe I'll read it tomorrow. Cheers and stay classy.
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I heard that people in some areas of Africa believe you'll die if your dong touches a clitoris.
User was temp banned for this post.
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Not that I support the practice in any way, but if a one chooses to undergo such a procedure, then so be it.
The issue is, of course, the fact that many of the women (or rather, children) are not given a choice and/or are not properly informed about the procedure and its consequences.
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On July 27 2013 14:11 babylon wrote:
Not that I support the practice in any way, but if a one chooses to undergo such a procedure, then so be it.
The issue is, of course, the fact that many of the women (or rather, children) are not given a choice and/or are not properly informed about the procedure and its consequences.
Yeah, this is sort of how I feel. If it was the choice of the woman, part of her culture, and something that was done on the way to being a woman rather than a girl, I'm not going to oppose it. The issue at hand is that it is all but forced, which is bad.
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Hold on, the chart in the OP says many women in these countries are cool with it? Why should UNICEF, or anyone really, go in and say they should stop, if many of these places disagree?
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EPT
