Female Circumcision Or Female Genital Mutilation

In the story written by Frances A. Althaus’s “Female Circumcision: Rite of Passage or Violation of Rights? She explores female circumcision within African Culture and the health complications after the ritual is completed. Female circumcision is the practice of partial or total removal of the female external vaginal area and is still practiced in several countries today , dut was ruled as illegal in America in 1997. Females did not have the option to chose if they wanted to have the procedure performed, mothers often made that decision for them. The practice is to transition a girl into womanhood and to ensure that virginity is not lost before marriage, prevention of infidelity and

In Chapter Thirteen, “Grassroots vs. Treetops” of Half the Sky by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn the act of genital mutilation is discussed. It starts off by giving gory details on genital mutilation, stating that every ten a girl is mutilated. Despite the medical problems surrounding female genital mutilation, it thrived in parts of Africa as a serious problem for young girls. FGM is sometimes described as a female circumcision, it’s cultural significance is to reduce sexual trends and to make the girls more marriageable. However, often these procedures are done with no new medical supplies and are performed with dirty materials leading to infection and sometimes death for girls partaking. A woman in Illinois is doing her best to stop female genital mutilation by working closely with each village and getting to the main source of the problem. Most people were under educated about what was wrong with female genital mutilation, it was a cultural rite of passage. But through working with each individual village, this woman could help ban female genital mutilation is thousands of villages and increased school attendance at the same time.

Female genital mutilation (FGM) also known as female circumcision is a tradition passed down from generation to generation occurring all around the world affecting millions of women and young girls. FGM is controversial matter most prevalent in Africa (Ahanonu and Victor, 2014). To this day it’s estimated that about 28 African countries still practice this ritual including Nigeria (Ahanonu and Victor, 2014). In the past twenty years there has been a worldwide increased interest in FGM due to its multiplicity and lifelong effects. Some people believe FGM violates basic human rights where others believe this ritual is required to increase their chances of marriageability and that this practice is a transition from adolescents into adulthood

Thesis: Female Genital Circumcision is a cultural procedure that is performed on young girls for a variety of reasons. Members of this culture chose to continue these traditions because they believe they will gain sociological, health and marriage benefits for their daughters, ensuring these young girls a better future is mandatory.

This research is limited only to the ethical issues of Female Genital Mutilation(FGM). Ethical issues about other kinds/types of mutilation like the tattoos or markings, surgeries, transplants and piercings are not furthermore discussed, explained, and identified in this research.

Female genital mutilation, also known as female circumcision, is a practice that involves the removal of part or all of the female external genitalia. It occurs throughout the world, but most commonly in Africa where they say that it is a tradition and social custom to keep a young girl pure and a married woman faithful. But to some Westerners, the practice is viewed as being primitive and barbaric. We react with disgust and find it nearly incomprehensible that female genital mutilation can occur in the world today

The first news publication that we will be analyzing is an article titled “Anatomy of Female Genital Mutilation” written by Michelle Roberts (2014) of BBC News. This article begins to inform the readers about what female genital mutilation is exactly. According to Roberts (2014) female genital mutilation is defined as, “any procedure that harms the female genital organs for non-medical purposes”. The article continues to inform its readers that among the stages of female genital mutilation, the most severe one includes when a woman’s clitoris is removed, then her genitals are stitched together so that the female does not have or enjoy sex. As girls, grow up to bear children, during labor and delivery, she is again unstitched

“Don’t forget to take out the trash,” the mother tells her fourteen-year-old son. The son only scowls at her, revealing a face full of contempt. He turns away and struts back to his room to check his Twitter. This is a typical example of a teenager in rebellion. The adolescent years, the years in which one develops his or her own identity, are marked by confusion, acceptance, and rejection. Therefore, numerous people conclude that teenage rebellion is natural – something that is bound to occur. But this is not necessarily so. Since humans grow substantially during the thirteen to nineteen age period and are constantly in search of their place in society, adolescents in particular are easily influenced by their surroundings. By

"I remember the blade. How it shone! There was a woman kneeling over me with the knife. I bit her; it was all I could do. Then three women came to hold me down. One of them sat on my chest. I bit her with all my might." These words reflect Banassiri Sylla’s account of her experience undergoing female circumcision, also known as female genital mutilation (FGM), at the young age of eight in the Ivory Coast. This disturbing description of her struggle makes it hard to understand why any culture could support such a practice. Yet, it is estimated that about 132 million women and girls in about thirty African countries have undergone the same, or at least similar, cultural

Female Genital Mutilation, is a topic which has caused many controversies worldwide. Female Genital Mutilation is a tradition since antiquity, which occurs in twenty eight countries in Africa, and among certain communities in the Middle East, and Asia. The latitude of this issue is massive. The United Nations estimates that this practice has been performed on about 140 million females, who encounter immediate complications of shock, infections, damage to the urethra, scar formation, tetanus, bladder infections, HIV, along with long -term complications that lead to death (Lauren V, 2011). It is estimated that 3 million girls are at risk annually! During this paper, I will discuss in depth the two ethical theories (Deontology and Utilitarianism). These ethical theories will be a guide, to help understand the moral issues of Female Mutilation, and whether one can view female mutilation to be right or wrong. Aside from the ethical theories, I

Female circumcision in the Global South is a controversial regarding this topic. People are continuingly debating about it how harmful the practice. People who are against the practice claimed that the practice is very harmful for these young girls and women. This practice is not only physically harmful, but also psychologically affect them. So anti-female circumcision is doing everything in their power to stop the practice in the Global South. Program such as the TOSTAN is encouraging young girl to say no the practice. On the other hand, there are people who defending the female circumcision. They claim that the practice has not harm. And they are denying the fact that this practice decreases sexual pleasure in these young women and female.

Throughout history, there has been a controversial argument on whether female genital mutilation should be banned from Africa. Some people describe female genital mutilation or FGM as a violation of women’s rights and others view it as served for a religious purpose having to do with the Islamic holy book, the Qur’an. Female Genital Mutilation is the removal of all or part of the external parts of the female genitalia. There are three different types of FGM; the first type of FGM is the Sunna Circumcision which is the removal of the tip of the clitoris. The second type is Clitoridectomy which is the removal of the entire clitoris and the adjacent labia. The third type is Infibulation which is the removal of the clitoris and the entire labia including the labia majora and minora. After the removal of the entire labia, the joining of the scraped sides are brought together using thorns or catgut, leaving only a small portion open for menstruation and urinating. Africa has the highest rates of FGM being performed. About 100 million women and girls are affected by FGM and at least 3 million girls are at risk undergoing this process every year. FGM is usually carried out by an elderly woman who is paid fees from the family of the girl undergoing this process (P.a.p.-Blog par. 2, 4). Female Genital Mutilation is usually performed on girl between the ages of three and adulthood. According to the UNICEF or United

As Americans, it is easy for us to take an ethnocentric view on FGC. When we hear of any practice where part of a girl’s genitalia is removed, it sounds horrifying. We take this position naturally because the practice of FGC is unknown to us; it is something we do not understand—and therefore we can easily condemn it. We hear that this procedure takes place in Africa, Indonesia and The Middle East. Since we deem these countries third-world, we assume these people are un-educated, ignorant and need our (America’s) help, to eradicate the tradition of FGC. Many believe that Female Genital Cutting is an archaic tradition supported by male dominated societies to keep women in their subservient roles. However, if we examine this procedure closer, one will find many parallels with Western cultures and an extreme hypocrisy with this reasoning.

Female Genital Mutilation is a practice in which external portions of female genitalia are removed for non-medical, cultural reasons. In many countries and cultures, young girls are forced to go through this procedure before getting married, based on the belief that the practice will keep them pure and virgins. This practice, set in place by a patriarchal hegemonic system, controls and decides the lives of any girls in a lot of places. Often times, these lives are ended because the practice is non-medical, not safe, and definitely not even done the right way.

Female Genital Mutilation is believed to have started in Egypt 2,000 years ago and spread from there. Only a few years ago, FGM was considered a cultural tradition, but now the United Nations has labeled it as a violation of human rights. Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, and the United States has declared Female Genital Mutilation grounds for seeking asylum and is a punishable offense (1).