Female Genital Cutting: Torture or Tradition?
Each year approximately 2 million girls and women in more than 40 countries in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia undergo one of several types of genital cutting, usually as part of an initiation during childhood in order to become eligible for marriage (Leye et al., 2006). In many countries, most of the female population has undergone female genital cutting (FGC). It is estimated that between 100 million and 140 million women and girls now living have experienced genital cutting (Alo & Babatunde, 2011).
The village midwife or a health worker performs the procedures, which are usually arranged by the girl’s mother (Rosenberg, 2008). Razor blades or broken glass are used to cut the tissue, and the procedure is usually done without anesthetics, disinfectants, or sterile instruments (Rosenthal, 2006). The simplest procedure, circumcision, consists of cutting off the clitoral hood.
Most types involve removal of the clitoris itself, called clitoridectomy.
In the most extreme practice, genital infibulation, the clitoris and the labia are cut off. Then both sides of the vulva are scraped raw and stitched up (sometimes with thorns) while the girl is held down. The girl’s legs are bound closed around the ankles and thighs for about a week (Nour, 2000). The tissue then grows together, leaving only a small opening for urine and menstrual flow to pass through.
The most serious gynecological and obstetric complications often arise from genital infibulation. These include bleeding and pain that lead to shock and death, prolonged bleeding that leads to anemia, and infection that causes delayed healing, tetanus, and gan-
Infertility rates are higher among women whose labia were removed
Female Sexual Anatomy and Physiology
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Critical Thinking Question How are the genital piercing and cosmetic labiaplasty done for women in the Western world similar to and different from the genital cutting done to women in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia? |
(Ball, 2005). Extensive vaginal scarring can cause serious difficulties during childbirth; 50% more women who have undergone genital cutting die from delivery complications (along with their babies) than women who have not been cut (Eke & Nkanginieme, 2006). The main objective of genital cutting is to ensure virginity before marriage. Young girls are considered unmarriageable if they do not have the prescribed excision. Because marriage is usually the only role for a woman in these cultures, her future and her family’s pride depend on upholding this tradition. The social stigma for remaining uncircumcised is severe. For example, in Sudan, one of the most vile invectives a man can be called is "the son of an uncircumcised mother" (Al-Krenawi & Wiesel-Lev, 1999). Some groups also believe that the clitoris must be removed because contact with the clitoris is dangerous for a man or for a baby being born (Einstein, 2008). Also, many women who have undergone genital cutting believe that their genitals are made more appealing. In fact, many men and women in countries where FGC occurs consider uncut female genitals ugly and too closely resembling male genitals (Einstein, 2008). The strength of cultural tradition in many societies remains difficult to overcome, and even where the practice is illegal, the laws are difficult to enforce (Alo & Babatunde, 2011). Concerns about the appearance of the vulva are also, as previously discussed, the main motivation for women in the Western world to have their genitals surgically modified. Although female genital cutting in Africa and the Middle East is done to young girls, and some of the procedures are much more severe than labiaplasty in the Western world, most of the procedures are done due to societal pressures that lead women to believe that their normal vulvas are unacceptable. Female circumcision in Africa and labiaplasty in the West are done for the same reasons—to conform to a cultural ideal of appearance, to transcend shameful feelings about their genitals, and to feel acceptably feminine and to be desirable to sexual partners. One could even argue that Western women who consent to and pay to have their genitals altered are more strongly oppressed by cultural gender expectations than are females who undergo genital cutting as children (Olujobi, 2009). The outcry over female genital cutting has pushed the United Nations to suspend its policy of nonintervention in the cultural practices of individual nations. The World Health Organization has called for a ban of the procedures and defines cutting of the labia or clitoris as female genital mutilation (Johnsdotter & Essen, 2010). The practice of FGC has decreased in some countries. For example, in Egypt, 97% of married women have experienced FGC, but the percentage of schoolgirls in Egypt who have undergone FGC is less: Approximately 62% of schoolgirls in rural schools, 46% in government urban schools, and 9% in private urban schools have undergone FGC. The higher the educational level of the mother and father, the less likely their daughters are to undergo FGC (Alo & Babatunde, 2011; Tag-Eldin et al., 2008). Educational programs in villages have also been shown to change attitudes and reduce the practice of female genital cutting (Marshall, 2009; Shell-Duncan et al., 2011). In spite of damage to the clitoris and vulva from genital cutting, some women remain able to experience sexual arousal and orgasm. For others, groundbreaking specialized reconstructive surgery can help them regain increased pleasure and their ability to climax. Also, surgery to correct the narrowed vaginal opening caused by infibulation can allow the woman to experience intercourse without pain (Baldaro-Verde et al., 2007; Foldes & Silvestre, 2007; Ogodo, 2009). Surgeons from around the world volunteer their services in Africa to provide free clitoral reconstruction and defibulation (Schwarz, 2007). |
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vestibule The area of the vulva inside the labia minora. |
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