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About FGM: Female Genital Mutilation

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FGM is a.k.a. female circumcision, female genital cutting, and "cutting."

What It Is:

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is an invasive and painful surgical procedure that is often performed without anesthetic on girls before puberty. Various sources estimate that from about 60 to 140 million women in the world have been circumcised. An average of about four girls a minute continue to be mutilated. Their prepuce is removed and their clitoris may be partially or completely removed. In some traditions the operation is far more invasive: the labia minora are also surgically removed and the labia majora are sewn together, covering the urethra and vagina. A small opening is retained for the passage of urine and menstrual fluid. IndyMedia Ireland has published a diagram showing various FGM techniques. ₁

The result is that sexual feelings are either inhibited or terminated. Sexual intercourse is often extremely painful for the woman. Childbirth often involves a Caesarian section .

FGM has been a social custom in Northern Africa for millennia. Many people link FGM with the religion of Islam. Actually, it is a social custom that is practiced by Animists, Christians, and Muslims in those countries where FGM is common. There are many Muslim countries in which the mutilation is essentially unknown, including Algeria, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. ₂

FGM is occasionally performed in North America and Europe on girls of families have immigrated from countries where FGM is common. An analogous practice, Intersexual Genital Mutilation, (IGM) is sometimes performed on intersexual infants -- those born with ambiguous genitalia.

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Reference used:

1. "Egypt formally bans Female Circumcision," IndyMedia Ireland, 2007-JUN-28, at: http://www.indymedia.ie/ That web site states: "If diagrams of female genitals (with or without clitoris) offend you don't look at this image." However, they located the warning under the diagrams.
2. "Training Kit: Prevention and Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation among Immigrants in Europe," African Women’s Organisation, (2005), Page 13.