Female Genital Mutilation — A threat to Women’s physical integrity, human rights and national healthcare expenditure; much more than just a carried-over tradition.
Pronounced as “Female Circumcision (Khatna), FMG has claimed over 205.8 million victims across 35 countries in parts of Asia, Africa and Middle East and around 3 million under 15 adolescents are reportedly put at risk, every year. Countries like Guinea, Kenya and Somalia account for 70-90% women being coerced into the mutilation.
What exactly is FGM?
As a process of scrapping women’s external genitalia, FGM encompasses two types of mutilation:
Circumcision: Partially or completely removing Clitoral glans or external sensitive bulge of women’s genitalia. Extraction of labia vulva (minor and major portions) are also performed.
Infibulation: Creating a covering seal to narrow down the vaginal opening by stitching or repositioning the labia vulva.
How does FGM result in medical consequences?
Performed with zero medical logic, FGM gives way to:
Physical trauma:
Excruciating pain, immediate blood hemorrhage, swelling, growth of keloid tumor, feeding injuries, fever, shock and even death.
Painful urination, vaginal and urinary tract infections, including tetanus and bacterial vaginosis.
Uneven and obstructed menstrual blood passage.
Sexual dysfunction and Reproductive complexities:
Painful intercourse, Infertility and spiked risks of HIV transmission.
Childbirth complications: Problematic and painful delivery, Excessive bleeding, C-Sections, increased risks of newborn mortality, infant deaths among other medical mishaps.
Need for De-infibulation: Unstitching the seals used to narrow vaginal opening is necessitated to enable intercourse and childbirth. Often followed by re-stitching the tissues, exposing women to repeated surgeries and by extension, inviting fatal repercussions to them.
Psychological setbacks:
Stress, Anxiety, shock, Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), loss of confidence and lack of trust.
How does it contrast civil rights of women?
The elimination of FGM is constituted in 5.3 target of the Sustainable Development Goals agreed upon in 2015. Considering that, as per the WHO guidelines,
FGM violates one’s rights to health, security, and physical integrity.
It contravenes the right to be free from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.
Ceasing individual freedoms of women and children, FGM also claims the right to life, in cases where the procedure results in casualties.
Why is it practiced so popularly?
In spite of being the most traumatic and medically unexplainable practice within certain Islamic communities, the cumbersome norm is carried over generations governed by sociopolitical and traditional notions where the fear of being ostracized by the community and the pressure of complying with social orders keep people floated from the depths of its fatal consequences for the ones who suffer.
It is believed that FGM makes the girl beautifully immaculate of organs that are considered dirt-sheltering or masculine before she readies herself for marriage.
The entrenched disparity, patriarchal dominion and religious enforcement has closed senses to the pain, aftereffects and long-term medical complications FGM borne(s) to its victims.
FGM carried as a normative upbringing around up until 15 years is necessitated for a girl to embrace her womanly self and become sexually prepared. Its illogical connection with determining and subsequently certifying their virginity before marriage while swearing their allegiance towards it through physical manifestation, is disturbing.
Though FGM is a community-stimulated atrocious practice, it lacks textual backing in any of the holy Islamic scriptures, and is merely peddled along for the continuance of superstitious cultural beliefs.
Does Climate have an impact on spiking FGM?
Where they sound concepts poles apart, climate does adversely impact land-owning families who, deprived of climatic resources have to trade their daughters for bridal price by fulfilling the obligation of genital circumcision as the wedding norm. Financial dependence and distress-trading daughters to source monetary sustenance is an invisible yet inevitable indictment of FGM, where parents and girls are robbed of their abilities to choose to deny.
The increased medicalization termed as the evolution of circumcision is gaining momentum too. But why? Given worldwide protests and the very first-hand witnessing of aftershocks attached to FGM including deaths, the step towards getting healthcare providers to perform the surgeries are a way of avoiding major medical consequences and clinically reducing the risks of fatality. The procedures are now effectively carried out up to 19 years, provided by the UNICEF, every 1 in 3 circumcised adolescents, is operated by a healthcare personnel. Besides, tolerant protestors often view it as a contributory step towards permanent alleviation of the practice. However, it’s been found out that many woman don’t consider seeking Medical help when it comes to circumcision (apparent for their conservative upkeep), while many countries also fail to promise unprejudiced and regular medical care needed in respect with FMG, denouncing it or refusing to take accountability or simply out-casting medical availability to women. Though the practice originates from the most sadistically misogynist sections of the community, carried by the frightened and refused aid by the radicals, the ultimate victim of affliction and denial become the women.
Undoubtedly, female circumcision as the hallmark for mutilating their organs have been historically upheld by community and religious leaders as a visible means to symbolically purifying woman and an invisible desire to instrumentalizing it for exploitation and subjugation of the femininity.
Various steps in light of abrogating the brutal practice has been taken by WHO, UNICEF and UNFPA since 1997, coming up with resolutions, researches and scope of rehabilitation for survivors in 2012, 2016, 2018 and so on. The joint commission plans on riding 2022 with the appointment of PCC —People Centered Counseling where healthcare personnel belonging to the community would be targeted and counseled to overcome their inclination and spread the influence on the ones in deeper-to-reach corners.
Providence of counseling, increased accessibility and awareness about medical support, and a mentality to bring change has been fueled in medicos—held to be the torchbearers of their community.
Efforts in mobilizing awareness about the medical consequences one has to endure throughout her life against futility of the practice is evidentially used to evoke repulsion and elimination of the practice side by side.
Commitment at local, regional, community and country levels have been sought to provide mental and medical care for the victims, erstwhile in formulating laws, policies, advocacy tools, and political opinions to legally bolster the change from familial footsteps to global foregrounds.
No tolerance attitude and Open discussions on the cores of FGM needs to seep through the conservative cells, as we aspire to truly empower women.
Written By: Upasana Kashyap
Graphics By: Blossom
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