Background about female genital mutilation

What Is Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)? 

• Procedures that alter or injure female genitalia for non-medical reasons
• No health benefits for girls and women who undergo this procedure 
• Mostly carried out between infancy to 15 years of age 
• 100 - 140 million girls around the world are living with the consequences of FGM
• In Africa, an estimated 92 million girls have undergone this procedure 

"FGM IS RECOGNIZED AS A VIOLATION OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF GIRLS AND WOMEN INTERNATIONALLY"

(WHO, 2010)

Taken from: http://www.medicine4faith.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/female-circumcision.jpg

Who performs the procedure?

• Often performed by traditional circumcisers who have central roles in communities
• local midwives or senior village women

• There is an increase in FGM being performed by health care providers.

FGM is classified into 4 types:

1. Clitoridectomy:
• Partial or total removal of the clitoris
• Rarely remove only the prepuce (fold of skin surrounding clitoris)
2. Excision:
• Partial or total removal of the clitoris and labia minora, with or without the removal of the labia majora (“lips” that surround the vagina)
3. Infibulation: 
• Most severe form of mutilation 
• Narrowing of the vaginal opening through a creation of a covering seal
4. Other: 
• Pricking, piercing, incising, scraping, and cauterizing of the genital area

(WHO, 2010)

Taken from: http://www.globalpulsejournal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/fgm-instruments.jpg

Procedure and equipment  

• In villages

• knives, old razor blades, broken glass, and sharp stones are used

• In local health clinics

• scalpels are used to perform FGM
• tools are often unsterilized and the procedures are performed without anesthesia

Why does female genital mutilation happen?

• Due to a mix of cultural, religious, and social factors within families and communities

• Unclear of when and where this practice first started, but it has existed for over 2000 years

• Social pressure to conform in certain cultures

• FGM is considered a fundamental step in raising a girl properly, and a way to prepare her for adulthood and marriage. 
• A woman is considered respectable and virtuous if she undergoes this procedure.

• FGM is intended to preserve the girl’s virginity until she is married. 

• The sewing of the vagina is performed to discourage any pre-marital sexual behavior by instilling fear of the pain of opening the vagina and the fear that she will be found out.

• Men who come from the areas where FGM is practiced will view an uncircumcised woman as being immoral and disgusting.

• FGM is considered to be the culture’s ideal view of femininity and modesty. The girls are considered to be “clean” and “beautiful” after the removal of body parts that are considered to be “male” or “unclean”