Had an interesting conversation with my husband about FGM

[leftieNanner]

After he read the report about the Pope's comments recently, he asked me what FGM (female genital mutilation) was. I explained it in detail and he was horrified! He tried to come up with a comparable male procedure and other than "cut it all off", he could not.

It's horrific at any time and in any place, but the fact that it continues here in the US is beyond comprehension. I do not know whether there is any solution.

[applegrove]

1. Charge the family members and people who are involved with the FGM with assault. Put them

in prison.

[GoneOffShore]

2. Assault and torture.

[applegrove]

3. Yes.

[True Blue American]

4. Circumcised.

[Just A Box Of Rain]

6. Not comparable and the false correlation is deeply unhelpful.

[True Blue American]

11. She asked for a comparison

Some people consider that multinational. I do not.

[Just A Box Of Rain]

14. Right. And circumcision isn't analogous to the removal of a woman's clitoris.

[True Blue American]

16. But it still is male genital surgery.

[Just A Box Of Rain]

17. Please don't undermine the campaign against FGM with these false equivelences.

They are very damaging to the interests of women who have been (or may be) mutilated.

Please stop!

[obamanut2012]

8. Male circumcision is not the same as FGM, and this false equivalency hurts banning

I believe that male infants should not be circumcised until they are old enough to decide to do it, but that is a far different matter. A man's dick is not cut off, and that is what the clitoris is. Or rather and more accurately, a man's penis is a form of clitoris.

[leftieNanner]

13. In circumcision, the foreskin is removed from the penis

In FGM, the clitoris is cut off, external labia are removed, and the internal labia are sewn shut - leaving only a small opening for urination and menstruation.

Not the same thing at all.

[Just A Box Of Rain]

5. Sadly. I know a woman who was mulated as a girl in Egypt.

She became an anti-FGM activist and I volunteered to edit a film project that she directed.

FGM is a ghastly practice that needs to end.

[jalan48]

7. FGM info from human rights watch

7. In which countries is FGM practiced?

FGM is practiced in more than 27 countries in the African subcontinent, and in communities in Malaysia and Indonesia in Asia. FGM is also common among migrant communities in North America, Europe, and Australia.

In the Middle East and North Africa, FGM is practiced in countries such as Egypt, Yemen, and Iraqi Kurdistan. FGM is also believed to be practiced to a lesser extent among communities in Oman, Jordan, and the Occupied Palestinian Territories and was practiced by Falasha Jews in Ethiopia. Recent studies also reveal that FGM is practiced in Kurdish communities in Iran.


https://www.hrw.org/news/2010/06/16/qa-female-genital-mutilation?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI9an7wO2c-wIV4xmtBh0nYwfqEAAYASAAEgIcHfD_BwE

[brush]

9. The purpose is to suppress female sexuality...

but does affect fertility and ability to give birth?

[leftieNanner]

12. It's possible that infection might impact fertility and birth

But when the girl is of child bearing age, they cut everything back open that was sewn shut.

Barbaric.

[brush]

18. Barbaric absolutely. And cutting everything back open...

after cutting off much of the clitoris is of little recompense.

[Hekate]

10. KnR

[IcyPeas]

15. WHO (World Health Organization) says

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/female-genital-mutilation

The procedure is performed differently depending on the country and region where it takes place. FGM is mostly done in parts of northern and central Africa, the southern Sahara, and in some parts of Asia and the Middle East, per the Office on Women's Health.

Here are the different types of FGM, per the WHO:

Type 1: This is the partial or total removal of the external part of the clitoris and/or the clitoral hood.
Type 2: This is the partial or total removal of the clitoral glans and the labia minora (the inner folds of the vulva), with or without removal of the labia majora (the outer folds of skin of the vulva).
Type 3: This is the narrowing of the vaginal opening through the creation of a covering seal that’s formed by cutting and repositioning the labia minora, or labia majora, sometimes through stitching, with or without removal of the clitoral hood and glans.
Type 4: This includes all other harmful procedures to the female genitalia for non-medical purposes, like pricking, piercing, incising, scraping, and cauterizing the genital area.

There are immediate and long-term effects that can come from undergoing FGM.

Immediate side effects, per the WHO, include:

severe pain
excessive bleeding
genital tissue swelling
fever
infections
urinary problems
wound healing problems
injury to surrounding genital tissue
shock
death

Long-term complications may include:

urinary problems
vaginal problems
menstrual problems
scar tissue and keloid
sexual problems
increased risk of childbirth complications
need for later surgeries (like needing to have a stitched vagina opened after marriage so a woman can have sex)
psychological effects

Deinfibulation refers to the practice of cutting open the sealed vaginal opening of a woman who has been infibulated, which is often necessary for improving health and well-being as well as to allow intercourse or to facilitate childbirth.