No health benefits, only harm FGM has no health benefits, and it harms girls and women in many ways. It involves removing and damaging healthy and normal female genital tissue, and it interferes with the natural functions of girls' and women's bodies.
FGM has no health benefits. It can lead to immediate health risks, as well as long-term complications to women's physical, mental and sexual health and well-being.
Psychosexual reasons: FGM is carried out as a way to control women's sexuality, which is sometimes said to be insatiable if parts of the genitalia, especially the clitoris, are not removed. It is thought to ensure virginity before marriage and fidelity afterward, and to increase male sexual pleasure.
Results: The group of 137 women, affected by different types of FGM/C, reported orgasm in almost 86%, always 69.23%; 58 mutilated young women reported orgasm in 91.43%, always 8.57%; after defibulation 14 out of 15 infibulated women reported orgasm; the group of 57 infibulated women investigated with the FSFI ...
Childbirth complications (obstetric complications).
FGM is associated with an increased risk of caesarean section, postpartum haemorrhage, recourse to episiotomy, difficult labour, obstetric tears/lacerations, instrumental delivery, prolonged labour, and extended maternal hospital stay.
In most cases, the abuser incorrectly thinks they're behaving in the best interests of the child. They believe flattening the breasts will make the child less 'womanly'. They hope this will protect the girl from harassment, rape, abduction and early forced marriage, and help them stay in education.
Girls and women who undergo FGM often experience long-term health consequences including scarring, cysts, abcesses and other tissue damage, infertility, and increased susceptibility to infections. They may experience difficulty and pain when they menstruate, urinate or have sexual intercourse.
Type IV is the mildest form and includes any form of other harm done to the genitalia by pricking, piercing, cutting, scraping, or burning. World Health Organization classification of female genital cutting. Type I, also known as clitoridectomy or sunna, involves removing part or all of the clitoris and/or the prepuce.
FGM has serious implications for the physical, psychological, and sexual and reproductive health of girls and women. Often carried out under unsanitary conditions without anesthetic, FGM can cause severe pain, bleeding, and swelling that may prevent passing urine or feces.
Signs FGM might have taken place
Having difficulty walking, standing or sitting. Spending longer in the bathroom or toilet. Appearing quiet, anxious or depressed. Acting differently after an absence from school or college.
framework of the ancient Egyptian empires, FGM was implemented as a means of perpetuating inequality between the classes, with families cutting young girls and women, signifying their commitment to the wealthy, polygamous men of their society.
Abstract. Female genital mutilation (FGM) or circumcision refers to the unnecessary procedure that damages or removes the external genitalia of females. It is mostly practiced in African countries and some Asian regions, particularly the Middle East, and is performed because of cultural, religious, and social reasons.
FGM is often referred to as female circumcision. This term implies a comparable practice to male circumcision. However, the degree of excision and trauma involved in FGM is generally much more extensive, including the actual removal of genital organs.
FGM is most often carried out on young girls aged between infancy and 15 years old. It is often referred to as 'cutting', 'female circumcision', 'initiation', 'Sunna' and 'infibulation'.
Known as khatna, khafz, and khafd, the procedure is performed on six- or seven-year-old girls and involves the total or partial removal of the clitoral hood.
FGM is a violation of girls' and women's rights
Because FGM is usually performed without permission and against will, it violates girls' right to make important decisions about their sexual and reproductive health. At least 200 million girls and women alive today in 30 countries worldwide have been subjected to FGM.
The practice is almost universal in Somalia, Guinea and Djibouti, with levels above 90 per cent, while it affects no more than 1 per cent of girls and women in Cameroon and Uganda. However, FGM is a human rights issue that affects girls and women worldwide.
It may take months or a year for full recovery after FGM/C surgery, including the return of: Color. Sensation. Sexual function.
There is no exact established region where FGM's origin is dated back to, however, scholars have proposed Ancient Egypt and Sudan. Others claim it originated from Ancient Rome, stating that FGM was implemented on the female slaves to prevent pregnancy and sexual relations.
Similarly, the changes in the vaginal environment after the mutilation may become unfavourable to sperm, and also less able to guard against constant infection leading to further inflammation – all of which reduces fertility.
Different types of female genital cutting
The hood of skin that sits over the clitoris (prepuce) is removed. The clitoris may or may not be removed in part or in total. Type II – clitoridectomy, 'sunna' or excision and circumcision. The entire clitoris is removed.
Root causes of FGM in Tanzania
FGM remains primarily a cultural rather than a religious practice, occurring across different religious and ethnic groups in Tanzania and with wide variation between different ethnic groups within the same region.