The FGM related health consequences have been investigated and reported. A more recent systematic review showing that women with FGM were more likely to experience dyspareunia, reduced sexual satisfaction and reduced sexual desire [11, 12].
The practice has no health benefits for girls and women and cause severe bleeding and problems urinating, and later cysts, infections, as well as complications in childbirth and increased risk of newborn deaths. The practice of FGM is recognized internationally as a violation of the human rights of girls and women.
A clitoridectomy is often done to remove malignancy or necrosis of the clitoris. This is sometimes done along with a radical complete vulvectomy. Surgery may also become necessary due to therapeutic radiation treatments to the pelvic area. Removal of the clitoris may be due to malignancy or trauma.
Every woman has the right to have sexual health and to feel sexual pleasure for full psychophysical well-being of the person. In accordance with other research, the present study reports that FGM/C women can also have the possibility of reaching an orgasm.
FGM can cause a lifetime of serious health problems and pain. 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.
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.
The most frequently cited reasons for carrying out FGM are social acceptance, religion, misconceptions about hygiene, a means of preserving a girl or woman's virginity, making the woman "marriageable" and enhancing male sexual pleasure.
Types of Surgery
Clitorectomy (removal of the whole clitoris) was used in the past but is not now an acceptable option. The clitoris is recognized as an important sensory organ involved in sexual response.
It's very painful and can seriously harm the health of women and girls. It can also cause long-term problems with sex, childbirth and mental health.
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.
At Penn Medicine, one of our renowned plastic surgeons pioneered reconstructive surgery that restores genital function and form after FGM/C. The procedure improves the appearance of patients' genitals, may increase sexual function and helps restore physical and emotional well-being.
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'.
Female genital mutilation (FGM) can cause complications before and during pregnancy. It can make it more difficult to get pregnant and can sometimes cause complications during labour and birth.
A girl who has had FGM may have difficulty walking, standing or sitting and could spend longer in the bathroom or toilet. They could also appear withdrawn, anxious or depressed and exhibit unusual behaviour after an absence from school or college.
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 practised by the Dawoodi Bohra, a sect of Shia Islam with one million members in India. 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 has been practiced mainly in the western, eastern, and north-eastern regions of Africa and some countries in the Middle East and Asia. FGM is also found in western countries such as United Kingdom, United States and Canada.
For Muslims, male circumcision is performed for religious reasons, mainly to follow the sunnah (practice) of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. Moreover, there are attempts to label it as a contributor to cleanliness / personal hygiene. These are done largely to grant the practice scientific legitimacy and a moral foundation.
Girls and women who have undergone FGM live predominately in sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab States, but FGM is also practiced in select countries in Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America.
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.
Type III is the most severe type of FGM, known as infibulation, which involves the narrowing of the vaginal orifice with the creation of a seal that is formed by cutting and then stitching the labia minora and/or the labia majora with or without excision of the clitoris.
Injury to the genitals can be very painful. It may cause a lot of bleeding. Such injury can affect the reproductive organs and the bladder and urethra. Damage may be temporary or permanent.
Common reasons for FGM cited by women in surveys are social acceptance, religion, hygiene, preservation of virginity, marriageability and enhancement of male sexual pleasure.