Female circumcision: Where is this most common?!
Question: Also, is "female circumcision" the proper name, as I always associated circumcision with cutting a man's foreskin
Answers: Also, is "female circumcision" the proper name, as I always associated circumcision with cutting a man's foreskin
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/co...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Female_geni...
Female Circumcision are performed a lot in African tribes..ones in the rain forest...mostly. I think it is actually illegal for female circumcision in Canada
Africa...Hahahaha...Look at the answer above mine...African tribes, in the rain Forrest?...Oh man, that's funny.
It is a brutal procedure that is most common on the African continent. That Wikipedia link is the best and most organized source of info I could suggest.
To 'crknapp79,' do your research before you insult someone, there are indeed rainforests in Africa. Maybe you should check out the link listed below.
Female circumcision, or "Female Genital Mutilation" (FGM) is most common in Africa followed by a number of Muslim countries in Africa and the Middle East. It is not part of Islamic teaching (in the Koran), but is practiced by a small percentage of Muslims throughout the world including Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines (but not Southern Thailand, Cambodia or Myanmar).
There are several forms of FGM and vary in severity.
a) Ceremonial -- scratching the clitoris ceremonially. This is the least painful form.
b) Clitodectomy -- The removal/cutting of the clitoris. This is done when a girl is usually around 4-6 years old. It is frequently performed by an elderly woman in the tribe who uses a broken piece of glass, a razor blade and there is no antiseptic or pain-killers used. It is painful. Some girls develop infections and other complications from this operation.
c) A more more severe form, the name I have forgotten, is when both the clitoris and the Labia Minora are cut. Again this is painful and is done by a Elderly woman in the village with whatever is available to do the cutting. Girls in some villages/tribes have this done at around 4-6 while in other tribes in is done just before a girl marries -- 12-14 years old.
d) Infibulation - This is the most severe form of FGM. It involves the cutting and removal of the clitoris and the Labia minora plus the scrapping of the Labia Majora then sewing the Labia Majora together leaving only a small hole for the girl to urinate and menstruate. Again this is done by the elderly women of the village/community with whatever is available for cutting. It is extremely painful and many women suffer major infections and other complications from this operation. Because of blocking the correct flow of urine and menstrual blood, it causes greater infections.
The reasoning behind performing FGM is that it reduces the pleasure a woman can have during sex plus the pain during sex with the more severe forms makes the woman unlikely to want sex with anyone other than her husband, and therefore 'faithful".
Male circumcision is primarily religious with both Jews and Muslims, being a covenant unto god. It has a basis in health as people living in a desert with little water, there is not enough water to wash. This was one way of remaining healthy.
actually the preferred term now is "female genital cutting" First it was female circumcision, but that didn't quite convey the horror of it because Americans think its ok to circumcise boys (European nations find it barbaric). Then they used Female genital mutilation. This adequately describes the horror, but is not very culturally sensitive. After all, if someone told you you were mutilating your daughters, would you really want to hold an open, understanding conversation with them?
To appease both sides and facilitate meaningful conversation amongst the people who practice it they now you "female genital cutting".
As for prevalence, mostly Northern Africa, with % of circumcised women increasing as you head east. Rates are highest, I believe, in Ethiopia.
90% of genital cutting is Type 1 (cutting or removal of the clitoral hood) or Type 2 (removal of the clitoris and/or labia minora)
Type 3 makes up only 10% of cases, this is the most severe, cutting away all the external genitalia and sewing up the vagina.
There is also Type 4 which is miscellanious genital cutting, scarring etc. -Neb