Female Genital Mutilation

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM), a destructive, invasive procedure that is usually performed on girls before puberty where part or all of the clitoris is surgically removed, leaving girls with reduced or no sexual feeling. FGM originated in Africa and remains a cultural and not a religious practice. It examines the reasoning behind the practice as well as the cultural and religious ideas in Africa and outlines the different forms it takes depending on the culture.

From the Paper:

"Because of poverty and lack of medical facilities, the procedure is frequently done under less than hygienic conditions, and often without anesthetic by other than medically trained personnel. Anesthesia is rarely used and razor blades, knives or scissors are usually the instruments used. In the rural Mossi areas of Burkina Faso, group female circumcisions are scheduled every three years in many villages. Girls aged from 5 to 8 are assembled by their mothers into groups of up to 20."

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