female circumcision Essay -- essays research papers

Female Circumcision Kadi is a four-year-old girl who will never be the same because of her disturbing cultural rituals. Kali wakes up and pleads to play with the other children but her mother does not allow her. Kadi grandmother holds her down to the bare earth as her mother begins to cut her clitoris with a razor. After the very unsafe procedure Kadi cries almost five hours with a dirty rag between her legs as an attempt to stop the bleeding and possible hemorrhaging. Most frequently the operations are performed by an old woman of the village sometimes know as the Gedda. Usually a woman performs the surgery but rarely does the mother do it. Before the surgery in certain communities there is a huge tribal dance and celebration. The music proceeds through the surgery in an attempt to bury the cries and screams of the victim. The operation is performed in diverse communities by different people and with a variety of tools. In more sophisticated communities, a qualified doctor performs the operation with sterilized tools. In the more uninformed societies, a traditional birth mother performs the operation using an assortment of tools ranging from knives and razors to jagged stones taken straight from the ground. Female circumcision is the fractional or complete removal of the external genitalia, varying from removal of the prepuce (hood) of the clitoris only, to full excision of the clitoris, labia minora and labia majora. There are three forms of female circumcision; the first is Clitoridectomy which is the removal of the prepuce of the clitoris; the second is Excision which is the removal of the prepuce, the clitoris and the labia minora ; the third Infibulations is the removal of the prepuce, the whole labiae minora and majora and stitching together the two sides of the vulva leaving a small orifice to permit the flow of urine and menstrual discharge. (p17 Koso) 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. Razor blades, knives or scissors are the most common instruments used. There are several problems that arise from circumcision immediately after the surgery there is immense pain then hemorrhaging, shock, urinary retention, infection, fever and even death. After a couple of wee... ...sadvantage them in finding husbands. If a woman is not desirable or marriage worthy then social and economic consequences will negatively affect the woman and her entire family. Since the practice holds such cultural and marital significance, it is increasingly recognized that to end the practice it is necessary to work strongly with local communities to educate and bring about awareness to the situation. In conclusion, the abolishment of female circumcision would be hard for the cultures that practice this procedure to comprehend as to why it should be abolished. I agree with the measure that some cultures that once practiced female circumcision are now taking in order stop the mutilation without taking away the belief that a woman should be a virgin when wedded. References Dorkenoo, Elsworth. Tradition Tradition. 1992 Forward Ltd. Report of the First Study Conference of Genital Mutilation of Girls in Europe/Western World. 1993. Koso-Thomas. O. The Circumcision of Women: A Strategy for Eradication. 1992. Scilla, E. Female Genital Mutilation: Proposal for Change. 1992. Toubia. N. Female Genital Mutilation. A Call for Global Action. 1993.