WINA STREE SHAKTI SERIES NO. 5
FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION
Anna Vareed Alexander
WINA INDIA
September, 1986
WINA STREE SHAKTI SERIES No. 5
FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION
Inhuman Cruelty to Girls and Women
© WINA INDIA 1986
Printed at the National Printing Press
Bangalore
Introduction
WINA already has four publications in the WINA Stree Shakti Series
(WSSS) to its credit.
Women's Bodies (WSSS No.5) is a book planned by WINA
to help remove some of the colossal ignorance about women's bodies and
bodily functions. The book is also intended to expose some of the ways
in which women's bodies are misused and exploited, depriving women of
control over their own bodies. Female genital mutilation is one of the
most despicable of these methods.
This article on Female Genital Mutilation written
for the book evoked much interest when it was mentioned in our
newsletter WINA VANI. Hence we are printing this article right away, as
the book is likely to be greatly delayed because of our several prior-
commitments. It will also be printed by In God's Image, CCA, Singapore.
We earnestly hope that this article will help to create public opinion
against this cruel practice. This is WINA's contribution to the
struggle to lessen the sufferings of our African and Asian sisters.
We request you to spread this information, raise
public opinion against it, and help eradicate this crude practice.
JESSTELLANN
WINA TEAM
FEMALE GENITAL MUTLATION
Inhuman Cruelty to Girls and Women
The practice of genital mutilation of females
(cutting part of the female organs) goes way back into antiquity and
has been shrouded in secrecy. Where it began, how and why are questions
that have not been adequately answered. However, a practice that
affects the health, happiness and lives of an estimated sixty-five to
eighty-five million women and girls in some fo the Asian countries
cannot shrugged off any longer.
The feminist press has helped to bring this issue
out the open, and aided by the efforts of African women, the issue has
found a place in the agenda of the W.H.O and other international
organizations.1 At the N.G.O Forum 1985 in Nairobi to mark the
end of the Decade of women, one of the important workshops was on
Female Genital Mutilation.
How it is performed
As the terms suggests, women and girls (usually
girls) are ritually mutilated or maimed for life by the cutting away
(excision) of all or part of their external genitalia (sexual organs),
depending on the local ethnic and cultural customs. The extent of the
excision may range all the way from the mere snipping of the hood of
the clitoris or the tip of the clitoris, to the total removal of not
only the clitoris but also the labia, minora, labia majora and
even the mons veneris, making the area perfectly flat. In the most
severe forms of mutilation excision is followed by the fastening
together or stitching together (infibulation) of the two sides of the
raw surface, so as to leave only a tiny artificial opening for urine
and the menstrual flow.
The age at which the operation is performed varies
from a few days to just before marriage to even after the birth of the
first baby. Traditionally, and in the majority of cases especially in
rural areas, the operation is performed by traditional village midwives
or other women, using the crudest fo instruments, without any
anesthesia, and under highly unsterile conditions. Sometimes the
ceremony is a public one in which a whole group of girls is
mutilated in a mass ceremony accompanied by rituals and feasting.
In other places, it is a very private affairs, which takes place
without much fanfare, in the victim's own home without her being
prepared for it or for the pain that follows
Excision is usually performed with kitchen knives, razors or even
pieces of glass-all unsterilised. The victim is held down by several
other women to keep her from struggling. The infibulation (fastening
raw surfaces together) is done with acacia thorns, metal wire, plastic
thread or locally available adhesive materials (one of these is a
combination of cigarette paper and egg white). Complete closure of the
wound is prevented by the insertion of a small piece of wood, usually a
match stick, to create a minute artificial opening through which urine
and .menstrual discharge have to find their way out.
The operation completed, the victim's legs are
tightly bound together to enable the raw areas to join together and
heal, leaving a flattened Vulva and a closed scar with only the tiny
opening already mentioned. The victim lies bound and totally immobile
for weeks, sometimes up to forty days, during which time, "all the
excrement evidently remains with her in the bandage".
As these mutilations are performed without
anesthetics, younger victims are preferred because they can be held
down and made immobile with less trouble than those who are older and
stronger. Frequently, the struggles of the victims cause further
complications and more excessive mutilation than is intended,
especially if the operator is unskilled and clumsy in her work. Thus
accidental damage to the anus and ureter and the cutting of vital
nerves and arteries do often result
Nowadays, some-well-to-do urban families have their daughters operated
in hospitals by doctors or trained midwives, using anesthetics, and
under aseptic conditions.
Origin and where it is practiced
Female genital mutilation is mentioned in early
records dating back to long before the birth of Christ. It is not clear
whether the practice originated in one place and spread to other areas
or whether "it started in several parts of the world independently". It
probably originated as an ancient pagan puberty of initiation rite.
The practice is very widespread in Africa stretching
right across the continent and covering roughly 32 countries in East,
Central and West Africa. Practice is by no means uniform but some forms
of clitoridectomy and/or labiadectomy exist in these countries. More
severe forms of excision and inifibulation are still practiced in parts
of Southern Egypt, Northern Sudan, Eritrea (in Ethiopia). Djibouti and
Somalia.
Some forms of excision also exist in Asia, in the
southern part of the Arabian Peninsula, in Aden, Oman, the United Arab
Emirates, and North Yemen and to some extent in Bahrain. Some Muslim
people of Indonesia and Malaysia and a few Muslim sects in India also
practice some forms of excision.
Immigrants to European countries from Africa and
Asia have carried their customs with them and continue to have their
little girls "done" in their countries of adoption, usually privately
and in secret
It is evident from all the above that there is no
uniformity and practices vary widely. Though detailed statistics are
not available, there is sufficient evidence to show that:
1. The practice is widespread, and
2. Women and girls suffer both physically and mentally because of
it.
Effects
The excruciating pain suffered by the victims at the
time of mutilation can only be imagined. But their agony does not
end there for it is only the beginning of a lifetime of suffering.
Besides the immediate shock and haemorrhage which
may even be fatal, the wounds have every possibility of becoming
infected. Bandaging the legs can interfere to the uterus, kidneys
and other internal organs. Urine retention is quite common the
first few days after the ordeal, and urination may be painful for a
long time after. Sometimes, accidental damage caused to the
uterer and anus may result in permanent incontinence (loss of sphincter
control). These are just some of the immediate
consequences. More is yet to follow.
Every stage and every aspect of the sexual life of a
victim of genital mutilation is made needlessly painful and traumatic
as a direct result of mutilation, especially where infibulation is
performed.
1. An infibulated victim may require a second operation at
the onset of menstruation to enlarge the artificial opening and allow
the menstrual discharge to escape. Cases have been reported of
obstructed menstrual discharge 'building up into a mass in the lower
abdomen.'
2. At the time of marriage, normal sexual intercourse
cannot take place with an infibulated victim because the opening is too
small to allow penetration. So, again, the opening has to be
enlarged, either by the husband himself using a razor or any handy
instrument, or a midwife has to be summoned. This, again, may
cause haemorrhage and infection, not to speak of the pain. Sexual
intercourse becomes agony for the infibulated woman.
3. Childbirth cannot take place without the opening being
enlarged. Often scar tissue forms. So, again, cutting becomes
necessary, and, after the birth the opening is sewn up again until the
next baby arrives. The sewing up is done so al to ensure "a tighter
more comfortable fit for her owner." Thus, there is always "an
avoidable external wound at every consecutive birth." One
Sudanese woman relating the experiences of her neighbour who had 17
childbirths described it thus: " They cut it and they sewed it and they
cut it and they sewed it as if it were a piece of cloth.
4. The scar tissue that forms over the wound is rigid and
inelastic increasing the pain and risk of haemorrhage during
childbirth. Also, this may increase the length of the second stage of
labour thereby endangering the baby's life and causing other
complications to both mother and child.
5. The victim's fertility can be adversely affected, not
only because intercourse and conception are made difficult, but also
because of chronic infections of the uterus and Fallopian tubes as a
result of the mutilation.
6. Many women and girls develop mild to severe
psychological problems which may be lifelong, as all aspects of their
sexual lives becomes associated with great fear and anxiety.
In the mildest forms of mutilation where
only the clitoris is snipped or removed and no infibulation is
performed, some of the above-mentioned ill-effects do not arise. But,
even here, the victim's sex life is seriously affected. The clitoris
being "the most sexually sensitive part of a woman's body," any damage
to it prevents a woman from deriving pleasure from sexual intercourse.
So, all forms of mutilation, however mild, inevitably result in the
irreplaceable loss of a part of her body and deprive the victim of
sexual pleasure-which is precisely the reason why women are mutilated
in this manner.
The rationale
Women's sexually has always been a source of
male anxiety. Thus, in every culture various efforts have been made to
control female sexuality, genital mutilation being one of the crudest
and cruelest methods of control ever devised. This barbaric custom is
firmly rooted in the myth (spawned by male fears) of the "Insatiable
Female" who will ruin both herself and society by her promiscuity
unless her sexuality is carefully controlled.
Genital mutilation was invented as a neat solution
to the problem of how women's sexuality should be controlled, in order
that society and the males who dominate society could get maximum
benefit from women's bodies with minimum disadvantages. This brutal
practice allows women to (1) satisfy male sexual needs and (2) to bear
children -both these being considered essential societal needs. But,
sexual pleasure for women being considered non-essential and downright
dangerous, the organ of women's sexual pleasure (the clitoris) is
easily dispensed with. Thus. genital mutilation leaves a victim with a
vagina (for male sexual pleasure) plus all her internal reproductive
apparatus (for producing babies), which is all (it is considered) she
needs to satisfy societal needs and fulfill her biological function in
life.
Infibulation was invented as a further refinement to
try to ensure that only one "owner" could have access to a woman
(supposedly to curd social problems of immorality, illegitimacy and
rape.)
The supportive framework
The practice of female genital mutilation being
against nature, it cannot survive for long without a framework of
myths, superstitions, even religious approval, to prop it up. Human
ingenuity has supplied plentiful material for this supportive framework
which gullible and ignorant people have accepted without question: that
if ensures the birth of male children, makes childbirth easier, is
necessary for hygiene, is a religious duty. Most of these myths,
superstitions and untruths can be religious leaders, making it out to
be a religious duty, is proving to be a religious duty, is proving to
be one of the greatest obstacles to the eradication of this practice.
Islam and Circumcision
There are many who firmly (and erroneously) believe
that the practice originated in the Islamic tradition.2 There are more
than sufficient records and irrefutable evidence to show that the
practice was in existence "long before the birth of Islam".
Further, the practice is noticeably absent in the
land where Islam was born, namely Saudi Arabia. Female genital
mutilation is not even mentioned in the Koran. But, some other
religious books of the prophetic tradition "do give weak support for a
minor form of excision," and some Muslim religious leaders have
recommended the practice " in view of its effects on attenuating the
sexual desire in women and directing it to the desirable
moderation"(Male fears again!) It is statements like the above that
have helped to preserve this practice among some Muslims, including
some sects here in India.
Calling female genital mutilation by the euphemistic
term "female circumcision" has bolstered the false belief among those
Muslims who practice it that it is a religious requirement for females,
as circumcision is for the males. Male circumcision, on the other hand,
is a religious duty required of all Muslim (and Jewish) males, and the
procedure involved is relatively simple: only the prepuce or the
foreskin at the top of the glans penis is removed leaving all other
parts of the male genitalia intact and functional. Male circumcision
does not in any way destroy sexual pleasure. Further, in male
circumcision "there is no equivalent of infibulation". Thus the term
"female circumcision" is misleading and incorrect and should not be
used.
Conclusion
Genital mutilation not only destroys the perfection
and wholeness of women's bodies created in God's image, but also denies
women control over their bodies and their sexual lives. These are very
serious denials of women's human rights, apart from the needless
suffering brought upon women. As women we cannot stand by in silence
and allow such a dehumanizing practice to continue. Hence, our duty as
women is clear with regard to this obnoxious practice.
However, efforts to eradicate genital mutilation of
women and girls have been largely futile, as the practice is of great
antiquity and well established. Legal sanctions against it have helped
to drive it underground (as in Sudan). In Kenya, opposition to its
eradication was so strong that Jomo Kenyatta was able to make it a
political issue and use it to climb to power and win freedom for his
country from colonial rule.
Since the problem cuts across geographic, political,
ethnic and religious barriers, it cannot be considered a local problem.
Hence, efforts to stamp it out have to be made on a global basis. Some
brave women are "waging isolated campaigns against this custom" in
their own countries. These women need our support because "the
exploitation, mutilation or subjugation of any woman even if she is
10,000 kilometres from where we live, is the mutilation and subjugation
of us all." (Benoite Groult)
References
El Dereer, Asma, Woman Why Do You Weep? (Circumcision and its
Consequences), London, Zed Press, 1983.
“Female Circumcision,” Woman’s Era, Vol. 11, No. 286, pp. 35-38, 1985.
Hosken, Fran P. The Hosken Report, Genital and Sexual
Mutilation of Females (Third Ed. 1982) and An Action Guide
(1980). Both published by WIN NEWS, Lexington, USA.
Levin, Tobe, “Genital Mutilation... The Unspeakable Atrocity” in
Manushi, No. 8, pp. 39-43, 1981.
Sanderson, Lillian Passmore, Against the Mutilation of Women: The
Struggle to End Unnecessary Suffering, London: Ithaca Press,
1981. (Also A Bibliography, 1986).
1.INDIAN WOMANHOOD: THEN AND NOW
Situation, Efforts, Profiles.
Ed. Jessie B. Tellis- Nayak
310 pp (1983) Price: Rs.25/-paper back;
Rs.35/-hard bound
2.THE EMERGING CHRISTIAN WOMAN.
Church and Society Perpectives
Eds.S. Faria, A.V.Alexander, J.B. Tellis-Nayak
260 pp (1984) Price : Rs.25/-Paper back;
Rs.32/- hard bound
Both available from: Satprakashan Sanchar Kendra,
Indore-452001. M.P.
3.ON LEGAL BONDAGE- Women's Struggle for Justice.
Price: Rs. 2.00 (1985) Available at WINA office
4. N.G.O FORUM'85, Nairobi
by Jessie B. Tellis- Nayak, Satprakashan Sanchar
Kendra,
Indore-452001,1986
5.FEMALE GENITAL MULTILATION
by Anna Vareed Alexander
Price Rs.2/-each, less for bulk orders
Forthcoming:- WINA VANI Special-Sketches on Women by Women
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For Booklets 3&5 you may also Write to:
WINA,
Co-ordinator
John's Hill, N.G Road,
Attawar, Mangalore-575001