Mutilation of Female Genitals in Africa

3.05.2011 | By: J. P.

There are at least 100 million women in the world, especially in Africa, that get mutilated in the name of tradition.

Usually the mutilation of the genitals takes place at the age of three, while some of the girls are much older.

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What is female genital mutilation?

Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a procedure, in which a woman - often still a young girl - loses some of the vital parts of her genitals, which are cut off. World Health Organization considers this procedure a violation of basic human rights, that's why it tries to limit the phenomenon as much as it can and to abolish it. The mutilation of female genitals is far from being a minor procedure with no major health risks, as is the case with male circumcision. In fact, it is an extremely painful, life-long maiming, performed on girls by unskilled and uneducated women and carried out with no anaesthesia. FGM usually has serious psychological consequences and ends with grave health problems, often even with a girl's dying in great pain.

Types of female genital cutting

FGM includes four main types of maiming:

1) Sunna circumcision is the removal of the skin of the clitoris (prepuce) and/or the hood of the clitoris. Sunna denotes 'tradition' in Arabic.
2) Clitoridectomy or excision stands for the removal of the whole clitoris (prepuce and glans) and the cutting off of labia minora.
3) Infibulation or pharaonic circumcision is the most extreme form of FGM, as it means the removal of the whole clitoris, the labia minora as well as the labia majora. The mutilated sides of the vulva are then sewn together with thorns and intestines or thread. The genitals "grow" and only a small hole remains for the outflow of urine and menstrual blood. On the wedding night, a man cuts this tissue of his infibulated wife with a knife, so he can have sexual intercourse with her.
4) The fourth type denotes even worse forms of female genital cutting, for example cauterization of the clitoris, etching with chemical extracts of plants, scratching out the vagina, etc.

Approximately 85% of female genital mutilation procedures belong to the first two types. The third and fourth category are much more rare.

Genital mutilation often leads to death

In contrast to male circumcision, female genital cutting seems incomparably more painful and associated with numerous complications during the procedure itself as well as later in life. In majority of cases, the procedure is carried out unprofessionally and with insufficient hygiene, which entails infections that can be fatal for the woman. Genital mutilation is normally carried out by a local "midwife", a quack who tackles female private parts with unsterilized sharp objects such as razors, scissors, kitchen knives or even pieces of glass. These objects are usually used on more than one girl without being cleansed beforehand, which makes the transmission of viruses, for example HIV, very likely. Frequently, women are as a result faced with tetanus, heavy bleeding and of course a lot of pain. Even when the wounds heal well, urination and sexual intercourse remain painful. However, what often happens is that the outflow of menstrual blood is blocked, which leads to the poisoning of the whole body. Other problems that occur are genital deformation, delayed period, chronic troubles with the pelvis, the staying of urine inside the body and a whole range of complications in pregnancy – from infections of the phoetus to problems because of a narrowed vagina. In such cases, a woman giving birth has to be "reopened", just to be sewn together again after the birth.