On October 4, 2002, Oprah Winfrey did a program entitled Can We Save Amina Lawal's Life? about a young Nigerian woman who has been sentenced to death by stoning. That program inspired me to create this web page to make others aware of Amina Lawal's plight, and the plight of other women around the world.
Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a common practice in parts of Africa and the Middle East, and has spread to some parts of Asia, and even Canada and the United States. Although FGM has become associated with Muslim countries, it is important to note that the practice of FGM predates Islam, and is really more of a cultural than religious practice. The practice is also referred to "female circumcision," though this is a very misleading term. In male circumcision, only the foreskin of the penis is removed, which is only a cosmetic and, according to some, hygienic procedure. The least severe form of FGM, the removal of the clitoris ("clitoridectomy" or "excision"), is equivalent to cutting off the entire head of the penis.
In addition to excision of the clitoris, the inner labia may also be removed, and in the most severe form, known as "infibulation" or "pharaonic circumcision," the outer labia are cut off, and the raw skin that is left is stitched together to leave an opening only a few millimeters across from which urine and menstrual flow can drain. When the girl is married, her husband will "open" her to engage in sexual relations. Usually the girl or woman's legs are lashed together until the she heals and she is sometimes denied water so she will not urinate during the healing process. These procedures are often done using crude, unsterilized instruments, and no anesthetic, resulting in excruciating pain and complications such as hemorrhaging, chronic infection, and complications during childbirth, not to mention long-term social, sexual, and psychological consequences.
The main purpose of FGM appears to be sexual. With the clitoris
removed, sex becomes less pleasurable to a woman, and therefore she is less
likely to engage in premarital or extramarital sex. A lot of FGM is done in
poor rural areas where, as in the other issues discussed, women are uneducated
about their human rights, however, even in the United States and Canada, it
perpetuated by immigrants who hold FGM as part of their cultural identity. FGM
will be hard to eradicate even with human rights education and the support of
political and religious leaders because it is so rooted in tradition. These
cultures believe that mutilated women are more beautiful and more pure. The
clitoris is the female equivalent of the penis, and it is believed that the
removal of this organ makes one more feminine. This should not sound too alien.
It is the same line of thought that persuades Western women to endure bikini
waxes and spiked heels. Obviously FGM is a much more drastic and detrimental
practice. Also, girls and women who try to refuse FGM on themselves or their
daughters are often forcibly mutilated. A number of women and their families
have sought asylum in the United States, Canada, and other countries for fear
that they will be forced to undergo FGM if retuned to their own countries.
Links:
Rising Daughters Aware: Female Genital Mutilation Network and Message Board
Amnesty International--Female Genital Mutilation: A human rights information pack: includes facts on FGM, testimonies, and how Amnesty Internation is combatting FGM