Female Genital Mutilation, Also Known As Female Essay

Female Genital Mutilation, also known as female circumcision is a practice largely in some African countries and is a process where young girls (and sometimes women) have their clitoris removed through unsafe surgical procedures. The procedure is usually done by someone with no medical training and no type of anesthesia is used. As a result, many of the young girls go into shock from the severe which often leads to death. Infection is also a threat since the instruments used to perform the procedure have not been sterilized. It is believed that this practiced is done for religious purposes, but many consider it barbaric. Those living in America, Europe and other countries do not understand the reasoning behind this practice and many have sought to abolish it, but different cultures have very different practices and what is considered barbaric to one culture may be considered normal to another.

According to Ball, some of the reasons behind the performance of the procedure are treatment for epilepsy, lesbianism or to control the urge to masturbate. She says that some African cultures consider female circumcision as a coming of age ceremony and some cultures actually believe that if the clitoris is not removed, it will eventually grow into a penis. Legal implications have followed this practice, especially in the U.K. where many African immigrants continue to perform the procedure even though it is illegal in European countries (45). The assumption is that the immigrants do not view this procedure as illegal since it is a part of their culture. For many, it is considered a religious ceremony and they feel that they should be free to practice their religion in the U.K. Unfortunately, those in the U.K. do not hold the same view.

Although female genital mutilation may be cultural or religious in practice, it does in fact cause harm to the young girls it is performed on. If the young girl survives the incident, they are not only left with the physical scars of the operation, but also the mental scars. Many times the young girls are not even aware that they are about to undergo the procedure as their mothers do not warn them of it. They are often held down by several adults while they are cut and suffer severe trauma. They carry this mental reminder with them throughout adulthood. The physical effects of female circumcision are often traumatic also. Many of the girls often bleed to death, or if they survive they have painful period as well as painful sexual intercourse with their husbands. A simple task such as emptying the bladder can become quite difficult and childbirth can often be horrendous on the mother because of this procedure (Utz-Billing and Kentenich 227).

Because many other cultures do not understand the practice of female genital mutilation, many different perceptions are held. A study was done with healthcare professionals in Barcelona, Spain and it was discovered that the Spaniards few this practice as a violation of women's rights. They feel that female genital mutilation is unethical and that the girls and women who undergo this procedure do so against their will (Kaplan-Marcusan et al. 7). This is not surprising seeing that the practice is against the law in Spain. However, as mentioned before, not all of the issues….....