Why do people get fgm

Female genital mutilation refers to any procedure involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genitals for non-medical reasons. There are four types of FGM :. Type II, also called excision, is the partial or total removal of the clitoris and the labia minora. Type III, also called infibulation, is the narrowing of the vaginal orifice with a covering seal. Type IV is any other harmful procedure to the female genitalia for non-medical purposes, such as pricking, piercing, incising, scraping or cauterization.

Types I and II are most prevalent, but variation exists within countries and communities. Type III — infibulation — is experienced by about 10 per cent of all affected women. Where it is practiced, FGM is supported by both men and women, usually without question. Yet the reasons for the practice are often rooted in gender inequality. It is sometimes a prerequisite for marriage — and is closely linked to child marriage. Some societies perform FGM because of myths about female genitalia, for example, that an uncut clitoris will grow to the size of a penis, or that FGM will enhance fertility.

Others view the external female genitalia as dirty and ugly. Whatever the reason behind it, FGM violates the human rights of women and girls and deprives them of the opportunity to make critical, informed decisions about their bodies and lives. The practice predates the rise of Christianity and Islam. It is said that some Egyptian mummies display characteristics of FGM. Historians such as Herodotus claim that, in the fifth century BC, the Phoenicians, the Hittites and the Ethiopians practised circumcision.

All women and girls have the right to control what happens to their bodies and the right to say no to FGM. Help is available if you have had FGM or you're worried that you or someone you know is at risk.

If you're a health professional caring for a patient under 18 who's had FGM, you have professional responsibilities to safeguard and protect her. UK website. FGM is often performed by traditional circumcisers or cutters who do not have any medical training. But in some countries it may be done by a medical professional.

Anaesthetics and antiseptics are not generally used, and FGM is often carried out using knives, scissors, scalpels, pieces of glass or razor blades. FGM often happens against a girl's will without her consent, and girls may have to be forcibly restrained. FGM can make it difficult and painful to have sex.

It can also result in reduced sexual desire and a lack of pleasurable sensation. Talk to your GP or another healthcare professional if you have sexual problems that you feel may be caused by FGM, as they can refer you to a special therapist who can help.

In some cases, a surgical procedure called a deinfibulation may be recommended, which can alleviate and improve some symptoms. Some women with FGM may find it difficult to become pregnant, and those who do conceive can have problems in childbirth. If you're expecting a baby, your midwife should ask you if you have had FGM at your antenatal appointment. It's important to tell your midwife if you think this has happened to you so they can arrange appropriate care for you and you baby. The reasons behind the practice vary.

Many communities practice genital mutilation in the belief that it will ensure a girl's future marriage or family honour. Some associate it with religious beliefs, although no religious scriptures require it.

FGM has no health benefits and often leads to long-term physical and psychological consequences. Medical complications can include severe pain, prolonged bleeding, infection, infertility and even death. It can also lead to increased risk of HIV transmission. Women who have undergone genital mutilation can experience complications during childbirth, including postpartum haemorrhage, stillbirth and early neonatal death.

Psychological impacts can range from a girl losing trust in her caregivers to longer-term feelings of anxiety and depression as a woman. Progress to end FGM needs to be at least 10 times faster if the practice is to be eliminated by While the exact number of girls and women worldwide who have undergone FGM remains unknown, at least million girls and women aged 15—49 from 31 countries have been subjected to the practice.

There has been significant progress made in eliminating the practice in the past 30 years. Infibulation creates a physical barrier to sexual intercourse and childbirth. An infibulated woman therefore has to undergo gradual dilation of the vaginal opening before sexual intercourse can take place. Often, infibulated women are cut open on the first night of marriage by the husband or a circumciser to enable the husband to be intimate with his wife. At childbirth, many women also have to be cut again because the vaginal opening is too small to allow for the passage of a baby.

Infibulation is also linked to menstrual and urination disorders, recurrent bladder and urinary tract infections, fistulae and infertility. A recent study found that, compared with women who had not been subjected to FGM, those who had undergone FGM faced a significantly greater risk of requiring a Caesarean section, an episiotomy and an extended hospital stay, and also of suffering post-partum haemorrhage.

Women who have undergone infibulation are more likely to suffer from prolonged and obstructed labour, sometimes resulting in foetal death and obstetric fistula. The infants of mothers who have undergone more extensive forms of FGM are at an increased risk of dying at birth.

Two high-FGM-prevalence countries are among the four countries with the highest numbers of maternal death globally. Five of the high-prevalence countries have maternal mortality ratios of per , live births and above.

When one tool is used to cut several girls, as is often the case in communities where large groups of girls are cut on the same day during a socio-cultural rite, there is a risk of HIV transmission. Additionally, due to damage to the female sexual organs, sexual intercourse can result in the laceration of tissue, which greatly increases risk of HIV transmission.

The same is true for the blood loss that accompanies childbirth. The psychological stress of the procedure may trigger behavioural disturbances in children, closely linked to loss of trust and confidence in caregivers. In the longer term, women may suffer feelings of anxiety and depression. Sexual dysfunction may also contribute to marital conflicts or divorce. Type II , also called excision: Partial or total removal of the clitoris and the labia minora, with or without excision of the labia majora.

The amount of tissue that is removed varies widely from community to community. Type III , also called infibulation: Narrowing of the vaginal orifice with a covering seal. This can take place with or without removal of the clitoris.

Type IV: All other harmful procedures to the female genitalia for non-medical purposes, for example: pricking, piercing, incising, scraping or cauterization. Incision refers to making cuts in the clitoris or cutting free the clitoral prepuce, but it also relates to incisions made in the vaginal wall and to incision of the perineum and the symphysis. Deinfibulation refers to the practice of cutting open a woman who has been infibulated to allow intercourse or to facilitate childbirth.

Reinfibulation is the practice of sewing the external labia back together after deinfibulation. Types I and II are the most common, but there is variation among countries. Type III — infibulation — is experienced by about 10 per cent of all affected women and is most likely to occur in Somalia, northern Sudan and Djibouti. Adding to the confusion is the fact that health experts in many Eastern and Southern African countries encourage male circumcision to reduce HIV transmission; FGM, on the other hand, can increase the risk of HIV transmission.

It is also sometimes argued that the term obscures the serious physical and psychological effects of genital cutting on women. It establishes a clear distinction from male circumcision. This expression gained support in the late s, and since , it has been used in several United Nations conference documents and has served as a policy and advocacy tool.

Today, a greater number of countries have outlawed the practice, and an increasing number of communities have committed to abandon it, indicating that the social and cultural perceptions of the practice are being challenged by communities themselves, along with national, regional and international decision-makers.

Therefore, it is time to accelerate the momentum towards full abandonment of the practice by emphasizing the human-rights aspect of the issue. The origins of the practice are unclear. It predates the rise of Christianity and Islam. It is said some Egyptian mummies display characteristics of FGM.

Historians such as Herodotus claim that, in the fifth century BC, the Phoenicians, the Hittites and the Ethiopians practiced circumcision. It is also reported that circumcision rites were practiced in tropical zones of Africa, in the Philippines, by certain tribes in the Upper Amazon, by women of the Arunta tribe in Australia, and by certain early Romans and Arabs.

As recent as the s, clitoridectomy was practiced in Western Europe and the United States to treat perceived ailments including hysteria, epilepsy, mental disorders, masturbation, nymphomania and melancholia.

In other words, the practice of FGM has been followed by many different peoples and societies across the ages and continents. It varies. In some areas, FGM is carried out during infancy — as early as a couple of days after birth.

In others, it takes place during childhood, at the time of marriage, during a woman's first pregnancy or after the birth of her first child. Recent reports suggest that the age has been dropping in some areas, with most FGM carried out on girls between the ages of 0 and 15 years. And in many western countries, including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United States, the United Kingdom and various European countries, FGM is practiced among diaspora populations from areas where the practice is common.

FGM is usually carried out by elderly people in the community usually, but not exclusively, women designated to perform this task or by traditional birth attendants.

Among certain populations, FGM may be carried out by traditional health practitioners, male barbers, members of secret societies, herbalists or sometimes a female relative. In some cases, medical professionals perform FGM. In some countries, this can reach as high as three in four girls. FGM is carried out with special knives, scissors, scalpels, pieces of glass or razor blades.

Anaesthetic and antiseptics are generally not used unless the procedure is carried out by medical practitioners. In communities where infibulations is practiced, girls' legs are often bound together to immobilize them for days, allowing the formation of scar tissue. In every society in which it is practiced, female genital mutilation is a manifestation of deeply entrenched gender inequality. Where it is widely practiced, FGM is supported by both men and women, usually without question, and anyone that does not follow the norm may face condemnation, harassment and ostracism.

It may be difficult for families to abandon the practice without support from the wider community. In fact, it is often practiced even when it is known to inflict harm upon girls because the perceived social benefits of the practice are deemed higher than its disadvantages.