Female Genital Mutilation: A Medical and Gender-Based Crisis

Soha Khan, Awareness Content Reporter

Women and girls around the world are in a constant battle for their human rights and bodily autonomy. While notable progress has been made around the world in regard to these topics, there inevitably still are issues that require much larger discussion in the path towards justice. Female genital mutilation is a human rights issue that would certainly fall in this category. Female genital mutilation, or FGM, is a practice performed on women and girls in which their genitalia is altered or injured for reasons that are not medical. This is often done due to cultural norms and expectations. This issue proves to be a direct violation of human rights, with inevitable lasting psychological and physiological effects on women and girls who experience it. To facilitate the elimination of this issue worldwide, a complete understanding of its origins and practices is required. 

FGM is practiced by a variety of different people, and there may be many reasons for doing it. While in many cases it is justified with religious beliefs in Islam, Christianity, and Judaism, the practice has been proven to predate all of these religions. One of the main reasons this practice continues is related to a girl’s femininity and sexuality. It is thought that FGM can prepare a girl for marriage, by having her sexuality regulated and managed so that she does not perform pre-marital sex (WHO, 2024). Since this practice has such old origins, it is often upheld today to conform to these social and cultural traditions that communities have stuck to for so long. There is also pressure to conform in order to remain within the standards of the community, to avoid social rejection and isolation, or to be able to find acceptance with a partner. FGM is most commonly practiced in the continent of Africa, being highly prevalent in countries like Mauritania, Somalia, and Guinea, in which over 90% of girls and women have undergone some type of female genital mutilation in their lifetime (UNFPA, 2024). However, FGM is not confined to the continent of Africa; it is also practiced in parts of Europe, Asia, New Zealand, North America, and more. 

While FGM generally refers to the removal of female genitalia, there are a few different levels to this practice. The first type of FGM refers to the removal of either some or all of the external and visible parts of the clitoris, which may also involve the removal of the clitoral hood, The second type is similar to the first except that it also includes the removal of the labia minora, and potentially the removal of the labia majora. The third type of FGM refers to infibulation, which involves the process of narrowing the vaginal opening, completed through the forming, cutting, and sometimes removal of some genitalia, and sometimes stitching as well. Lastly, the fourth type of female genital mutilation is in reference to the multitude of other harmful practices inflicted on female genitalia for non-medical reasons, including but not limited to piercing, incisions, and cauterizing (WHO, 2024). 

Despite the type of FGM practiced on a woman or girl, there is no doubt that these procedures have tremendous consequences for a woman’s physical as well as psychological health. The enforced expectation that a woman should give others liberty over her own body to have it altered beyond her control creates the notion that a woman cannot have autonomy over her body because her sexual life is not her own. This makes it clear that FGM inevitably has dire psychological effects on its victims. For example, as these procedures are often done to repress women’s sexuality, they may be left feeling ashamed and repressed as they are denied the human right to freely sexually express themselves in a way that they decide for themselves. Moreover, FGM procedures produce no physical benefits for women, and are instead extremely likely to be detrimental toa woman’s physical health. Some examples of health issues that can occur are short or long-term urinary pain, sexual issues like pain during intercourse, vaginal swelling, severe pain, and much more (WHO, 2024).

In discussing the details and complications of FGM, communities can be persuaded and come to understand the need to end the practice. UNICEF has been working extremely hard to eliminate the practice around the world, partly through discussions like these with communities to develop criticism and resistance to FGM. UNICEF is working with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to lead a large global initiative in opposition to FGM. In this joint program, they provide care to victims of FGM procedures, and work with healthcare professionals to eliminate the practice of female genital mutilation completely (UNICEF, 2021). They also work to stimulate relevant action at all levels and sectors, in order to alter the social norms currently in place that facilitate the continuation of the practice of FGM. This involves working with national governments and public sectors, as well as grassroots initiatives, communities, and non-governmental organizations to approach this issue with care, and ensure that it is thoroughly eradicated (UNFPA, 2024). Their goal is to eliminate FGM practices completely by 2030. This program has successfully eliminated the practice of FGM in 13 countries since its work began (UNICEF, 2021).

As much as it continues to be defended by culture and religious beliefs, female genital mutilation is a form of organized, violent abuse towards women, and the damage it has caused must be dealt with accordingly. While UNICEF has made immense effort to eliminate this practice, it is far from the end - discussion and action must continue to be taken. 

Sources

United Nations Population Fund. (2024). UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme on the Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation. 

https://www.unfpa.org/unfpa-unicef-joint-programme-elimination-female-genital-mutilation 

United Nations Population Fund. (2024, March). Female genital mutilation (FGM) Frequently asked questions. https://www.unfpa.org/resources/female-genital-mutilation-fgm-frequently-asked-questions 

World Health Organization. (2024, February 5). Female Genital Mutilation. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/female-genital-mutilation 

United Nations Children Fund. (2021, February 4). What is Female Genital Mutilation? Eight Important Questions Answered. https://www.unicef.ca/en/blog/female-genital-mutilation-eight-important-questions?ea.tracking.id=20DIAQ01OTE&19DIAQ02OTE=&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAuou6BhDhARIsAIfgrn696SC4fbEGL7MEpFJcG59W-ZQH-BuGuKL_2GxIWyiKbfqgvjx1YrMaArCHEALw_wcB