Female genital mutilation, female circumcision, or FGM are all terms used to describe any practice that includes removal or alteration of the external female genitalia (ReligiousTolerance.org). The word mutilation is used because the removal of a healthy organ is a form of mutilation. This operation is usually associated with the religion of Islam; however, this is an incorrect assumption. FGM is a social practice, not a religious one. "It is a destructive, invasive procedure that is usually performed on girls before puberty. Part or all of the clitoris is surgically removed, leaving the patient with little to no sexual feeling."(Religious Tolerance.org) This operation is performed on approximately 6,000 girls per day worldwide. This is about one girl every 15 seconds. It is said that female genital mutilation has been practiced for over 3,000 years based on the evidence in the tombs of Egyptian mummies of FGM dating back several thousand years. Some sources say however that it is merely 1,400 years old.
             FGM is believed to have started in Africa and is primarily an African practice, although today it has spread to parts of the Middle East, Asia, and even into northern America. This spread is due largely to migration and immigration. It is true that originally it was an Islamic practice, but this is no longer a fact. FGM is practiced by Ethiopian Jews, Christians, Protestants, Muslims, and animists alike.
             There are many ways to separate the different types of practices of FGM, and it may be practiced on infants that are a few days old, all the way to mature women who are about to have their firstborn child. The most common way is to separate it into four categories. These include Sunna circumcision in which the tip of the clitoris and or its covering (prepuce) is removed; Clitoridectomy where the entire clitoris, the prepuce and the adjacent labia are removed; Infibulation which is a clitoridectomy followed by sewing up the vulva...