Female Genital Mutilation
Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a ritual of initiation that is performed on young girls to take them from childhood into womanhood. It is practiced predominantly in Islamic cultures of Africa and the Middle East. The practice is widespread throughout twenty-eight African countries and affects 130 million women (Mackie.1998: 1). Religion has been a means to justify female circumcision. The majority of circumcised women in the world are Muslim who practices FGM under a religious pretext. However, the Koran which is said to be the last message that God sent to humanity and is a primary source of Islamic law says nothing about women circumcision (Denniston, Hodges and Milos 1999:131,164). Because of increasing mobility of immigration from these regions FGM has been exported to Europe, U.K., Australia and the United States. It has now become a world health problem (Hoskin 1989:1). Appendix 1 shows the countries in Europe where female mutilation is practised (Denniston 1999:243). There are many different types of female genital mutilation. In some cases part or the entire clitoris is cut away. A more severe type of mutilation is called infibulation or pharonic circumcision. This involves the removal of the clitoris,
1995 DiscussonPaper Socio- Cultural Aspects of Female Genital Cutting. Female genital mutilation has been around for many centuries and is becoming more widespread and extreme (Mackie. Firstly, this paper will provide an overview of FGM. This can cause the spread of HIV (Amnesty 2000:3). Fathers set the 'bride price' for their daughters and wife beating is seen as a man's right. The ritual of FGM does not recognise this principle. Legislation has to be introduced and enforced with the help of educational programs. Ceremonies such as these could be implemented in Somalia and Sudan.
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Acceptance Essays
