Female Genital Mutilation

Submitted By carrie122970
Words: 1234
Pages: 5
Open Document
Female Genital Mutilation
“The sound of the scissors cutting the flesh between Soraya Miré’s legs is a sound she will never forget” (Ottney, 2012). What Soraya Miré was experiencing was Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), the procedure by which all or some of the female sex organs are removed. The history of this ritual is long, and the effects are not only physical it has many long-lasting mental and psychological consequences.
The practice of FGM on infants, girls, and adolescents predates Islam and Christianity. Strong evidence points to FGM being practiced in the times of the Pharaohs. Some of the earliest instances of FGM have been found in the tombs of female mummies in Egypt (Nielson, 2010). Today the World Health Organization (WHO) (2012) website states that the women and girls who are most at risk for this procedure dwell in western, eastern, and north-eastern regions of Africa, in some countries in Asia and the Middle East, and among migrants from these areas. However, there was a small window of time at the end of April 2010 in the United States that gave permission to Pediatrics Doctors to perform a version of FGM. According to Belluck (2010) the American Academy of Pediatrics “suggested that American doctors be given permission to perform a ceremonial pinprick or “nick” on girls from these cultures if it would keep their families from sending them overseas for the full circumcision.” Modern societies reasoning for continuing this practice share some of the same reason as the ancient Egyptian. There is a mix of cultural and religious beliefs although there is no scripture that can be found to condone this treatment. Many of the cultures involved believe FGM is necessary to maintain health, secure ones virginity, and obtain a husband, fertility, marital fidelity, beauty, financial, and initiation to becoming a woman.
Female Genital Mutilation is generally performed girls/women range in age from infancy to 15. However, if a woman has refused the surgery previously husbands and midwifes have been known to carry out this procedure when a woman is giving birth. Some of the tools most commonly used to implement this surgery are dirty razors, scissors, stones, and broken glass. The there is no anesthetics used, the girl/woman is held down by the women in her community, this usually consist of her mother, sisters, aunts, and grandmother or better known as the people most trusted in the young girls life. I peered between my legs and saw the gypsy. The old woman looked at me sternly, a dead look in her eyes, then foraged through an old carpetbag. She reached inside with her long fingers and fished out a broken razor blade. I saw dried blood on the jagged edge. She spit on it and wiped it on her dress. While she was scrubbing, my world went dark as Mama tied a blindfold over my eyes.
The next thing I felt was my flesh being cut away. I heard the blade sawing back and forth through my skin. The feeling was indescribable. I didn't move, telling myself the more I did, the longer the torture would take. Unfortunately, my legs began to quiver and shake uncontrollably of their own accord, and I prayed, Please, God, let it be over quickly. Soon it was, because I passed out.
When I woke up, my blindfold was off and I saw the gypsy woman had piled a stack of thorns from an acacia tree next to her. She used these to puncture holes in my skin, and then poked a strong white thread through the holes to sew me up. My legs were completely numb, but the pain between them was so intense that I wished I would die.
My memory ends at that instant; until I opened my eyes the woman was gone. My legs had been tied together with strips of cloth binding me from my ankles to my hips so I couldn’t move. I turned my head toward the rock; it was drenched with blood as if an animal had been slaughtered there. Pieces of my flesh lay on top, drying in the sun (Dirie, 1999).
FGM can have a profound,
Show More

Related Documents: Female Genital Mutilation

American's Should Not Use Credit Cards Essay

American's Should Not Use Credit Cards American's Should Not Use Credit Cards Comp/172 April 25, 2011 Darrell D Hayley, M.DIV. American's Should Not Use Credit Cards Most people that live in the United States today have a credit card. It is actually very rare that an American does not own at least one credit card. Credit card companies make sure that you learn about credit cards at a young age, of course, they market them as a magical card that allows you to buy whatever you want and need…

Words 674 - Pages 3

Cancer: Cancer and American Cancer Society Essay

Cancer Shonda Edwards Com/172 Composition and Communication II Chera Rogers University of Phoenix April 19, 2012 Cancer Cancer is class of diseases characterized by out of control cell growth or tumors resulting from a division of the cells. There are over 100 types of…

Words 838 - Pages 4

Essay on Social Media

Social Media’s Influence on Modern Society Lauren Lorenzo May 12, 2014 Com/172 Social Media’s Influence on Modern Society Social media has become a part of everyday life, and has caused various changes to society. Social media websites can be used for many different things, and all have many different uses and functions. It has become a primary outlet for communication on many different levels, and has ultimately transformed the way people live their lives…

Words 837 - Pages 4

Examples Of Mcmurphy In One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

Heroes are courageous, selfless, and caring. They can be humbled. Throughout Ken Kesey’s novel, Randle Patrick McMurphy proves himself to be courageous and, to a certain degree, caring for the other patients. At first glance, he seems to be the hero of the novel. However, McMurphy better suits the role of the antihero, a role defined as lacking conventional heroic attributes. A classic hero is typically, in American literature, a man raised from rags to riches. McMurphy is a working Irishman who…

Words 829 - Pages 4

Robert Skinner Essay examples

Abstract This paper will focus on behaviour modification. Behaviour modification is a technique that is used to change people’s behaviours. Behaviour modification has help me change my way of thinking, it help me modify the behaviour that had me stagnated in the world that I lived in, accepted ,and believed that it’s all I would achieve in life. There are different types of modification that can help modify our behaviour. 1) Is the Neutral operands: which neither decrease nor increase your behaviour…

Words 910 - Pages 4

Equity: Law and Marks Application Question Essay

Obligations Assignment Two 15% of Course Mark | | Semester: | Semester One 2013 | Date issued: | 14 March 2013 | Due date and time: | 5:30pm Thursday 4 April 2013 | Delivery: | Post paper copy in the assignment box on Level 2, Building 172.Submit an electronic copy to Turnitin.com. Failure to do this may result in a zero mark. | Total marks: | 15 marks | Weighting: | 15% of course | Instructions: | Answer all three questions. Up to 1 mark will be deducted for each of the following:…

Words 971 - Pages 4

Essay about my week 4 The Effects of Humor in Persuasion

The Effects of Humor in Persuasion Danielle Bachman COM 323: Persuasion and Arguments Instructor: Reed Markham March 2, 2015 The Effects of Humor in Persuasion Persuasion can have a very effective tool called humor. Although there is doubt to it power, the effects does not seem to be conclusive, and there is some effects also created by the use of humor in persuasion. There is risk in everything we do, even positive effects come with risk, and humor use in persuasion ought to be…

Words 1078 - Pages 5

The Self and Nature Essay

The word count: 1087 Xu wei , Sandra , 219 The Self and Community First of all, I want to say that no matter which place I stay in, I am one member of a community such as family, school, company, friends, and so on. The meaning of community I think is that: people want to achieve some of the features formed through interactive communication, and they gathered to be an organization. I play a role in these communities. And I have…

Words 1082 - Pages 5

com172 WK 5 Final draft Essay

Animals in Service Kelly Hughes Com 172 January 12, 2015 John Cantlon Animals in Service Humans and dogs have been co-existing for over 8,000 years, and they continue to follow man throughout history. The fact that they can be such a positive value to humans, psychologically, physiologically, and socially. Many Americans that suffer from seizers, depression, anxiety, Autism, and other psychological disorders have found service dogs to be a resourceful tool. However the dogs must pass a rigorous…

Words 1069 - Pages 5

Illegal Narcotics Essay

Illegal Narcotics COM/172 November 8, 2012 Xochitl Tirado Illegal Narcotics Many people do not realize the amount of illegal narcotics entering the United States from Mexico. The illegal narcotics affect many different people and organizations. The illegal narcotics affect every person by their wallet, and the many different types of laws that many people do not agree with. Illegal narcotics entering the United States from Mexico has a great affect on people who use them, and…

Words 1214 - Pages 5