Female Genital Mutilation/ Female circumcision is the ritual of cutting or removing the external female genitalia. It is mainly practiced in Africa, Asia, The Middle East. It is estimated that about 200 Million women over 30 countries were subjected to FGM in 2016. The purpose is to attempt to control women’s sexuality and negate the pleasure felt during intercourse.
Female Genital Mutilation, The practice is rooted in gender inequality to instill ideas about purity and chastity. In many cases, women themselves initiate the process because they fear social exclusions caused by the inability to get circumcised. It also causes a lot of physical damage. Short term complications include bleeding, swelling, urine retention, anemia, wound infection, and even death. It also increases complications during pregnancy and childbirth. So much so, that to make childbirth easier women stay hungry during pregnancy to reduce the size of the baby. It also has a deep psychological impact on women, leading to depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder, aside from feelings of betrayal and shame. May women have reported reducing sexual desire, while many have reported an absolute loss of the same altogether. FGM has also resulted in painful sexual intercourse for many women.
In recent developments, after persistence from the United Nations, the government of Sudan has placed a ban on this vile and cruel practice. They’re still working on how to implement this ban in a country where this practice runs as tradition, but it is still a step in the right direction. The intention behind this ban is to try to bring social equality between men and women, and to free women of this torturous tradition. This step has touched people everywhere and given them hope that the world is moving on from archaic, patriarchal traditions.
Lavanya Joshi
(Student, Grade XII, Manav Rachna International School) is an aspiring content writer and poet. She is a published author and has performed in various spoken word/poetry forums She has a quirky sense of humor and uses it sarcastically to drive home a point. She is a staunch feminist and takes a keen interest in human behavior and psychology.
