FGM

No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
                                               Article 5 of the Declaration of Human Rights

Motion 5

At the Federation Conference last October, Motion 5 required all Soroptimists in the Federation to:

Take positive discernible steps to encourage their respective governments to employ effective enforcement measures to eradicate Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and related practices. Therefore, we urge all clubs to lobby governments throughout this Federation, and join forces with partner organizations such as UNICEF and the World Health Organisation to work towards the total eradication of harmful traditional practices.

 

To help with this work, in addition to the following information, we have drawn together and listed at the foot of this page a number of organisations who are working in a variety of ways to combat FGM.

Our Study Day on 10 July has as its theme, our Flagship Project, Violence Against Women - Stop It Now and Naana Otoo-Oyortey, from Forward (the lead organisation in the UK on the fight against FGM), will conduct the FGM workshop. Don't forget you can now register on-line for the Study Day.

 

What is Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)?

Female genital mutilation (FGM), also sometimes known as female genital cutting or, confusingly, female *circumcision (see Deciphering the Terms below), is defined by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as the range of procedures which involve "the partial or complete removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs whether for cultural or any other non-therapeutic reason".

*The most important difference between FGM and male circumcision is that FGM impedes the natural functioning of the female body in ways that male circumcision does not.

See below under Deciphering the Terms.

In March 2004, the new UK Female Genital Mutilation Act was introduced. Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is prohibited by law in England, Scotland and Wales (where it carries a 14-year jail sentence), whether it is committed against a United Kingdom national or permanent United Kingdom resident in the UK or abroad.

FGM is an abuse of the human rights of girls and women and therefore a child protection issue.

The practice is cultural, not religious, and is performed in order to make a girl more 'marriageable'. It is felt in many areas that a girl who has not had FGM is unclean - but another reason for it is to remove the enjoyment of sexual intercourse and so ensure that a wife is faithful.
 

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has categorised FGM into four main types: 

1. Clitoridectomy: partial or total removal of the clitoris (a small, sensitive and erectile part of the female genitals) and, in very rare cases, only the prepuce (the fold of skin surrounding the clitoris).
2. Excision: partial or total removal of the clitoris and the labia minora, with or without excision of the labia majora (the labia are "the lips" that surround the vagina).
3. Infibulation: narrowing of the vaginal opening through the creation of a covering seal. The seal is formed by cutting and repositioning the inner, or outer, labia, with or without removal of the clitoris.
4. Other: all other harmful procedures to the female genitalia for non-medical purposes, e.g. pricking, piercing, incising, scraping and cauterising the genital area.

As will be seen from the above, the most severe form is the clitoridectomy, also known as infibulation or pharaonic circumcision. The procedure consists of removing the clitoris and the excision and cutting of the labia majora to create raw surfaces which are then stitched or held together in order to form a cover over the vagina when they heal. A small hole is left to allow urine and menstrual blood to escape.
 

UN Meeting on FGM

Over four days in May last year, the United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa met in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to discuss 'on good practices in legislation to address harmful practices against women'. The 18-page report of that meeting can be downloaded here.
 

The Times article

On 16 March 2009 The Times published an article on FGM. To read this go to this link

Daily Mail article

The Daily Mail has also published findings of a four-month investigation into FGM in this country. To read this go to this link.

 

Deciphering the terms: Circumcision, mutilation, or cutting?

The terminology applied to this procedure has undergone a number of important evolutions. When the practice first came to be known beyond the societies in which it was traditionally carried out, it was generally referred to as “female circumcision”. This term, however, draws a direct parallel with male circumcision and, as a result, creates confusion between these two distinct practices. In the case of Type 1 FGM, this is equivalent to male castration plus penectomy (the removal of the penis). 

The expression “female genital mutilation” (FGM) gained growing support in the late 1970s. The word “mutilation” not only establishes a clear linguistic distinction with male circumcision, but also, due to its strong negative connotations, emphasizes the gravity of the act.

In 1990, this term was adopted at the third conference of the Inter African Committee on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children (IAC) in Addis Ababa. In 1991, the WHO recommended that the United Nations adopt this terminology and subsequently, it has been widely used in UN documents. The use of the word “mutilation” reinforces the idea that this practice is a violation of girls’ and women’s human rights, and thereby helps promote national and international advocacy towards its abandonment.

At the community level, however, the term can be problematic. Local languages generally use the less judgmental “cutting” to describe the practice; parents understandably resent the suggestion that they are “mutilating” their daughters. In this spirit, in 1999, the UN Special Rapporteur on Traditional Practices called for tact and patience regarding activities in this area and drew attention to the risk of “demonizing” certain cultures, religions and communities. As a result, “cutting” has increasingly come to be used to avoid alienating communities.

It is estimated that approximately 138 million African women have undergone FGM worldwide and each year, a further two million girls are estimated to be at risk of the practice. Most of them live in African countries, a few in the Middle East and Asian countries, and increasingly in Europe (including the UK), Australia, New Zealand, the United States of America and Canada.

The procedure is traditionally carried out by an older woman with no medical training. Anaesthetics and antiseptic treatment are not generally used and the practice is usually carried out using basic tools such as knives, scissors, scalpels, pieces of glass and razor blades. Often iodine or a mixture of herbs is placed on the wound to tighten the vagina and stop the bleeding.

The age at which the practice is carried out varies, from shortly after birth to the labour of the first child, depending on the community or individual family. The most common age is between four and ten, although it appears to be falling. This suggests that 'cutting' is becoming less strongly linked to puberty rites and initiation into adulthood.

As a result of immigration and refugee movements, FGM is now being practiced by ethnic minority populations in other parts of the world and, increasingly in the UK.

FORWARD estimates that as many as 6,500 girls are at risk of FGM within the UK every year.

Organisations and clubs working on FGM: