FGM;Female Circumcision. Post#8

                                   FGM;Female Circumcision

Female genital mutilation same as Female Circumcision is a procedure performed to women to symbolize adulthood or it is done as a cultural requirements. The procedure does not have any health benefits however it causes several health issue. So the question is should it be done or should it be stopped. People like me will definitely say the act should be eliminated because of the pain and health complications. But then again, I will want to consider the cultural reasons behind it. It is a hard question to be answered without being bias. The issue is a problem because United Nation and other global organization got involved and are working towards eliminating the act because of the health issues and inhumane attitude.

                 Prior to my research I did not know anything about female circumcision.  I did not even know it was done in Nigeria where I spent the first 10 years of my life. I did not even know a close female relative of mine was circumcised. I have learnt a lot. I learnt that there are types and categories of circumcision. They are sunna, clitoridectomy, and the excision and infibulation. I also learnt that female circumcision is mostly done because of cultural reasons and a disadvantage is the health issues it causes. One thing that annoys me the most is that people try to compare male circumcision to female circumcision which is unfair. Male circumcision has health benefits but female circumcision does not. I also came across a source that said women should not have the right of sexual pleasure so their clitoris should be cut off. IS EVERYTHING ALL ABOUT MEN? I think the society where circumcision is done fail to realize that without women there will not be men because women give birth to men. Women are not given any power or right during and after the process. I believe the circumcision is done to silence women. The question I keep asking myself is: is the cut necessary?

Reasons for Female Circumcision. Post #3

                   Reasons for Female Circumcision. Source- Human's Right Quarterly.

Human Right's Quarterly published by The John Hopkins Press written by Alison T. Slack thoroughly explains female circumcision, its origins, myths, why it is done, where it is done, people who believe in it and other interesting information about it. However I will focus on a section of the literature piece that provides reasons why we should think female circumcision is not bad after all. The author provides three reasons to back up her argument for female circumcision. They are: "sexual control of females, religion, myths, and tradition."

             Circumcision as a control mechanism- According to the author, in Muslim countries,  they believe is that female virginity is precious so as a result circumcision should be done to females to destroy their sexual pleasure and to help keep their virginity.

             Circumcision used to obey religion- According to the author, no religion addresses the issue of circumcision however, the practices can be related to Islam.  The practice is done to reduce the women’s sexual contact before marriage because women should not have sex before marriage. The circumcision was used to keep the women pure and reserve the virginity which is very important in the Islamic society.

             Circumcision as a myth- Women should be circumcised to increase the number of their childbirth experience, and to ensure the cleanliness of the genital area. There is also a myth that the clitoris is similar to the fore skin of the penis which justifies the reason of the procedure. Some believe women getting circumcised increases sexual pleasure for men.  While some also believe that the clitoris can cause harm to the baby during childbirth

             Circumcision and tradition- People who participate in female circumcision believe it is the best way to preserve tradition and pass it down to their generations. They believe it is used to represent their values, believes, ideas, and rules. They also believe it is symbol of adulthood in their culture.

              The above reasons were used as a justification for female circumcision. However, the questions we should be asking ourselves are that are these reasons good enough for the pain and horrific experience these women go through. Should women get circumcised to increase the sexual pleasure of men? This reason shows that women are not treated equally as men. It shows that women are not as important as men. I see where the author is coming from when they wrote the reasons why women should get circumcised in the literature piece; however I do not agree with some of the reasons at all because they illustrates how unfairly women are treated. They show that women do no have a say for themselves. For example, it is very unfair for the society to think women should get circumcised for men. If anything, I think it should be a personal choice. Someone who cares about justice will ask, why sex is one of the criteria used to determine the qualification of female genital mutation? They may also ask if it is fair to compare make circumcision to female circumcision?

             The scholarly source approaches the issue differently because it explains the idea from the perspective of a group of people and more than one culture while the web source shares the experience of a family and culture.

               

 For the full text of the source visit: http://www.jstor.org.proxy.cc.uic.edu/stable/761916?seq=9

Source:
Slack, Alison T. "Female Circumcision: A Critical Appraisal." JSTOR. The John Hopkins University Press, n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2014. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/761916?seq=9>.