FGM: What It Is and What You Can Do

TRIGGER WARNING: FGM (female genital mutilation) is an extremely

graphic and upsetting topic.

200 million girls and women alive today have been subjected to Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). FGM mutilation, is a procedure done to a woman, most commonly before age 15, to remove, cut, or sew close parts of the vagina. FGM is a cultural and religious tradition, despite the fact that it is not mentioned in any holy text, and it is often done to conform to social norms. It is often This may be done done to make children more “marriageable” and to reduce/prevent the possibility of sex before marriage. It is “largely rooted in the desire to control women’s sexuality and bodily autonomy” and implies that “girls are ‘clean’ and ‘beautiful’ after removal of body parts that are considered ‘male’ or ‘unclean’” (Equality Now).

Alongside being incredibly misogynistic and inhumane, FGM is extremely harmful to the health of its victims. FGM may lead to recurrent infections, difficulty urinating and passing menstrual flow, chronic pain, the development of cysts, an inability to get pregnant, complications during childbirth, and fatal bleeding. The adverse psychological effects of FGM include anxiety, depression, PTSD, nightmares, low self-esteem, and sexual dysfunction.

While FGM is mainly done in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East, an estimated 520,000 women and girls in America have been or will be subjected to this procedure. FGM was considered a standard medical practice in America throughout most of the 19th and 20th centuries, performed to treat hysteria, depression, nymphomania, and frigidity. FGM is only illegal in 59 countries, and surprisingly, the US is not one of them. In 1996, the federal government passed the Female Genital Mutilation act, federally banning FGM on anyone under 18. However, in 2018, Michigan Judge Bernard A. Friedman ruled the Female Genital Mutilation act unconstitutional, claiming the decision to ban FGM was a state’s right. Friedman also had all the charges dropped in a case against a doctor who had performed FGM on at least nine9 girls in Detroit, as well as their mothers who subjected them to the procedure. Only 39 states in the US have laws against FGM, and Massachussets only passed legislation banning FGM this past August.

So, what can we do to end FGM in America and worldwide? Plan International and Equality Worldwide offer answers to this question.

1. Education. We must teach others about FGM and its extremely negative effects on women in our schools, in our homes, and in our religious congregation. Everyone must understand that no religious texts provide justification for FGM. Since FGM is an extremely secretive event, oftentimes being conducted on young girls who likely would not “discuss it with her friends,” it has been maintained for this long. But we all have the duty to spread information about the topic, and with this increase in education, there is a greater chance of it being ended.

2. Speak out about the discriminatory reasons, risks, and realities of FGM. Its purpose is to control female sexuality, making sure women stay virgins until they are married. However, FGM is incredibly dangerous to women’s physical and mental health, and parents have often changed their mind about wanting to force this tradition on their children once they were aware of its severity.

3. Keep pushing for FGM to be banned.Visit http://www.npwj.org/GHR/BAN-FGM-CAMPAIGN.html, the International Campaign to Ban Female Genital Mutilation Worldwide, for more action steps and resources about banning FGM worldwide.

FGM is an extremely violent human rights violation that we must put an end to immediately. Please continue to educate yourself and others about its atrocities. Keep fighting.