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Female Genital Mutilation

What is Female Genital Mutilation?

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines female genital mutilation (FGM) as all procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs whether for cultural or other non-therapeutic reasons. FGM is also known as female circumcision or female genital cutting. Female genital mutilation has been practiced for several thousand years in nearly 30 African and Middle Eastern nations and to a lesser extent in parts of Asia.

According to the UN, , at least 2 million girls a year experience genital mutilation globally, approximately 6,000 new cases every day-five girls every minute. In 26 of 43 African countries, female genital mutilation is generally performed on girls between the ages of 7 and 10 years old, but in several countries, it is being occurring earlier to reduce the trauma to the children. In Mali and Nigeria, women undergo FGM during early adulthood when marrying into communities that practice FGM. There is a 97 percent rate in Egypt, 94.5 percent in Eritrea, 93.7 percent in Mali and 50 percent in Central African Republic. In addition to African countries, ethnic groups in Oman, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen, as well as in parts of India, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Immigration by women from countries that practice FGM has caused an increase in awareness and importance in the United States, Australia, Canada, England, and France.

Infibulation is the most severe form of female genital mutilation. It also known as pharaonic circumcision. The various procedures consists of clitoridectomy (where all, or part of, the clitoris is removed), excision (removal of all, or part of, the labia minora), 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. Urine and menstrual blood escape through a small hole that is left. In some less conventional forms of infibulation, less tissue is removed and a larger opening is left. The vast majority (85%) of genital mutilations performed in Africa consist of clitoridectomy or excision. The least radical procedure consists of the removal of the clitoral hood.

In cultures where female genital mutilation is an accepted norm, it is usually performed by a traditional practitioner, older woman, a traditional midwife or healer, a barber, or a qualified midwife or doctor, with crude instruments and without anesthetic.

Chronic health problems result from female genital mutilation. These include: fear and depression, low libido, infections, delivery complications, and bleeding ulceration of the genital region and injury to adjacent tissue. Hemorrhage and infection can cause death.

Due to the use of one instrument in multiple operations, recently there has been concern about possible transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). This concern is caused by cases because infibulation prevents or impedes vaginal intercourse, anal intercourse is known to be used as an alternative. Tissue damage from anal intercourse is also a possible route of infection by HIV.

In addition to these complications, the long-term consequences include cysts and abscesses, keloid scar formation, damage to the urethra resulting in urinary incontinence, dyspareunia (painful sexual intercourse) and sexual dysfunction. Organizations around the world are working to eradicate the practice.

Africa: the FGM record

The following table is taken from 2 Million Girls A Year Mutilated, The Progress of Nations 1996, Women, UNICEF. The table shows the countries, estimates of the number of women who suffer genital mutilation, and data regarding country policies.

FGM is not practiced in the three southern regions. The Sudan's 1946 law prohibited infibulation only (the severest form of FGM): the 1993 penal code does not mention FGM, leaving its current legal status unclear.

* Past government policy opposed FGM, but the policy of current ruling groups is unknown.

** FGM is not covered by a medical code, but this may be unnecessary since the practice is illegal.

*** This estimate predates Eritrea's independence and assumes that FGM prevalence is equivalent to Ethiopia's.

SOURCES FGM: Nahid Toubia, January 1996 update from her study, Female Genital Mutilation: A Call for Global Action, Women, Ink., New York, revised edition, 1995. Population: United Nations Population Division, World Population Prospects: The 1994 Revision, 1994.

Organizational Resources

The organizations referenced in this document represent an assortment of organizations who provide information on the subject of female genital mutilation. The list includes NGOs, medical, religious, non-profits, and government agencies working on behalf of women throughout the world.

The AfricaNews OnLine: Gateway to a Continent provides information and news of Africa. A January 5, 200 article in The Nation (Nairobi) reported that according to the Kenya Demographic Health Survey (1998), approximately 42% of Kikuyu women aged between 15 and 49 have been circumcised. In addition the Federation of Women Lawyers in Kenya (Fida), reports that the Constitution sanctions circumcision of females as one of the customary practices and further states that there is currently no law prohibiting FGM. The Nation report in a July 25, 2000 article entitled "Kenya: Female Cut To End, Says Minister" the government will take measures to end the practice of female genital mutilation.

EVALUATION OF SITE: This well-designed website provides current articles on current issues as they are in the news, including the subject of female genital mutilation. While the number of articles found in a search may be limited, the fact that the articles are extremely current outweighs the number. There are numerous ways to search for articles, by subject, country or by key topics. The site provides article headlines making them easy to browse.

American Academy Of Pediatrics (AAP) has developed a Policy Statement urging their members to become informed about the types of FGM, complications that exist, to develop recognition of physical signs of FGM, to develop awareness of the cultural and ethical issues associated with FGM, and to decline performing medically unnecessary procedures to alter female genitalia.

EVALUATION OF SITE: The audience for this website is limited, the information is important in the education of physicians. While information is specific to AAP, it is direct and includes references and drawings illustrating the different types of female genital mutilation.

Amnesty International (AI) promotes human rights around the global. Amnesty International has created a primer on the issue of Female Genital Mutilation. This eleven section primer provides exhaustive information on topics ranging from the basics of what is female genital mutilation to issues of FGM and asylum. AI's commitment to the protection of human rights now includes the position against violence against women. AI first began to address the issue 15 years ago, but with the Fourth UN Conference on Women, efforts were increased through sponsoring seminars and meetings. AI continues to play a role in helping to protect millions of women and girls from the risk of mutilation

EVALUATION OF SITE: True to AI's claim of impartiality and independence of government or political affiliation, AI shares information that addresses the issue and its impact on women throughout the world. The information is easily accessed, straight-forward and current. Using AI's internal search feature, current articles on FGM are available. Much of the information available from Amnesty International is dated 1997 or 1998. In spite of this, the primer gives ample information and is easily located using the internal search feature.

The BBC Online Homepage is the jump off point for numerous article on female genital mutilation. The November 1998 article 3,000 UK girls risk female circumcision every year discusses the fact that in spite of the fact that the practice was outlawed in 1985.

EVALUATION OF SITE: BBC Online may not provide a wealth of information on the subject, but there are several good articles which highlight the subject and draw attention to its importance. The search engine is easy to use and scores results based on matching of terms

The Earth Times produces an independent international nonpartisan newspaper. The Earth Times website states that they are one of the leading newspapers devoted to concerns of the international system as population, conflict-resolution, governance, human-rights, trade, and women's and children's rights. The Earth Times article entitled, Fearful of genital mutilation, women seek asylum between US borders highlights issued faced by US Immigration & Naturalization Service a set of guidelines on gender-based persecution for asylum officers.

EVALUATION OF SITE: This newspaper website presents information in a unbiased manner. The scope of information is limited, but nonetheless the search feature is easily manipulated.

The Female Genital Mutilation Education and Networking Project (FGM Network) is one of the most comprehensive sites for information. This website presents information concerning FGM from a variety of perspectives: psychological, cultural, sexual, and human rights. FGM Network homepage includes National and International Legislative information. These links provide current information on the status of bills pending.

EVALUATION OF SITE: This website contains vital information, but is narrow in that it fails to reference any links to other organizations that have research on or are working on the topic. Some of the links lead to pages which inform the researcher that the page has been discontinued, it would seem that the Webmaster for this site would remove references that are not applicable. The FGM Research Homepage states that the pages may change often, however during the summer of 2000, no changes were noticed. To give validity to this, it may be more useful to include a last updated date to apprise the public. FGM Research Homepage website also contains a page where requests for assistance are made public. Unfortunately the only request was dated June 1999 and again, one might question when the page was last updated.

PATH (Program for Appropriate Technology in Health) strives to improve the health, especially the health of women and children. PATH emphasizes improving the quality of reproductive health services and on preventing and reducing the impact of widespread communicable diseases and female genital mutilation. PATH Resources include an information pack with the facts about FGM. Included in this information are charts and statistics that give validity to information presented by the organization. The resources specifically addresses the child health issue and their efforts to improve the health of children by reducing practices such as female genital mutilation. In addition, PATH makes reference to the new alternative rite of passage ceremony, 'Ntanira na Mugamgo' or Circumcision Through Words, that has been introduced in Kenya.

EVALUATION OF SITE: Information contained on PATH's website appears to be well researched and is presented in an appealing design. The search engine results are accurate and link the researcher to the subject matters. The link from internal resources to the broader category often result in dead links.

RAINBO (Research, Action and Information Network for Bodily Integrity of Women), an international non-profit organization, works on health and human rights issues, provide technical assistance to organizations working to provide programs and policies to work on the issue of female genital mutilation. RAINBO highlights their collaborative efforts with other international organizations. The research of RAINBO has increased their cultural sensitivity and awareness of the subject matter. While the use of the terms "female genital mutilation" describes the procedure according to US standards, RAINBO recommend the use of FGM only on the policy level, and encourage use of the term "female circumcision" when dealing with individuals subjected to the procedure.

EVALUATION OF SITE: The colorful background may be culturally pleasing so long as you are not reading for a long duration because the background proves to be distracting and the letters get lost in the design. The link page for the African Program lacked any information aside from the links to other resources. RAINBO created an effective way of highlighting their efforts as they connected to other organizations in that it acknowledged the other organizations. In effect, this demonstrates the respect earned in the field of FGM research. Information presented on the RAINBO website shows greater connectedness and cultural sensitivity to the women who underwent the procedure. In addition, RAINBO appears to be the only website dealing with the issue that contains a "How You Can Help?" section, wherein they ask for donations, request that you spread the word about the work of RAINBO, make donations or provide in-kind assistance.

ReligiousTolerance.org presents information on the subject of Female Circumcision/ Female genital mutilation from the religious perspective, referencing Christian, Muslims, and Jews. The referenced information explains the practice as a cultural practice not a religious practice, provides information on countries where FGM is practiced and justification for the procedure.

EVALUATION OF SITE: The organizers of ReligiousTolerance.org attempt to present the issue as a cultural, not religious issue. A general view of the website would suggest all perspectives are present but with reference to this issue, there are several references which come across as in defense of Muslims. The references of defense suggest that there has been religious intolerance toward Muslims as a direct result of a general believe that the practice of female genital mutilation is a religious practice. This could be an accurate statement, but no other references confirming this belief have been see. The sponsor ads on each page are distracting and unappealing.

Rising Daughters Aware, formerly the Female Genital Mutilation Network and Message Board, provides detailed information. Part of the resources provided by this organization is country by county information. This information includes both the health and cultural aspects of FGM. Unfortunately, the cultural information for many of the countries ignores the subject of FGM. One country, Somalia, addresses the cultural issue and comments on the cultural significance of this practice that may be more than 10,000 years old. Included in the information provided by Rising Daughters Aware is contact information for African Men United Against Female Circumcision.

EVALUATION OF SITE: The Rising Daughters Aware website provides free information and services for FGM affected women, their physicians, health care providers, social workers, counselors and attorneys. The issue of FGM is addressed in a sensitive and comprehensive manner. This site provides extensive resources to organizations throughout the world who work on behalf of women affected by FGM. The rarity of information specifically addressing the issue of African men against female genital mutilation makes the inclusion a welcome addition, but the reliability of independence of the main site is questionable since the contact is directed to Rising Daughters Aware.

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) focuses on many aspects of education, culture and development. UNESCO seeks "to contribute to peace and security by promoting collaboration among nations through education, science and culture in order to further universal respect for justice, for the rule of law and for the human rights and fundamental freedoms which are affirmed for the peoples of the world, without distinction of race, sex, language or religion, by the Charter of the United Nations." UNESCO is one of a limited number of organizations that addresses the impact and importance of FGM on culture of a society. UNESCO has prepared a report entitled Parents and Community Attitudes Towards Girls’ Participation In and Access to Education and Science, Mathematics and Technology (SMT) Subjects. This report notes that the practice of FGM interferes with girls’ access to education as well as has a negative effect on some girls’ attitudes towards school. FGM is examined from the viewpoint that it impedes the education of girls. "Our Creative Diversity" Report challenges the status quo that exists in society. Female genital mutilation is discussed as one of the topics discussed as part of the agenda developed to provide a permanent vehicle through which issues of culture and development are discussed and analyzed at the international level.

In addition, The Struggle Against Discrimination: A Collection of International Instruments Adopted by the United Nations System, includes a Declaration of the Elimination of Violence Against Women. UNESCO believes that violence against women includes female genital mutilation as an example of a violation of the rights and freedoms of women that impairs or nullifies the freedom and rights of women. The Declaration calls for and end to the violence through education, legislative changes, and resources for women (UNESCO Appendix, PPS. 184-189).

EVALUATION OF SITE: The information provided on female genital mutilation presented by UNESCO is limited, but comments on UNESCO's website is more critical of the failure of the world to protect women, the importance of culture in today's society, and the need to provide opportunities for equality of the genders. UNESCO makes pointed statements about the failure of global societies to develop shared principles and global ethics. Unfortunately, the complexity of the site make it difficult to return to the same page once you have explored the site unless you make note of the page. Internal search engine is easy to use, but it is hard to narrow the search to the page previously used.

The University of Minnesota has prepared a Human Rights Library which contains links to extensive human rights resources. Referenced within the many human rights topics are links related to Female Genital Mutilation. They include a reference page for the African Human Rights Resource Center.

EVALUATION OF SITE: The University of Minnesota has developed a broad list of resources which are easily searched. The search engine is easy to use and allows users to search exclusively within the site's documents or to search for documents on multiple human rights sites.

The University of Toronto's Women's Human Rights Resources contains a wealth of resources on female genital mutilation. They include links, articles and documents under the heading of Reproductive Rights and Sexual Health: Female Genital Mutilation

The Hon. Justice Desiree Bernard of the Court of Appear, Guyana wrote an article, The Work of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women: Its Focus on Nationality, Custom, Culture, and the Rights of the Child, elaborating on the work of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). In this article, there is a call to eradicate female genital mutilation in that it is a practice that is harmful to women and discriminates against women.

EVALUATION OF SITE: The Bora Baskin Law Library has compiled resources that are easily maneuvered. The search engine provides easy access to reference materials. The University of Toronto resources are far from exhaustive, but no other specific issue is referenced on the Law Library main page giving credence to efforts expended by the University to make information available on this important topic.

The Wallace Global Fund has funded projects addressing the issue of FGM since 1998 and has awarded grants in excess of $600,000. The Fund has made limited funds available for the support of initiatives to eradicate the practice of female genital mutilation. One of the funded projects resulted in a paper, Eradicating Female Genital Mutilation: Lessons for Donors. This paper summarizes the lessons learned during early efforts to oppose FGM in Africa and provides guidelines to donors interested in supporting efforts to eradicate this intolerable practice. Other projects include general support for RAINBO's work on eliminating FGM, funds for support of PATH enabling them to participate in a FGM national planning meeting in Mali scheduled in 2000.

EVALUATION OF SITE: The focus of the Wallace Global Fund in more extensive than FGM, projects funded by Wallace Global Fund highlight the importance of FGM. The links to the article Eradicating Female Genital Mutilation: Lessons for Donors displays the article without reference to what organization prepared the article. Once printed, this article is difficult to trace to the author in the present state.

The US State Department developed a Fact Sheet, U.S. Intervention on Gender Equality, Equity, And Empowerment of Women, which was released by the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration in February 1999. The State Department develops country profiles on the practice of FGM for asylum adjudicators and also funds non-governmental activity aimed at alleviating the health complications that arise from the practice.

At the Beijing Plus Five Meeting held in June 2000, critical areas of concern were highlighted, including female genital mutilation, according to the President's Interagency Council on Women. The special session plenary of the Beijing Plus Five Meeting published the final outcome document in which the achievements and obstacles of the critical areas were reported. The support of efforts to eradicate harmful practices included the appointment in September 1997 of Waris Dirie of a Special Ambassador for the Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation by the United Nations Population Fund.

State Magazine, a publication of the US Department of State, included an article written by a senior advisor on violence against women for the Office of the Senior Coordinator for International Women's Issues entitled A Very Old Tradition. This March 1998 article focuses on the practice of FGM and the efforts of many to end the practice.

EVALUATION OF SITE: The focus of the US State Department is clearly broader than the subject matter, female genital mutilation. In credit to the State Department, with the information focusing on female genital mutilation, the information available on-line presents a kinder, gentler perspective of the bureaucratic web of foreign policy.

United Nations Population Fund (UNPFA) developed a Populations Issues Briefing Kit which states that the epidemic of violence against women is at the top of the agenda and must be stopped. UNPFA incorporates information of FGM as part of the larger picture of gender based violence. UNPFA issued a statement on the Colloquium on Islam and Population reporting on the meeting of International Conference on Population and Reproductive Health in the Muslim World wherein a discussion was held surrounding the issue of female circumcision. The statement reports that female circumcision is not a religious injunction in the Holy Koran or in the Holy Bible.UNPFA published an article, Lack of Choice Jeopardizes Women’s Health and Lives, that elaborates on the denial of education, health care, contraception and further explores the issue of female genital mutilation.

EVALUATION OF SITE: In comparison to other government and commercial site, the UNPFA site was harder to navigate. The efforts of UNPFA are note-worthy and clearly they are working to improve the situation for women and eradicate FGM, it was more difficult to locate reference materials. The frequently asked question document was useful, but lacked any hyperlinks joining questions and answers which would have enabled researchers to quickly access the information.

The Women's Health division of the World Health Organization (WHO) provides extensive informational resources on FGM including a film, fact sheets, links to other organizations working to eliminate FGM, statements, and a bibliographic database. The Overview prepared by WHO contains statistics and information on the current situation in African nations, past and current research, and consequences. This Overview provides researchers with ample information.

In addition, WHO developed a Information Pack and Fact Sheet on Female Genital Mutilation. Fact Sheet No. 241 was updated in June 2000 and describes the procedure, health consequences, information about who performs procedure, prevalence of FGM, and current activities of WHO related to FGM.

EVALUATION OF SITE: The information prepared by WHO is exhaustive. The resources of the organization are apparent in the wealth of information easily available. The link to the Islamic Ruling on Male and Female Circumcision was dead. Due to the limited number of resources referencing religion, this non-working link detracted from the accuracy. The bibliographic database was less useful in that there are no live links accessible. The comprehensive amount of references is impressive, but it might be more useful if in addition to the instructions on how to conduct searches within the reference materials that those materials currently available on-line would contain hyperlinks to the materials. The References used for the FGM Overview credit a vast range of organizations, individuals, journal articles, and publications while the recommended readings reference only WHO publications severely limiting the vantage point of researchers.

Nancy Carey, BIS 490 Project, Web Resources for Intercultural Women's Studies, George Mason University, September 2000.

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