Mohammed Alzhrani
Professor Beiber
English 113B
24 September 2012
Professor Beiber
English 113B
24 September 2012
Female Circumcision in Egypt
Yolande
Knell, BBC World Channel reporter showed
from Egypt how women are treated and how Nermin, an Egyptian 13 year old girl, died
in a local clinic while receiving an illegal circumcision operation. The
reporter conversed with local women in Nermin’s village and she described that
the women are having less awareness and knowledge about the female genital
mutilation. Although female circumcision is not required in some religions and
disapproved in others, female genital mutilation is a violation of human rights
and gender inequality. Female circumcision violates an individual's right to
health, safety, and the right not to be exposed to any treatment categorized as
torture.
Female circumcision is the removal of the external genital of the female
organs for non-medical reasons. Usually who circumcise women is a traditional
circumciser, who is considered as an important person in the places where the
female circumcision is common (World Health Organization). World Health
Organization categorized the female circumcision to four categories; first, the
total or partial removal of the clitoris and this involves in the removal of
the skin or the whole clitoris. Second kind of circumcision, is circumcise the
labia and the clitoris; and the main purpose of this kind is to cut the labia
with or without the clitoris. Third, is the Pharonic circumcision ,which is the
worst kind, this kind is practiced in Africa and the world health organization
describes it as “narrowing of the vaginal opening through the creation of a
covering seal that is formed by cutting and repositioning the inner labia.” The
fourth category is other thing that includes processes with the female genital
for non-medical reason such as piercing.
The female circumcision has
harmful health consequences. Female circumcision has no any health benefits but
it harms the girl, hurts her genitals and destroys the tissues of the genitals.
According to Lancet Medical Journal “It has medical, psychological, and
psychosexual consequences, Nor should one forget the unacceptably high number
of young girls who die as a result of life threatening infections such as
tetanus or hemorrhage; in areas of Sudan where antibiotics are not available, a
third of the girls undergoing female genital mutilation are estimated to die
from infection.” The timeline of the health risk starts from the beginning of
the cut, when the female is fighting and resisting against the circumcision,
which causes her a lot of horror and causing her an emotional and psychological
pain. Second, it could potentially cause death if the female bleeds too much,
and in most of the African countries like Egypt they don’t have the proper
medicine to stop bleeding due to the poor preparation in medical
infrastructure. Third, the psychological aftershock is extremely difficult to
cope with because some women still suffer the pain of remembering how her
parents forced her to do the circumcision. For instance, the brave Waris Dirie who was born in Somalia had a circumcision
at the age of five and wrote a book about her terrifying experience. Fourth,
possible sexual dilemmas occur once the woman marries. She may not have the
pleasure of sex because the clitoris has been cut and the woman may experience
a lot of bleeding while having sexual intercourse. Finally, it is dangerous for
women who have had the circumcision to get pregnant and experience childbirth,
because it might cause death to the infant while the woman is in labor. The
Doctors recommend males to do a male circumcision which is considered healthy.
Therefore, female circumcision is accounted as unhealthy procedure.
Female Circumcision
reported highly in Egypt because of the old cultural traditions, which
inherited from the Pharaonic times. In Egypt they circumcise the girls to
protect the honor of the family, they claim that the circumcised women have a
virtue and the uncircumcised women are promiscuous. Also, they think that
circumcision protect the women from being involved in sexual intercourses. In
Egypt once the woman involves in a sexual intercourse in the pre-marriage that
is considered polluting the family honor. On the other hand, the married women
lose the right to have the sex pleasure and the sexual intercourse became under
the dominance of the man, and she cannot enjoy it as a human but she became a
tool for sexual pleasure, which is measured as a human rights violation. In
Egypt, some people who entitle them selves as a religious scholar says that
female circumcision is a good thing to do in Islam, but in fact, Islam did not
mention anything about it in the Quran, or the Hadith of Prophet Mohammed –Peace
be upon him- and they misunderstand between the culture and the religion.
Female circumcision is a surgery that involves removing the female genitals
totally or partially. A female circumcision is not like surgery in the
operation room, but it is a bloody, violent surgery where women and men force
the girl to have the procedure. According to the World Health Organization this
bad habit affect approximately, 140 million female around the world (World
Health Organization), and the reason for the high violated women is the lack of education which is one of the main reasons
that make the female circumcision popular in Egypt. Most of Egyptian people
think that female circumcision is a cultural matter that has been inherited
from the Pharonic ages; however, they think it is healthy as the Pharonic said.
And some other Egyptian mixed between the religious orders and traditions and
they think it is from Islam to do the female circumcision. Many scholars and
religious scholars in Egypt began to give lectures to people to raise the
awareness of the people to let them rethink about the operation and how it is
unhealthy (Knell).
In conclusion,
Female circumcision is an immoral cultural crime. And the world ought to find
solutions to stop it in Egypt by stating the international legalizations and
laws that criminalize who does it, and who incites it. People suppose to change
their bad cultural habits, which take human’s freedom and health. Also,
Scholars and activists should talk about the female circumcision and raise the awareness
and people knowledge.
Work Cited
BBC News.
BBC, 09 Feb. 2010. Web. 22 Sept. 2012.
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-11160935>.
"Female
Genital Mutilation." WHO. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Oct. 2012.
<http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs241/en/>.
Flodes,
Pierre, Béatrice Cuzin, and Armelle Andro. "Reconstructive Surgery after
Female
Genital Mutilation: A Prospective Cohort
Study." Pierre Foldès, Béatrice Cuzin, Armelle
Andro 14
July 2012: 134-41. Web. 22 Sept. 2012. <http://download.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lancet/PIIS0140673612604000.pdf?id=40bade475
3939e7f:-459d7b89:13a21f90b4b:-31571349192095021>.
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