FGM/C Protect Girls at Risk
FGM/C Female Genital Mutilation and Cutting
This is a sad and horrific traditional cultural ritual.
The Office on Women's Health, (OWH) was started in 1992. It is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Services has extensive information about Female genital mutilation and cutting, (FGM/C), and also a hot line 1-800-994-9662 to call to get immediate help and assistance.
Some of the horrendous facts are as many as 140 million girls and women have been cut, that are alive today, world wide. And shockingly 513,000 women and girls in the U.S. of immigrant families.
The "alive today," is a key phrase because this multiation, besides causing horrendous pain, and physical and psychological health problem, it also causes death in many cases.
It's sometimes called Male circumcision. It is not the same at all. It is wholesale mutilation that is done to prepare the girl to be acceptable for her husband, considered a necessity for proper integration into society.
FGM/C is the partial or total removal of the clitoris, sometimes with the removal of the labia,(outer lips of the vagina) or sometimes sewing the labia together, to ensure virginity until marriage, sometimes to increase the pleasure for the husband before marriage.
There are also various methods of cutting, scraping and burning of the genitalia to discourage women from having pleasure during sex, as this would make her purer.
This brutal and savage, mutilation is done to female children between birth and 15 years of age. Half of the countries that practice this are done before 5 years old and the other half are done various ages according to the culture of that country.
The girls are held down by members of their, group, family or relatives and cut with glass, or knives, whatever is available, with no pain killer or regard for sanitation. The children have no idea what is happening and the pain is excruciating.
This is so tied up in the religion and culture of so many countries. In the U.S. the OWH provides education and lectures in these immigrant communities. Definitely, there needs to be more education and laws enforced against these cruel and inhumane practices worldwide. It will be very difficult to make inroads into many of the cultures and religions that support this but we must continue!
This is a sad and horrific traditional cultural ritual.
The Office on Women's Health, (OWH) was started in 1992. It is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Services has extensive information about Female genital mutilation and cutting, (FGM/C), and also a hot line 1-800-994-9662 to call to get immediate help and assistance.
Some of the horrendous facts are as many as 140 million girls and women have been cut, that are alive today, world wide. And shockingly 513,000 women and girls in the U.S. of immigrant families.
The "alive today," is a key phrase because this multiation, besides causing horrendous pain, and physical and psychological health problem, it also causes death in many cases.
It's sometimes called Male circumcision. It is not the same at all. It is wholesale mutilation that is done to prepare the girl to be acceptable for her husband, considered a necessity for proper integration into society.
FGM/C is the partial or total removal of the clitoris, sometimes with the removal of the labia,(outer lips of the vagina) or sometimes sewing the labia together, to ensure virginity until marriage, sometimes to increase the pleasure for the husband before marriage.
There are also various methods of cutting, scraping and burning of the genitalia to discourage women from having pleasure during sex, as this would make her purer.
This brutal and savage, mutilation is done to female children between birth and 15 years of age. Half of the countries that practice this are done before 5 years old and the other half are done various ages according to the culture of that country.
The girls are held down by members of their, group, family or relatives and cut with glass, or knives, whatever is available, with no pain killer or regard for sanitation. The children have no idea what is happening and the pain is excruciating.
This is so tied up in the religion and culture of so many countries. In the U.S. the OWH provides education and lectures in these immigrant communities. Definitely, there needs to be more education and laws enforced against these cruel and inhumane practices worldwide. It will be very difficult to make inroads into many of the cultures and religions that support this but we must continue!
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