Desert Flower; FGM-Female Genital Mutilation, Unite for Children

Love hurt three times. Once when you are cut. Once when you marry.  Once when you give birth

African Proverb.

"Desert Flower" 

Below is an eyewitness account of what is done to all Somali girls because men still refuse marriage with an uninfibulated, or "open," bride. And without marriage, there is no future for a girl:

           Instruments used for the FMG

"With the Somalis, the circumcision of girls occurs in the home among women's relatives and neighbors. The grandmother or an older woman officiates. On each occasion, usually, only one little girl or, at times, two sisters are infibulated, but all girls, without exception, must undergo this mutilation as it is required for marriage.
The operation itself is not accompanied by any ceremony or ritual. The child, completely naked, is made to sit on a low stool. Several women take hold of her and open her legs wide.

 

 After separating her outer and inner lips, the operator, usually a woman experienced in this procedure, sits down facing the child. With her kitchen knife, the operator first pierces and slices open the hood of the clitoris. Then she begins to cut it out. While another woman wipes off the blood with a rag, the operator digs with her sharp fingernail a hole the length of the clitoris to detach and pull out the organ. The operator finishes this job by pulling out the clitoris
and cutting it to the bone with her knife. Her helpers again wipe off the spurting blood with a rag. The operator then removes the remaining flesh, digging with her finger to remove any remnant of the clitoris from the flowing blood. The neighbor women are then invited to plunge their fingers into the bloody hole to verify that every piece of the clitoris is removed. The little girl, held down by the women helpers, screams in extreme pain; but no one pays the

slightest attention.

This operation is not always well-managed, as the little girl struggles. By clumsy use of the knife or a poorly executed cut, the urethra is pierced, or the rectum is cut open. If the little girl faints, the women blow pili-pili (spice powder) into her nostrils. But this is not the end. The most important part of the operation begins only now. After a short moment, the woman retakes the knife and cuts off the inner lips (labia minora) of the victim. The helpers again wipe the blood with their rags. Then the operator, with a swift knife, begins to scrape the skin inside the large lips.

The operator conscientiously scrapes the flesh of the screaming child without the slightest concern for the extreme pain she inflicts. She adds lengthwise cuts and several more incisions when the wound is large enough. The neighbor women carefully watch her 'work' and encourage her.  The child now howls even more. Sometimes in a spasm, children bite off their tongues. The women carefully watch to prevent such an accident. When her tongue flops out, they throw spice powder on it, which provokes an instant pulling back. With the skin abrasion completed according to the rules, the operator closes the bleeding large lips and fixes them one against the other with long acacia thorns.  At this stage of the operation, the child is so exhausted that she stops crying but often has convulsions. The woman then forces down her throat a concoction of plants.  The operator's chief concern is to leave an opening no larger than a kernel of corn or just big enough to allow urine, and later the
menstrual flow, to pass. The family honor depends on making the opening as small as possible because, with the Somalis, the smaller the artificial passage is, the greater the value of the girl and the higher the bride price.  When the operation is finished, the woman pours water over the genital area of the girl and wipes her with a rag. Then the child, held down all this time, is made to stand up. The women then immobilize her thighs by tying them together with ropes of goat skin.

The girl must lie on a mat while all the excrement remains in the bandage. This bandage is applied from the knees to the waist of the girl and is left in place for about two weeks. After that time, the girl is released, and the application is cleaned. Her vagina is now closed - except for a tiny opening created by inserting a straw or reed, and it remains shut until her marriage. Contrary to
what one would assume, not many girls die from this torture. There are, of course, various complications which frequently leave the girl crippled and disabled for the rest of her life."

 Excerpts from Hosken Report, Somalia Genital and Sexual Mutilation of Females, Fourth Revised Edition, 1993 (Women’s International Network News)

Historical data

It is a misconception that Genital and Sexual Mutilation of females is an Islamic ritual. It isn't this. It is a cultural ritual.  The ritual cutting and alteration of the genitalia of female infants, girls, and adolescents have been traditional practices since antiquity. The practice's origin is unknown, and no specific evidence indicates how and when it began and propagated. In all communities where female circumcision is carried out, male circumcision is also present. Male circumcision is portrayed in some reliefs of the Egyptian tomb of Ankh-Ma-Hor (sixth dynasty, 2340–2180 bc) and other representations concerning different dynasties.
It is not known whether excision and infibulation shared a parallel development. However, the practice is documented in Egypt about the first millennium. The most ancient authority reporting circumcision was Herodotus (484–424 bc). He asserted that the Phoenicians, Hittites, and Ethiopians, as well as the Egyptians, practiced excision. At about 25 BC, the Greek geographer and historian Strabone related that the Egyptians circumcised boys and practiced excision on girls.

Religious and health beliefs

It is unknown when or where the tradition of FGM (Female Genital Mutilation) originated, and various reasons (sociocultural, psychosexual, hygienic, aesthetic, and religious) have been given for its maintenance. FGM is practiced by followers of several religions, including Muslims and Christians (Catholics, Protestants, and Copts), animists and Jews (Falashas in Ethiopia), and nonbelievers in the countries concerned. The practice is deeply embedded in local traditional belief systems.

In some countries, the practice seems to be more common among Muslim groups, and many people falsely believe that Islam requires FGM. In the Ivory Coast, 80% of Muslim vs. 16% of Christian women have been genitally cut; in Burkina Faso, Muslim women have undergone FGM due to the belief that God does not listen to the prayers of uncut women. The debate has been ongoing among Islamic scholars on whether Islamic teaching mandates FGM. It is now generally conceded by many Islamic authorities that there are no authenticated Islamic texts requiring the practice.
It is important to stress, however, that even though communities are aware that it is not a religious requirement, the practice continues because it serves as a way of controlling women’s sexuality. It is, therefore, necessary to work with women first before approaching religious leaders so that they become convinced of the need to stop FGM due to health consequences.

FGM is considered a barbaric practice inflicted on women and girls in remote villages in foreign countries. This is not so. The family's dignity, cleanliness, protection against sorcery, and guarantee of virginity and fidelity to the husband are the motivational factors sometimes cited as reasons for the practice.
One of the most frequent explanations for FGM is that it is a local cultural custom, and women are often unwilling to change this habit because of its long-lasting use. Moreover, people using this kind of practice often ignore the true implications of FGM and the severe risks to the health involved.
Owing to the large number of cases of FGM, sometimes followed by death, the practice is now forbidden in some European countries (UK, France, Sweden, Switzerland) and some African countries (Egypt, Kenya, Senegal). It is important to note, however, that even though FGM is illegal in many African and Middle Eastern countries, the number of girls mutilated every year has not decreased, as the governments of these countries are unable to monitor the extent of the practice.
The United Nations, UNICEF, and WHO consider FGM a violation of human rights and recommend eradicating the practice. Also, many nongovernmental organizations are trying to increase awareness of the need to eliminate FGM.

The solution is Education based on compassion, understanding, and respect for the culture or religion and collaboration of community leaders.

FGM is a problem unfamiliar to most Western physicians and dermatovenereologists. The information about the underlying sociocultural beliefs and traditions is incomplete. For example, in many communities where FGM is a traditional practice, women are reluctant to discuss sexual matters with health personnel. They are shy to complain about painful intercourse or the inability to consummate the marriage.
In northern Sudan, women have a defibrillation procedure performed immediately after marriage. This procedure is carried out by a local midwife or birth attendant and facilitates the consummation of marriage. Many Somali women living in the UK experience difficulty obtaining such a facility. FGM's physiologic, psychosexual, and cultural aspects should be incorporated into the training of healthcare personnel working with immigrant communities who practice FGM.

Women should be able to request political asylum independently and not only as dependants of men. 

Girls should be aware of the possibility of seeking help and refuge, e.g., through telephone helplines, social services, and battered women’s shelters.
Politicians are responsible for meeting with communities; these consultations can be employed to identify critical issues, which can then be used as a basis for developing a policy framework to tackle FGM's medical, economic, social, and legislative aspects.

Funds should be raised to tackle more than one aspect of immigrant women’s lives.
Dermatovenereologists, anthropologists, educators, social assistants, and health operators should be able to reach villages and districts and inform practitioners about the dangers of FGM. To successfully eliminate this practice, it will be necessary to act delicately, as cultural beliefs are firmly held.

To eradicate FGM, we believe that the following measures will be necessary.

1 Training and awareness of nurses and healthcare workers in developed countries because international migration has increased the number of circumcised women in these countries.
2 Health education programs for immigrant communities.
3 Attempts by healthcare workers to discourage women from performing FGM on their daughters.
4 Education and prevention campaigns aimed at different target groups: adolescents, refugees, men and women of the communities involved, and healthcare professionals who work with communities with a high FGM risk factor.
5 Cultural facilitators involved in working with immigrant communities. Furthermore, intensive Education on FGM should be included in the official curricula of midwives, nurses, and medical doctors, and the subject should also be tackled through publications in medical journals.

Please sign this Petition to help stop FGM (Female Genital Mutilation)