| ......... |
..
| FEMALE
GENITAL MUTILATION |
.
.
| In the discussion on inequality,
specifically inequality of gender, there is a topic of violence towards
women. |
.
| It can also be discussed
as part of any discussion on crime and deviance. |
.
| Most of the literature
in feminist sociology is focused on male violence towards females. |
.
| Other violence, by women against
women, and by women against men has very little attention paid to it. |
.
| Its absence in the
literature does not necessarily mean its absence in life. |
.
| Female circumcision is special because
it is a form of violence that is approved by the societies in which it
is practised. |
.
| About 183 million women
have undergone such mutilation. |
.
| The geographic areas
of practice include North East Africa and parts of the Middle East. |
.
| Although it is illegal
in Canada, it is practised by immigrants from those areas. |
.
| For the most part, men do not involve
themselves in the practice, and its greatest supporters are women in the
communities affected. |
.
| It contributes to the spread of HIV/AIDS
and other STDs because non sterile instruments are used (usually a piece
of glass or a kitchen knife). |
.
| It is seen in the communities as
a practice which makes girls less interested in sex, more docile, therefore
more attractive as a wife, although western medicine can not support that
belief. |
.
| It is much more painful than male
circumcision, and usually involves the removal of much more tissue and
the sewing closed, or partially closed, of the vagina. |
.
| Unlike violence perpetrated by males,
it is a violence perpetrated by the communities themselves. |
.
| Although found in societies characterised
by Islam, it is not approved by the Koran, and there is a prohibition against
mutilation or harming the body. |
.
| Its practice preceded
Islam, apparently, for thousands of years. |
.
| See my training
document aimed at community workers working to delete the practice
from their communities.* |
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