Female circumcision: desperately seeking a space for women.

Lasjali M, Toubia N.

ABSTRACT

PIP: Female Circumcision (FC) is “the total or partial cutting away of the female external genital organs.” There are 3 types of FC: 1) Sunna where the foreskin of the clitoris is removed; 2) excision which involved removal of a part or all of the clitoris with a part or all of the labia minora; and 3) infibulation or pharaonic circumcision (the most severe type) which includes excision and removal of the labia majora only leaving a small hole to allow the exit of urine and menstrual fluid. FC carries the high risk of HIV infection because it is often practiced without anesthesia and with either a razor blade or a knife. The damages go beyond the physical–they include long-term side effects on women’s physical and psychological health. The international battle against FC includes a series of legislative and political acts: 1) In 1946 the British Colonial government made one of the earliest efforts of its kind by making pharaonic circumcision in Sudan a felony and punishable by imprisonment; 2) In 1959 Egypt passed a law making circumcision illegal; 3) In 1977 the Special Committee of Non- Governmental Organizations on Human Rights of the United Nations in collaboration with WHO and UNICEF organized a sub-committee to investigate the status of women in 20 African countries and published a report; 4) In 1979 WHO held a conference in Sudan entitled “The Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children” whose outcomes were published in a report; 5) In 1980 WHO forbade the practice of FC; 6) In 1984 a Pan-African seminar was held in Dakar, Senegal that established the Inter-African Committee Against Harmful Practices Affecting Women and Children (IAC); 7) In 1985 the UN Nairobi Conference on The Women’s Decade passed resolutions against FC; 8) In 1988 the 39th Assembly of the WHO/Africa Region passed a resolution calling for the abolition of female sexual mutilation. Presidents of several African countries have condemned FC including Benin, Burkina Faso, Kenya, Senegal, Djibouti, Guinea Bissau and Mali.

There is no link to view this article online.