Female genital mutilation (FGM) aka female circumcision.

Sometimes I believe that we women are our own worst enemy because I don’t understand how a mother who has endured the agony of FGM will then present her own daughter to have the same thing done to her all in the name of tradition. And in some cases she not only presents her she is one of the people that will hold her down to be mutilated by other women. I have two daughters myself so I just don’t understand. It is high time we women woke up and stop perpetuating traditions that keep us and our sisters and daughters down. It is time we became our sister's keeper so that our daughters and granddaughters have an easier journey.

 FGM is the removal of some or all of the outer female genitalia to inhibit a woman’s sexual feelings. It is usually carried out before puberty between the ages of 4 and 8 but it is increasingly now being performed on infants who are just days or weeks old. It is practised in many cultures around the world including Northern-Eastern, Eastern and Western Africa. It is a barbaric form of female oppression which is of no benefit at all physically, spiritually, socially or otherwise. According to WHO there are four different types of FGM:

Type 1 - This is the removal of the fold of skin surrounding the clitoris (the prepuce) and part or all of the clitoris. This is usually referred to as Sunna-circumcision.

Type 2 – This is the removal of all or part of the prepuce, the clitoris and the inner lips. Type 1 and 2 are the most common types undergone about 80% of victims.

Type 3 – Infibulation, this is the removal of all or part of the entire external genitalia and then sewing together the remaining parts of the outer lips leaving a small hole for urine and menstrual flow.  The hole usually needs to be opened before intercourse or childbirth which causes additional pain. This is the most severe form of FGM affecting about 15% of victims. This form is practised in the Somalia, Djibouti, Eriteria and parts of Sudan and Egypt.

Type 4 – This usually involves the pricking or piercing or cutting or stretching or burning or scarring or introduction of corrosive substances or herbs in the vagina or any other procedure which injures the genitalia in some way.

The procedure is usually performed without anaesthetic and unhygienic circumstances with knives, scissors, razor blades or pieces of broken glass.

 The fact that a woman has had FGM does not mean that she cannot enjoy a healthy sex life. The truth is the brain is the command centre for everything sexual. So whilst FGM might create some physical barriers (that can be rectified) it does not banish the woman to a life of diminished sexuality. It has been scientifically proven that a woman who has undergone FGM can enjoy sex just as much as a woman who hasn’t. Obviously a lady who’s had her clitoris removed will not experience clitoral stimulation but there are other erogenous zones that when stimulated can be just as orgasmic. The clitoris is not the be all and end all of orgasms.  If you have experienced FGM please go to a doctor who specialises in that area to establish the type you have had done and to, if necessary, enlarge the opening so that sex is not painful.  FGM can only stop you enjoying your sex life if you let it. Read my post about G spot stimulation.
© June's Secrets 2015