Female Circumcision

Female Circumcision, also called Female Genital Cutting or Female Genital Mutilation, refers to a variety of procedures that involve removing or altering the female genitalia. It is a cultural practice in many countries, including Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Jordan, Syria, Algeria, Kenya, Nigeria, Mali, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Mozambique, Sudan, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Dijibouti, Eritrea], Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Indonesia, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Tanzania, and Togo. It is a cross-religious practice.

1. Usually NOT a medical procedure
2. Generally performed by parents at home
3. Done to girls worldwide from newborn to adult
4. World Health Organization estimates that 150,000,000 women and girls have undergone the procedure

Disclaimer: The content on this page is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult your doctor for more information on Female Circumcision.

• Google News: Female Circumcision
• The New York Times: "A Cutting Tradition" (January 20, 2008)
  • "Studies have shown that in some parts of Indonesia, female circumcision is more ritualistic — a rite of passage meant to purify the genitals and bestow gender identity on a female child — with a practitioner rubbing turmeric on the genitals or pricking the clitoris once with a needle to draw a symbolic drop of blood. In other instances, the procedure is more invasive, involving what WHO classifies as 'Type I' female genital mutilation, defined as excision of the clitoral hood, called the prepuce, with or without incision of the clitoris itself."
• The New York Times: "Sexual Consequences of Female Initiation Rites in Africa" (January 14, 2008)
  • "Our findings suggest, without doubt, that healthy 'mutilated'/'circumcised' women who did not suffer grave long-term complications and who have a good and fulfilling relationship, may enjoy sex and have no negative impact on psychosexual life (fantasies, desire and pleasure, ability to experience orgasm)."
• Time: "An End to Female Genital Cutting?" (January 4, 2008)
• Daily Mail: "The Unspeakable Practice of Female Circumcision That's Destroying Young Women's Lives..." (January 3, 2008)
  • "During a highly disturbing, four-month investigation, however, we uncovered evidence that thousands of British-African girls, in towns and cities throughout the country, have been forcibly 'cut'."
• Condé Nast Portfolio: "How to End Female Circumcisions" (December 27, 2007)
• Egypt Today: "Final Cut" (November 2007)
• Cameroon Times: "Law Against Female Circumcision" (November 30, 2007)
  • The Vice Prime Minister of Cameroon, Amadou Ali, has assured that the government there is working to make female genital mutilation illegal.
• The Nation: "Kenya Records Drop in Female Cut Cases" (November 22, 2007)
• Arusha Times: " The Link Between Female Genital Mutilation And HIV Transmission" (November 17, 2007)
• BBC News: Female mutilation is 'birth risk' (2006)
• The Christian Science Monitor: Female circumcision surfaces in Iraq (2005)
• New Scientist: Female genital mutilation can cause infertility (2005)
• BBC News: Circumcision survivor's story of hope (2004)