Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting; A Women's Right Violation and a harmful Cultural Practice

 Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (Commonly called female circumcision); A Women's Right Violation

World Health Organization says:

Female genital mutilation has no known health benefits. On the contrary, it is known to be harmful to girls and women in many ways. First and foremost, it is painful and traumatic. The removal of or damage to healthy, normal genital tissue interferes with the natural functioning of the body and causes several immediate and long-term health consequences. For example, babies born to women who have undergone female genital mutilation suffer a higher rate of neonatal death compared with babies born to women who have not undergone the procedure. end in stillbirth or spontaneous abortion, and in a further 25% the newborn has a low birth weight or serious infection, both of which are associated with an increased risk of perinatal death.

Definitions

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), also known as Female Genital Cutting (FGC), or Female Circumcision, refers to "all procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs whether for cultural, religious or other non-therapeutic reasons." (WHO, 1995). FGM or FGC comprises all surgical procedures involving partial or total removal of the external genitalia or other injuries to the female genital organs for cultural or other non therapeutic reasons (UNICEF, 2003).

FGM as a cultural practice cuts across religious and cultural boundaries and are either done in secret or with fanfare. Victims often display a sense of helplessness and are unaware of the irrelevance and potential dangers associated with this practice. 

Notably, the four types of Female Genital Mutilation often identified in the literature are all practiced across various ethnic groups and age brackets in Nigeria.  The commonest type of Female Genital Mutilation practiced in Nigeria is Type I. Types II and III are found in different geographical zones, while Type IV is common in the North (known as Gisihiri cuts), and in the South as the introduction of herbs into the vagina. (Descriptions of the various FGM Types are provided below

Classification

According to WHO (2007), the types of Female Genital Mutilation currently practiced are: 

Type I: Partial or total removal of the clitoris and/or the prepuce (Clitoridectomy). 

Type II: Partial or total removal of the clitoris and the Labia minora, with or without excision of the Labia majora (excision). 

Type III: Narrowing of the vaginal orifice with creation of a covering seal by cutting and appositioning the Labia minora and/or the Labia majora, with or without excision of the clitoris (infibulation).

Type IV: Unclassified: All other harmful procedures to the female genitalia for non medical purposes, for example, pricking, piercing, incising, scraping and cauterization.  

Type II: Partial or total removal of the clitoris and the Labia minora, with or without excision of the Labia majora (excision)

Type III: Narrowing of the vaginal orifice with creation of a covering seal by cutting and appositioning the Labia minora and/or the Labia majora, with or without excision of the clitoris (infibulation).

Health Implications and Consequences

The consequences depend on the type and severity of the genital mutilation. Immediate health complications includes:

• Pain, 
• Shock, and bleeding, 
• Acute urine retention, 
• Risk of blood borne diseases such as septicaemia, 
• Hepatitis B, HIV/ AIDS and other infections. 

The long-term health complications include:

• Recurrent urinary tract infection, 
• Dysmenorrhoea, 
• Sexual dysfunction, 
• Chronic pelvic infection, 
• Infertility, prolonged and 
• Obstructed labour; 
• Infertility
• Difficulties in child birth
• Trouble with menstruation or urination
• Problems and extreme pain with intercourse
• Lack of sexual desire
• No sexual stimulation, and mental illness.

Others include:

• Vesico-vaginal Fistulae (VVF), 
• Recto-vaginal fistulae (RVF) and scarring/keloid formation with psychosocial and emotional consequences. 

A few results provide evidence that women who have been mutilated are more likely to experience pain during intercourse, have reduced sexual satisfaction and desire than those who are not cut. For the women and girls who are victims of FGM the pain and torture of the procedure are far from a one-time affair and both the physical and mental scars can last a lifetime. Especially those done as a right of passage to womanhood. 

Data
An estimated 100 to 145 million women and girls have been victimized by the unnecessary and brutal procedure of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), while another 3 million girls are at risk each year.   

Situational Analysis of Female Genital Mutilation in Nigeria (Update to come)

Nigeria with a population of 168 million (2012 NPC projected population), has about 350 ethno-linguistic and cultural groups. These groups carry out various practices, such as Female Genital Mutilation, which are harmful to health and well-being. FGM is in fact rooted in patriarchal ideology often expressed in such cultural values as - gender inequality; femininity (expressed from a male point of view of purity, modesty, chastity, fidelity and social honour of the female person); male control of the woman’s body /sexuality; and less expression of female sexual desire compared to their male counterparts among others.  

The contextual analysis of FGM discussed in this section is based on major findings from the under listed surveys:

1.    A national survey on female circumcision by the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (1985 and 1996).

2.   Community Based Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice studies from 22 States (1996) by the Inter-African               Committee on Harmful Traditional Practices and

3.   The National Baseline Survey on Harmful and positive     Traditional Practices affecting women and girls in Nigeria conducted in all thirty States and the Federal Capital Territory, from 1996 to 1997.

4.   The National Population Commission Report 2005 reported a slight decline in the incidence of FGM from 9% to 17.5%.

5.    The NDHS 2008 which estimated the FGM rate at approximately 30% among the country's female population

6.   UNFPA/UNICEF presentation.

FGM prevalence rates in the 2008 NDHS ranges from 0.1% - 83.9% - with zonal aggregates as follows:

North-East Zone                         -                5.5%

South-South Zone                     -              19.1%

North Central Zone                   -              20.5%

South-East Zone                         -              30.5%

South-West Zone                       -              37.9%

North-West Zone                       -              44.7%

§An estimated 19.9 million Nigerian women have undergone FGM/C meaning that approximately

16% of the 125 million FGM/C survivors worldwide are Nigerians (NPopC 2014)

§19% of girls 15-19 have undergone through FGM/C (MICS 2011)

§More than 65% of the women who have undergone FGM/C were cut before age 5 (MICS 2011)

§The overall prevalence of FGM/C among girls and women aged 15-49 years in Nigeria (27%) is lower than in many countries

§Prevalence of FGM/C has decreased by 9% between 2008 and 2011

§However, due to its large population, Nigeria has the third highest absolute number of women and girls (19.9 million) who have undergone FGM/C worldwide (after Egypt and Ethiopia)

Why is FGM performed in Nigeria

Sexuality – preservation of virginity until marriage.

Marriageability – undergoing FGM improves chances of marriage in some societies.

Tradition – preserving and continuing a set of values and rituals in a community.

Rite of passage from girlhood into womanhood

Religion (though no religion includes FGM as a requirement).

Cultural aesthetic reasons – in some communities, normal female genitals are considered  ugly, unclean and unattractive unless they are subjected to FGM.

Myths and beliefs – some communities believe that the clitoris contains powers strong enough to cause harm to a man’s reproductive organ or to damage/kill a baby during childbirth.

National efforts to steam the tide of FGM/C in Nigeria

To protect girls and women from this brutal experience, February 6 every year was designated as the Int'l Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C), also known as female circumcision or female genital cutting (FGC). The day was established by the United Nations to generate awareness of FGM and to promote its eradication. 

The day was established ten years ago in Nigeria, on February 6, 2003 by Stella Obasanjo, the then First Lady of Nigeria, with the official declaration “Zero Tolerance to FGM” in Africa during a conference organized by the Inter-African Committee on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children (IAC). 

UNICEF and UNFPA joint partnership program has done alot to address FGM/C practice in Nigeria some of which include  conducting National Survey 2015, Support for establishment of National and States Technical Working Group on FGM/C, funding of CSOs. Others include The Generation Girls support establishment of National youth movement against FGM among others.

Join youth dialogue every Thursday by 5-7pm @endcuttinggirls #endcuttinggirls +Abimbola Aladejare +Timidi Omolere +Japheth Omojuwa +UNICEF +Nkiru Igbokwe +Yakubu Aliyu +UNODC Youth Initiative +ENDFGMamnesty 


I Pledge "FGM ends in my generation" 

source: beforeitnews.com, and UN web