FGM is practised predominantly within certain Muslim societies, but it also exists within some adjacent Christian and animist groups. The practice isn't required by most forms of Islam and fatwas have been issued forbidding FGM, favouring it, or leaving the decision to parents but advising against it.
And although FGM is often perceived as being connected to Islam, perhaps because it is practiced among many Muslim groups, not all Islamic groups practice FGM, and many non-Islamic groups do, including some Christians, Ethiopian Jews, and followers of certain traditional African religions.
There is no exact established region where FGM's origin is dated back to, however, scholars have proposed Ancient Egypt and Sudan. Others claim it originated from Ancient Rome, stating that FGM was implemented on the female slaves to prevent pregnancy and sexual relations.
Although estimates of the prevalence of FGM vary, sources have consistently found the practice to be undergone by the majority of women in the Horn of Africa, in the West African countries of Guinea, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Mauritania, Mali and Burkina Faso, as well as in Sudan and Egypt.
FGM is most prevalent among the Yoruba people of the South West with Osun State recording 98.7 percent cases closely followed by Oyo State with a prevalence rate of 96.8 percent. Cases of FGM are also high in Niger, Rivers and Borno states with a prevalence of 95.7 percent and 82.6 percent respectively.
Nimko Ali OBE (Somali: Nimco Cali), alternatively spelled Nimco (born c. 1982), is a British social activist of Somali heritage. She is the co-founder and CEO of The Five Foundation, a global partnership to end female genital mutilation (FGM).
More than 200 million girls and women alive today have undergone female genital mutilation (FGM) in 30 countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia where FGM is practiced. FGM is mostly carried out on young girls between infancy and age 15.
On the other hand, some circumcised women report having satisfying sexual relations including sexual desire, pleasure and orgasm. Female genital mutilation does not eliminate sexual pleasure totally for every woman who undergoes the procedure, but it does reduce the likely of orgasm.
At Penn Medicine, one of our renowned plastic surgeons pioneered reconstructive surgery that restores genital function and form after FGM/C. The procedure improves the appearance of patients' genitals, may increase sexual function and helps restore physical and emotional well-being.
FGM is most often carried out on young girls aged between infancy and 15 years old. It is often referred to as 'cutting', 'female circumcision', 'initiation', 'Sunna' and 'infibulation'.
FGM is practised by the Dawoodi Bohra, a sect of Shia Islam with one million members in India. Known as khatna, khafz, and khafd, the procedure is performed on six- or seven-year-old girls and involves the total or partial removal of the clitoral hood.
FGM in the Arab states region
FGM is widely prevalent in some Arab countries: In Yemen, 19% of women and girls aged 15-49 have been subjected to the practice, while in Egypt and Sudan the rates are as high as 87%, and even 94% in Djibouti and 98% in Somalia.
Islam is the largest religious group to practice male circumcision. As an Abrahamic faith, Islamic people practice circumcision as a confirmation of their relationship with God, and the practice is also known as 'tahera', meaning purification.
Imam Abu Hanifa and Imam Malik consider circumcision to be recommended but not obligatory. This means that if done, its doer is rewarded by God, and if not done, there is no punishment or reward. The scholars agree that circumcision entails the removal of all or the majority of the foreskin that covers the glans only.
A clitoridectomy is often done to remove malignancy or necrosis of the clitoris. This is sometimes done along with a radical complete vulvectomy. Surgery may also become necessary due to therapeutic radiation treatments to the pelvic area. Removal of the clitoris may be due to malignancy or trauma.
Men under 35 who were circumcised also reported that circumcision not only improved their ability to have sex, but also increased their libido, increasing their desire to have sex.
That said, “studies show that there is no significant change in sensation in adult men who undergo circumcision,” says Dr. Alex Shteynshlyuger, director of urology at New York Urology Specialists.
FGM can cause life-threatening childbirth complications.
Scar tissue may not stretch enough to accommodate a newborn, making delivery even more painful than is usual, and making it more likely that the woman will need a Caesarean section or other emergency interventions.
Injury to the genitals can be very painful. It may cause a lot of bleeding. Such injury can affect the reproductive organs and the bladder and urethra. Damage may be temporary or permanent.
Type IV is the mildest form and includes any form of other harm done to the genitalia by pricking, piercing, cutting, scraping, or burning. World Health Organization classification of female genital cutting.
Type III is the most severe type of FGM, known as infibulation, which involves the narrowing of the vaginal orifice with the creation of a seal that is formed by cutting and then stitching the labia minora and/or the labia majora with or without excision of the clitoris.
The most frequently cited reasons for carrying out FGM are social acceptance, religion, misconceptions about hygiene, a means of preserving a girl or woman's virginity, making the woman "marriageable" and enhancing male sexual pleasure.
Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a procedure where the female genitals are deliberately cut, injured or changed, but there's no medical reason for this to be done. It's also known as female circumcision or cutting, and by other terms, such as Sunna, gudniin, halalays, tahur, megrez and khitan, among others.