In the current world which is cut off and locked down due to COVID-19 pandemic and barely any story makes to the headline, lesser-known malpractice is knocking the doors to ask whether you have a young girl for a cut. There is a global trend to ban a practice called ‘Female Genital Mutilation’ commonly known as female genital cutting or female circumcision.
What Is Female Genital Mutilation?
As per the WHO, partial or total removal of external female genitalia or another injury to female external genital organs for non- medical reasons is termed as female genital mutilation (FGM).
It is not prescribed by any religion and has no health benefits despite this 200 million girls who are alive today have been through FGM. And it is estimated that about 68 million girls will have to undergo it by 2030.
There are four types of FGM, type 1 (partial or total removal of the clitoral glans); type 2 (partial or total removal of the external and visible parts of the clitoris and the inner folds of the vulva); type 3 (infibulation, or narrowing of the vaginal opening through the creation of a covering seal), type 4 (picking, piercing, incising, scraping and cauterizing the genital area).
Recent estimates indicate that around 90% of cases include clitoridectomy, excision, or cases where girls’ genitals are “nicked” but no flesh removed (Type IV), and about 10% are infibulations.
Reports show that it is typically carried out by a traditional circumciser using a blade, FGM is conducted from days after birth to puberty and beyond. Procedures may differ according to the country or ethnic group. A small hole is left for the passage of urine and menstrual fluid; the vagina is opened for intercourse and opened further for childbirth.
Consequences Of FGM
Adverse health effects are depending on the type of procedure; they can include recurrent infections, difficulty urinating and passing menstrual flow, chronic pain, the development of cysts, an inability to get pregnant, complications during childbirth, and fatal bleeding.
Countries Where FGM Is Performed
This is commonly practised in Africa, Southeast Asia, and Middle East which include countries like Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, Egypt, Oman, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Iraq, Iran, Georgia, Russian Federation, Columbia, and Peru, among others.
What Do The Reports Say?
In the time of the worldwide pandemic, two factors attract attention to this topic. Sudan has criminalized the practice of FGM and secondly that lockdown has led to a huge increase in FGM in countries like Somalia which has the world’s largest FGM with about 98% of the women being cut. Sadia Allin, Plan International’s head of mission in Somalia persuaded the government to ensure that FGM is included in all COVID responses.
United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has warned that the COVID-19 pandemic could lead up to an extra 2 million girls worldwide being cut in the next decade. It also estimated that 2,90,000 girls could be cut in Somalia alone in 2020 and claimed that this spike is related to Ramadan, which is the traditional time for girls to be cut.
India’s Dark Secret
India is not untouched when it comes to FGM. India’s Bohra community has been practising it for decades and between 75-80% of Bohra women are subjected to FGM while this practice is kept secret and hidden from the public eye.
Still, there exists no law for it and the government still denies the existence of the practice. Despite the provisions of IPC and Protection of Children from a sexual offence that could deal with FGM, the tradition has prevailed in India for decades especially in the Bohra community.
The community has a well- oiled network of mothers and grandmothers to carry it years after years, decades after decades.
There Is A Demand For A Specific Law
The demand for a specific law in India that criminalizes FGM and deals with its propagation is again on trend after a country like Sudan, which is still in transition from dictatorship to democracy, took the decision to outlaw FGM, criminalized carrying out FGM and made it punishable for three years in jail.
Two Public Interest Litigations have been filed in the Supreme Court of India. SC witnesses FGM as a cultural issue, an issue of rights, gender-based violence, and an act of crime. It has been referred to a 7 judge bench and the matter is pending. The petitioners also see the need to legally define words like FGM/khafz, clitoris, labia minora, and labia majora.
They say that challenging social and religious norms could incite a backlash or outlawing the practice could drive it underground. Making FGM a crime will not be an easy task but it is the only way to put an end to this. Drafting legalisation opens the door to debate, research, and mobilization for and against the issue. Only this process can tear off the veil of secrecy.
What Forces One Woman To Cut Another
There are many deeply rooted customs that we go on following ignorantly, blindly, and unquestioning. The practice of FGM like many others is rooted in gender inequality, attempts to control women’s sexuality, and ideas about purity, modesty, and beauty. It is usually initiated and carried out by women, who see it as a source of honour and fear that failing to have their daughters and granddaughters cut will expose the girls to social exclusion.
The women are ignorant about the subject and encounter fear of social exile that is crushing. It is proof of patriarchal control over women, sanctioned by an impregnable cover-religion. Standing up even for basic rights can be incredibly hard thus, government and institutional support is necessary to give power to the voices of women to enable them to take control over their bodies and sexuality and end up a practice that results in traumatized and mutilated human being.