“WHEN MEN ARE OPPRESSED IT’S A TRAGEDY, WHEN WOMEN ARE OPPRESSED IT’S A TRADITION.”
Imaging you being betrayed by your mom or grandma by taking you to a place which is darker than hell and there is another woman who asks you to lay on the ground, removes your underwear, takes a hot knife which was heated on the gas stove and your clitoris being cut…Imaging being in the place of a 5 year old girl, shrieking in immense agony!
What is Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) ?
This is a horrendous practice of partially or totally removing the external female genital part of extremely young girls which injures the female genital organs. This has been followed for more than a thousand years. This treatment is carried out forcibly against a girl’s wish and without her consent. FGM is a non-medical practice and has null benefits.
Why is FGM done ?
This practice is a violence against women and girls. This is mainly done in the name of tradition which is often to control a girl’s sexuality, setting them up for marriage by purifying them to their husbands or sometimes given the fact that it is done to their mothers, grandmothers and passed down through generations.
Where is FGM practiced ?
Apparently, FGM is practiced all over the world but is predominant in 31 countries. In Somalia, Guinea, Djibouti, Sierra Leone, Mali and Egypt, 90% of girls and women have been forced to undergo FGM. The cruel practice is not only done in Africa and among the tribal communities, but also in our very own INDIA. The Bohra tradition demands young girls aged 6-7 to encounter FGM which is known as ‘khafd’. In 2018, a study concluded that the practice of FGM was upto 75% across the Bohra community. At present, FGM is banned in 59 countries and in Africa, 26 countries have formualted laws prohibiting FGM from a total of 29 countries where FGM is practiced traditionally. This was possible only because of the victims of FGM who voiced out and shared their traumatic experience to the world and created an eye opening awareness against FGM.
Reports related to the cruel practice:
According to UNICEF, a minimum of 200 million girls have gone through FGM. Along which, 3 million more women and girls are prone to FGM every year! The period of Covid-19 proved not only unproductive but also undesirable by paving a way for the number of girls undergoing FGM to increase. Through a report, it was said that an addition of 2 million cases of FGM is likely to occur in the next decade beacuse of Covid-19. The lockdown not only shut schools across the globe but also shut the doors of happiness for millions of girls.
Types of FGM:
- TYPE 1: CLITORIDECTOMY -The elimination of the clitoris.
- TYPE 2: EXCISION- The removal of clitoris and the labia.
- TYPE 3: INFIBULATION -Narrowing of the vaginal opening, sometimes through stitching.
- TYPE 4: Comprises all others not including the first three types. This includes procedures like pricking, stretching, scrapping, cutting, burning the area or even using acid to mutilate parts of the genitalia.
Consequences or effects of FGM:
Women and children who have undergone FGM experience unbearable pain, severe bleeding, complications in child birth, leads to infertility, problems menstruating and having sex, creates mental health issues, shock and ultimately death!
Why is zero tolerance for FGM day celebrated ?
FGM is considered as child abuse, child sexual assault and it is carried out in an inhumane manner by using materials such as knives, sharp pieces of glass, scissors and even razor blades. Hence FGM is regarded as human rights violation. So, the day of zero tolerance for FGM is celebrated on the 6th of February which aims to encourage governments, communities and social organizations to create awareness and take action against FGM.
Ways to stop the practice of FGM ?
- EDUCATION plays a major role in creating a substantial difference in our society. Only if you educate a girl about the rights and freedom of her own, can she stand up for herself and for her fellow girls. Acknowledge a woman about the right to say ‘no’ if she is not willing to do something against her consent. Teach her that it’s her body, her rights!
- SPEAK OUT to the world about the adversities caused by FGM. ‘Be the change that you simply want to ascertain during this world’. Survivors of FGM must become the change and voice out their stories to the globe which will bring a great changeover of mentality among the people who insist FGM. Raise awareness among families, communities, friends and on social media, which proves to be the strongest media for any issues to reach people within seconds. The time to end FGM is now!
- Make LAWS AND POLICIES regarding FGM powerful. Push yourself and demand complete ban of FGM across the globe. Strong policies and laws should be developed to deter the practice of FGM. Only through small efforts, can we make a big change! Eradicating FGM is more like eradicating gender inequality.
“WE ARE CITIZENRY, WE MAKE THE TRADITIONS SO WE SHOULD ALWAYS HAVE THE PROPER TO VARY THOSE TRADITIONS”
By Bala Roshini.B, Tamil Nadu
