News

Friday, 16th May 2014

Times York New The 11
READERS should be advised on
the graphic content feature in this
article.
Aishah Nuwwarrah, was only
11 years old when her mother
decided it was time for her and her
sisters to be circumcised.
Now, at 27, she tells of her trau-
matic experience,
I remember standing by my moth-
er, shaking, my hands were trem-
bling, palms sweating, I had never
been so intimidated in my life; that
experience has never lef me.
Female Genital Mutilation
(FGM), is a prominent tradition
that is widely practiced through
various regions of the Middle
East. It is also referred to as female
circumcision or female genital
cutting. FGM is the cutting of the
clitoris, it is meant to suppress a
woman s sexual desire and reserve
their sexual honor for marriage.
Although the practice was out-
lawed in Egypt in 2008, the ban has
had little impact, as young girls are
still being subjected to this heinous
practice.
Typically, girls are between the
ages of 9-13 years of age, when its
decided its time for the cut. How-
ever, some cases have seen girls as
young as six years of age.
Many women who succumb to
the traditions of genital mutilation
have sufered at a tremendous cost,
some extreme cases have seen
women either bleed to death or die
of an infection, with most looking
back on the procedure as distress-
ing and unnecessary.
Women who survive the proce-
dure can also sufer from adverse
health efects during marriage and
pregnancy.
Te regions which still practice
mutilation insist that its not
connected to religion, but rather
culture, however those in rural
areas believe its religiously man-
dated.
Aishah recalls, her mother
telling her that the procedure
would purify her, turning her
into a virtuous woman.
My mother told me circum-
cision is healthy for girls. I know
this- it will purify you, it will
make you grow taller, get mar-
riage proposals, where unpurifed
girls will stay short and stubby.
As mother of two daughters,
Aishah believes the traditions
that were brainwashed into her as
a young child now seem hardly
relevant. She has decided to not
circumcise her children, and
speaks openly about her decision.
Im trying to teach my
daughters about what the real
characteristics of being a woman
are, it does not include the mu-
tilation of their genitals. For me
its about sexual liberty, and being
able to make the right choices.
Circumcising your children only
represses this ideal.
Other regions of the Mid-
dle East that carry out FGM
include Iraq and Kurdistan,
these areas however, are not as
widely exposed in the media, as
places like Egypt. Rather than
the act diminishing as countries
modernise, the United Nations
revealed in a current report that
FGM is an expanding practice,
with more than 90% of women in
Egypt having one time or another
having had being cirumsicied.
Dawn Meagher from the
United Nations believes, that
because FGM is so prevalent in
Egypt, questions should be raised
whether other countries in the
Arab world practice these tra-
ditions, especially given the low
appreciation for womens rights
in Arab societies.
We know that in Kurdistan a
signifcant amount of the female
population live outside the city.
Women in these circumstances
are faced with a double- burden
as they are cut of from even the
most basic public services and
live under patriarchal rules.
Many Kurdish girls that I see
either die, with others sufering
from chronic pain, infection, and
infertility, a number of others ex-
perience systems consistent with
posttraumatic stress disorder
syndrome.
Te midwives who operate
the procedures on these girls are
performing the circumcisions
with unsterilized instruments
or even broken glass, with some
girls as young as twelve having
no anesthesia throughout the
ordeal.
Dawn said the extent of the
mutilation depends on the skill of
the midwife. Te wound is treat-
ed with ash or mud before the
girls are forced to sit in a bucket
of iced water.
Trough our research
we found that the majority of
women in these Middle Eastern
regions have undergone genital
mutilation, with nearly every
woman questioned declaring it
to be a normal practice. Most
women referred to FGM as
both a tradition and a religious
obligation.
Te UN, through their de-
tailed fndings, has disclosed the
three main mutilations that are
carried out. Te frst is known as
Pharaonic circumcision, this is
the removal of the entire clitoris:
the labia minora and medial
part of the labia majora are cut
with both sides of the organ
being stitched together to leave
a small opening. Te second is
the Clitorectomy; this requires
the removal of the entire clitoris
along with part of the labia mino-
ra. Te third is ofen referred to
as Sunna: this form of circumci-
sion, is the most common in the
Islamic world, requires removal
of the prepuse of the clitoris.
FGM has been a top a priority
for UN agencies and other non-
governmental organisations for
almost three decades. Tough as
Dawn explains, nearly half of the
FGM cases reported in ofcial
statistics occur in Egypt, and
refects that although it is illegal,
believes the tradition will be
difcult to ofcially outlaw.
To fully condemn FGM, the
impact it has on these girls as
they mature into women needs
to be considered, along with
Western countries and NGOs
promoting a human mandate,
and advocating a voice for these
Gential Mutilation:
Women need to
say NO!
Many women who succumb to
the traditions of genital mutila-
tion have sufered at a tremen-
dous cost, some extreme cases
have seen women either bleed to
death or die of an infection.
Female cicumcision, still a prominent practice.
FEATURE
By Katherine Cannon