Female circumcision or the so-called “Female Genital Mutilation”, a procedure wherein the external

female genitalia will be partially or completely removed. This process has been practiced in areas in
Africa for generations, usually as part of rite of passage to prepare young girls for womanhood and
marriage.

Female excision, which is frequently performed without anaesthetic by law practitioners with little or
no knowledge of human anatomy or medicine, can result in permanent health problems, severe agony,
and for worst case scenario, death. Despite the extreme dangers that this procedure brings, its
adherents regard it as an important part of their cultural and ethnic identities, and some even regard it
as a religious requirement. Excision is associated with cultural ideals of femininity and modesty, which
include the notion that girls are clean and beautiful after removal of body parts that are considered
unclean and it is also a way to prepare her for adulthood and marriage. However, due to the said
complications, health regulatory officers emphasized how dangerous and how this procedure is a
violation of rights to these poor young women in different parts of Africa. As for me, I find it really
problematic that this procedure is still and continuing to take place on some places in Africa because as I
see it, girls who have done this procedure barely made it and the pain and torture that they will have for
the rest of their lives, living without the essence of being a woman cannot compensate to the social
benefits that they will have just because they went on the excision.

FGM has no health benefits and often leads to long-term physical and psychological consequences.
Medical complications can include severe pain, prolonged bleeding, infection, infertility and even death.
It can also lead to increased risk of HIV transmission. Women who have undergone genital mutilation
can experience complications during childbirth, including postpartum haemorrhage, stillbirth and early
neonatal death. Psychological impacts can range from a girl losing trust in her caregivers to longer-term
feelings of anxiety and depression as a woman.

FGM is associated with cultural ideals of femininity and modesty, which include the notion that girls are
clean and beautiful after removal of body parts that are considered unclean, unfeminine or male

. It aims to ensure premarital virginity and marital fidelity.

The practice also violates a person's rights to health, security and physical integrity; the right to be free
from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment; and the right to life, in instances when the
procedure results in death.
FGM is often considered a necessary part of raising a girl, and a way to prepare her for adulthood and
marriage. FGM is often motivated by beliefs about what is considered acceptable sexual behaviour. It
aims to ensure premarital virginity and marital fidelity.

Many practitioners of female genital mutilation believe that the procedure is dictated by tradition and is
necessary to ensure marriage because men refuse to marry intact women. It is sometimes stated that
the purpose of female genital mutilation is to control women's sexuality, and, in some settings, intact
women are considered dishonorable prostitutes.

2. Those who practice Female genital mutilation use a variety of socio-cultural considerations to defend
their practices. Many people in places where it is practiced say it is founded in local culture and has been
passed down through generations. The underlying motive for the continuation of this practice is said to
be cultural preservation and to maintain a girl’s virginity and avoid mortality until marriage. Some
supporters of this procedure argue that this is justified on the basis of hygiene and aesthetics, claiming
that female genitalia are filthy and girls who do not undergo in this procedure is unclean. Well, I say that
it’s all ridiculous because going through this harmful and unguaranteed procedure whether you’re going
to live or not is what unethical really means. And if a girl disagrees about doing this procedure to her
own body just because she wants to, it is just right and valid because we all have freedom to decide for
ourselves. I also believe that female circumcision ever does to women is bring agony, and in fact, this is
an extreme form of discrimination against women, as it constitutes both physical and psychological
abuse.

3. CRAB MENTALITY IS A WIDELY USED TERM IN THE PHILIPPINES GIVEN TO

FILIPINOS WHO ALWAYS TRY TO PULL DOWN OTHER FILIPINOS WHO ARE
SUCCEEDING IN LIFE AND GETTING AHEAD OF THEM. THIS TRAIT IS NOT UNUSUAL
TO US, AND MANY SAYS THAT IT'S ONE OF THE MOST COMMON BAD practices OF
MANY FILIPINOS. HOWEVER,

And actually, many Filipinos carries a burning torch. It is an action carried out to illuminate the lives of
many. Filipinos use their voice to uplift, empower and educate people, especially those who has this
crab mentality. Every filipino has the duty to hold this torch high enough so that all people in our
country could feel and see its light.