Craig HillCULTURAL RITE or VIOLATION OF RIGHTS?
May 15th 2006 08:30
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). It’s one of those things you hear about but don’t really think about if it doesn’t affect you. The reality is that an estimated 140 million of the world’s women and girls have undergone the procedure and currently it is believed that 6000 females are being genitally mutilated every year. So what is it exactly and why is it causing such an uproar in the international legal community?
FGM is the term used to describe the partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or any injury to the female genital organs for cultural or other non-therapeutic reasons. It is extensively practiced in Africa and parts of the Middle East and Asia as a traditional custom preparing young girls for their passage into womanhood.
The practice varies from region to region. In its most severe and controversial form, FGM involves the cutting off of the clitoris, labia minora and labia majora, followed by a stitching up of what’s left of the vagina to ensure the girl’s chastity. The procedure is often performed by a relative using broken glass, a jagged tin or a razor. It can result in severe bleeding and scarring, painful intercourse, obstructed labour, infertility, haemorrhages and even death.
So, isn’t it obvious that cutting off parts of a girl’s vagina is a grave violation of her rights? Well, yes. The United Nations thinks so. This is reflected in a number of international legal documents such as the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women. Countries (or state parties as we like to call them in the legal world) that have signed and ratified these documents are under an obligation to put a stop to FGM in their particular state.
Sounds straightforward, but really, how do you put a stop to a practice that is so deeply entrenched in tradition? For most practitioners and participants, FGM is an integral part of their cultural identity. Their grandmas did it. Their mums did it. They have viewed it as a celebration of womanhood, not a violation of human rights. When countries like Ghana make FGM a criminal act, it seems inevitable that the practice will go underground.
So maybe that’s why FGM is causing such an uproar in the legal world. The almighty power of the law is clearly ineffective in resolving this issue. Some say that only education and time can ameliorate this situation. But at what cost to human life?
For more information, see www.amnesty.org
www.morguefile.com
FGM is the term used to describe the partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or any injury to the female genital organs for cultural or other non-therapeutic reasons. It is extensively practiced in Africa and parts of the Middle East and Asia as a traditional custom preparing young girls for their passage into womanhood.
The practice varies from region to region. In its most severe and controversial form, FGM involves the cutting off of the clitoris, labia minora and labia majora, followed by a stitching up of what’s left of the vagina to ensure the girl’s chastity. The procedure is often performed by a relative using broken glass, a jagged tin or a razor. It can result in severe bleeding and scarring, painful intercourse, obstructed labour, infertility, haemorrhages and even death.
So, isn’t it obvious that cutting off parts of a girl’s vagina is a grave violation of her rights? Well, yes. The United Nations thinks so. This is reflected in a number of international legal documents such as the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women. Countries (or state parties as we like to call them in the legal world) that have signed and ratified these documents are under an obligation to put a stop to FGM in their particular state.
Sounds straightforward, but really, how do you put a stop to a practice that is so deeply entrenched in tradition? For most practitioners and participants, FGM is an integral part of their cultural identity. Their grandmas did it. Their mums did it. They have viewed it as a celebration of womanhood, not a violation of human rights. When countries like Ghana make FGM a criminal act, it seems inevitable that the practice will go underground.
So maybe that’s why FGM is causing such an uproar in the legal world. The almighty power of the law is clearly ineffective in resolving this issue. Some say that only education and time can ameliorate this situation. But at what cost to human life?
For more information, see www.amnesty.org
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