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Comparative Quotations on Misconceptions
about Ritual Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and
Ritual Male Genital Mutilation (MGM)
Compiled by >Hanny
Lightfoot-Klein,
Author of: Prisoners of Ritual: An
Odyssey into Female Genital Circumcision in Africa.
| Clitoridectomy and Infibulation |
Infant
Male Circumcision
|
| “She loses only a little piece of the
clitoris, just the part that protrudes. The girl does not miss
it. She can still feel after all. There is hardly any pain.
Women’s pain thresholds are so much higher than men’s.” |
“It’s only a little piece of skin.
The baby does not feel any pain because his nervous system is
not developed yet.” |
| “The parts that are cut away are
disgusting and hideous to look at. It is done for the beauty of
the suture.” |
“An uncircumcised penis is a real
turnoff. It s disgusting. It looks like the penis of an animal.” |
| “Female circumcision protects the
health of a woman. Infibulation prevents the uterus from falling
out [uterine prolapse]. It keeps her smelling sweet so that her
husband will be pleased. If it is not done, she will stink and
get worms in her vagina.” |
“An uncircumcised penis causes
urinary infections and penile cancer. It generates smegma and
smegma stinks. A circumcised penis is more hygienic and oral sex
with an uncircumcised penis is disgusting to women.” |
| “An uncircumcised vulva is unclean
and only the lowest prostitute would leave her daughter
uncircumcised. No man would dream of marrying an unclean woman.
He would be laughed at by everyone.” |
“An uncircumcised penis is dirty and
only the lowest class of people with no concept of hygiene leave
their boys uncircumcised.” |
| “Leaving a girl uncircumcised
endangers both her husband and her baby. If the baby’s head
touches the uncut clitoris during birth, the baby will be born
hydrocephalic [excess cranial fluid]. The milk of the mother
will become poisonous. If a man’s penis touches a woman’s
clitoris he will become impotent.” |
“Men have an obligation to their
wives to give up their foreskin. An uncircumcised penis will
cause cervical cancer in women. It also spreads disease.” |
| “A circumcised woman is sexually more
pleasing to her husband. The tighter she is sewn, the more
pleasure he has.” |
“Circumcised men make better lovers
because they have more staying power than uncircumcised men.” |
| “All the women in the world are
circumcised. It is something that must be done. If there is
pain, then that is part of a woman’s lot in life.” |
“Men in all of the ‘civilized’
world are circumcised.” |
“Doctors do it,
so it must be a good thing.” |
“Doctors do it,
so it must be a good thing.” |
| Sudanese grandmother: “In some
countries they only cut out the clitoris, but here we do it
properly. We scrape our girls clean. If it is properly done,
nothing is left other than a scar. Everything has to be cut
away.” |
My own father, a physician, speaking of
a ritual circumcision inflicted upon my son: “It is a good
thing that I was here to preside. He had quite a long foreskin.
I made sure that we gave him a good tight circumcision.” |
| 35-year-old Sudanese woman: “Yes, I
have suffered from chronic pelvic infections and terrible pain
for years now. You say that all of this is the result of my
circumcision? But I was circumcised over 30 years ago! How can
something that was done for me when I was four years old have
anything to do with my health now?” |
35-year-old American male: “I have
lost nearly all interest in sex. You might say that I’m
becoming impotent. I don’t seem to have much sensation in my
penis anymore, and it is becoming more and more difficult for me
to reach orgasm. You say that this is the result of my
circumcision? That doesn’t make any sense. I was circumcised
35 years ago, when I was a little baby. How can that affect me
in any way now?” |
Circumcision: Surgical
removal of male foreskin (prepuce).
Sunna: Amputation of the female prepuce
(foreskin).
>Clitoridectomy:
Surgical excision of the clitoris.
Infibulation: Surgical amputation of clitoris and labia then
suturing the vagina nearly shut.
Episiotomy
__________________________________________
Court Blocks Dallas Woman's Deportation, Citing Threat
of Mutilation
By Lee Hockstader
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, January 3, 2003; Page A06
AUSTIN, Jan. 2 -- A federal appeals court has
temporarily blocked the deportation of a Dallas woman who says she and
her 3-year-old daughter, who was born in the United States, would be
subjected to genital mutilation if she were forced to return to her
native Nigeria.
Calling female genital mutilation a form of
"torture," the U.S. Appeals Court for the 7th Circuit last Friday
granted Philomena Nwaokolo's request for a review of her case to ensure
that her toddler daughter is "not forced into exile to be tortured...."
© 2003 The Washington Post Company
________________________________________
"One of the most common surgical procedures performed in the United
States -- an incision many pregnant women receive to reduce the risk of
tissue tears during delivery -- has no benefits and actually causes more
complications, according to the most comprehensive analysis to evaluate
the practice."
http://www.changesurfer.com/Hlth/episiotomy.html
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