Female Genital Mutilation: Long Term Psychological Effects Essay

Female Genital Mutilation, or Female Circumcision as sometimes called, is thepartial or complete removal of the female button immediately after birth, fewyears after birth (early childhood), or several years after birth (adolescence).Originally, female genital mutilation was practiced to go out female virginityuntil marriage as it was discovered that by the partial or complete removal ofthe clitoris, a females sexual urge is minimized and, therefore, a female child couldhave more control over her sexual desires. Because virginity was and remains avery crucial factor in almost every society, circumcision was invented way inthe past before any of the Heavenly Religions appe bed. In fact, the mosttraditional and conservative type of circumcision is the Pharoanic type(Infibulation), where the complete removal of the clitoris occurs and the vulvawalls are stitch together leaving a small opening for urination and menstrualdischarge. Nowadays, however, it continues to be practiced in Africa and theMiddle East mostly due to loving forces. New reasoning developed through theyears to keep the ritual going on. The many reasons given for the practice arebewildering and unfounded in any scientific or medical fact. They fall into fourmain categories psycho-sexual, religious, sociological and hygienic. Among thepsycho-sexual reasons is a belief that the clitoris is an aggressive organ thatthreatens the male organ and regular endangers babies during delivery. It isbelieved that if a babys head touches the mothers clitoris during birth, thechild will be born with a low IQ. Hence, a girl who is not circumcised, isconsidered unclean by local villagers and thusly unmarriageable. A girl who doesnot have here clitoris removed is considered a great danger and ultimately fatalto a man if her clitoris touches his penis. Also, the circumcision issue is seenas a form of beauty. It is seen as aesthetically beautiful, as genitals aredisfiguring and ugly in their natural state (Rea l Net, 2). In short, immediatelythe practice isnt done to explicitly mean that girls are untrustable, butbecause, presently, the womans clitoris is considered to be an ugly part in awomans body and perceived to be harmful in many ways. And not long ago, SigmundFreud wrote The elimination of clitorial sexuality is a necessary preconditionfor the developm... ...found in the understandably screwed up countries of northern and westerly Africa.And if you come to the west and do this, theyll throw your ass in jail(hopefully) forever. In defense for such an offensive article came out anarticle from an Arabic Doctor, who refused to reveal his identity, saying thatof course he approved of that girl being circumcised. And here are some of thethings that he wrote where the girl gains from being circumcised * It raisesher status in her community, both because of the added purity that circumcisionbrings and the bravery that initiates are called upon to show. * It confersmaturity and inculates positive character traits, including the ability toendure pain and a submissive nature. * The circumcision ritual is an enjoyableone, in which the girl is the center of attention and receives presents andmoral instructions from her elders. * All impure tissue is removed and the girlis sewn up until her wedding night. This is how significant the mentalpart of it is. No matter how much descent education people get, if they haverouted traditions they will always find ways to approve of them even if they areclear disasters.