Dear Dec,
I was somewhat disappointed in last week's article, "Grasping Global Feminism," by Anantha Sudhakar. She says of Female Genital Mutilation "...much festivity surrounds this practice ..." and "... many view it as a beautification and cleansing process ..." She also claims that the term genital mutilation is an "incorrect labeling on the part of mainstream feminism" and likens FGM to plastic surgery. I think the University would benefit if we expounded on FGM where Ms. Sudhakar failed to do so in her article.

There are four basic variations of FGM. Variation I is called a clitoridectomy (also commonly called a Sunna circumcision), and involves the removal of the prepuce and tip of the clitoris; II is called an excision, and both the clitoris and part of the labia minora are removed; III and IV are called infibulations and involve the removal of the clitoris and labia minora, and the incision and stitching together of the anterior two thirds of the labia majora. For infibulations, the labia majora is frequently sewn up to cover the urethra and the vagina, with a small sliver of reed or wood inserted to maintain an opening for urine and menstrual fluid. FGM is usually performed in unsanitary conditions by unskilled practitioners using a razor, scissors, broken bottle, or other available tools, under no anaesthetic. Wounds are covered with a range of substances that may include alcohol, lemon juice, ash, herbs, or cow dung. Possible short term complications include: hemorrhaging, severe pain leading to shock or death, anemia, infection, abscesses, delayed healing, septicemia, tetanus, and gangrene. Long term problems (more common to women who have undergone infibulations) can include: chronic pelvic inflammation, infertility, chronic urinary tract infection (leading to kidney stones and kidney damage), and dermoid cysts. For women who have been infibulated, surgical deinfibulation must occur before childbirth, lest contractions lead to perineal tears, tearing of the septum between the bladder and vagina (leading to urinary incontinence), and possible infant or maternal death. A study cited in a July 7, 1996 edition of the Indonesia Times showed that of 33 infibulated women delivering in Somalia's Benadir Hospital, five children died and 21 suffered from oxygen deprivation.

Why does the practice of FGM exist? Practitioners believe that it plays an important cultural role in initiation, integration, and marriageability, as well as erroneously believing that it improves fertility and hygiene and lowers infant mortality. It is believed that it weakens a woman's sexual desire, maintaining her fidelity before and after marriage. While some have defended FGM on a religious basis, a close examination of the Islamic, Christian, Animist, and Judaic religions of some of its practitioners yields no substantive theological support for FGM.

FGM, I might add, is practiced most often on young women and girls, which not only flies in the face of the UN's 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the 1952 Convention on the Political Rights of Women, but also constitutes a gross violation of the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child. Article 24 (3) of the 1989 Convention states "... Parties shall take all effective and appropriate measures with a view to abolishing traditional practices prejudicial to the health of children." In addition, all major medical associations throughout the world have condemned the "medicalization" of FGM; that is, the legalized practice of FGM by trained physicians. It would seem, then, that the international community has spoken out almost unanimously against the practice of FGM. I prefer the succinct statement of Professor Stephen Isaacs, J.D., a specialist in human rights issues, who says: "Human rights transcend cultural relativism by definition."

FGM is a very serious issue affecting the human rights and the quality of life of a significant number of women. To deal with it flippantly and to trivialize it by claiming it is merely some sort of multicultural plastic surgery is an enormous disservice to those women and children who have been gravely injured or killed by FGM.

Sincerely,

Brian J. O'Connell
CLAS III