On International Women's Day which falls on March, March 8 to be precise, feminist activists begin to contemplate issues surrounding gender-based oppression of women that are still rampant and unresolved, one of which is the issue of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).
World women's activists agree that female circumcision is a form of deprivation of rights and a form of disguised violence. Not only activists, the World Health Organization (WHO) also criticized this ritual. Due to the criticism of the practice of female circumcision, the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation has emerged, which is celebrated every February 6 to spread awareness about the importance of removing this ritual from any custom.
FGM in the WHO definition is the removal of part or all of the genitals or injuring the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. Although women's rights fighters have moved in such a way as to provide education, spread awareness, and disseminate information on the elimination of FGM, in fact this ritual still exists in several communities spread across 30 countries around the world.
So, why is FGM or female circumcision still being maintained? Check out the explanation below!
Why is female circumcision still preserved from generation to generation
Reporting from the official WHO website, the culture of female circumcision is most often passed down from generation to generation in African, Asian and Middle Eastern communities. Women aged 15 to 18 years are the main targets of this practice.
Ironically, UNICEF data notes that Indonesia is among the three major countries with the highest number of FGM survivors in the world after Gambia and Mauritania. Reporting from the BBC page, the reasons that are often cited as the basis for female circumcision include public acceptance, beliefs, misconceptions about hygiene, as a form of maintaining virginity to serve the sexual satisfaction of men who will become their partners.
However, even though there is support from the opinion of traditional and religious leaders, activists believe that the origin of this ritual is actually intended to maintain a woman's virginity in order to maintain the dignity of the man who will marry her. Not only to fulfill the male ego, women who have been circumcised will provide sexual satisfaction for their partners because the FGM procedure leaves a narrow hole for their husband's future penetration.
All Kinds of FGM Deprives Women of Human Rights
For a moment putting aside various norms and beliefs, women's rights activists are furious that women are forced to endure physical and psychological suffering just to satisfy men's egos. WHO even openly reminded the world's medical practitioners not to serve the FGM procedure even though the family requested it.
There are 3 types of FGM that are condemned by WHO. The first type is a clitoridectomy, which is the complete or partial removal of the sensitive clitoris and the surrounding skin. The second type is excision, which is the removal of part or all of the clitoris in addition to the removal of the labia minora or the folds of skin on the inside around the vagina. The third type is the most common and the most dangerous, namely infibulation.
Infibulation is the cutting and repositioning of the labia minora and labia majora (the outer folds of skin around the vagina), often a suture procedure that leaves a small opening for intercourse with her future husband. Openings that are too small for the urinary tract and menstruation are at risk of causing various dangerous infections.
Because of these negative impacts, several international activists strongly encourage the elimination of this tradition from all customs and norms of belief.
“We have to stop FGM and early marriage. I look forward to the day when no parent makes a decision that changes and limits their daughter's life,” said Jaha Dukureh, United Nation's ambassador for Africa in a speech at the UN Women's meeting.
Ifrah Ahmed, an FGM survivor from Somalia, even dedicated her life story to be documented in the film “A Girl from Mogadishu” in order to raise public awareness about the dangers of female circumcision. In their homeland, 98 percent of women aged fifteen to 49 years are listed by the United Nations as survivors of various types of FGM.
“Don't let the young girl who was born in this beautiful world go through the experiences I've been through. They must be protected and must be given the life that every mother, every girl and every woman deserves."
On the other hand, female circumcision was legalized. The female circumcision procedure based on the MUI is usually carried out by medical personnel and the type is different from the WHO definition, which is only allowed to cut the membrane that covers the clitoris without removing or injuring part of the clitoris itself, so there will be no bleeding open wounds. However, many Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) are still against this because it deprives the person of the right to determine what he will do to his limbs since childhood.
Regardless of the debate, what do you think about this?