There are three forms of FGM: the partial or total removal of the clitoris; the partial or total removal of the clitoris and labia minora; the narrowing of the vaginal orifice.
In the third, and most extreme form, the clitoris and labia are cut away with any sharp object – glass, knife, scissors or razor blade. The labia stumps are then sewn together. A hole remains the size of a match head for urination which commonly leads to pain and frequent infection.
Victims have described the terrible pain they suffer from the procedure and life-long consequences of this non-medical surgery.
A lady, who was forced to undergo FGM aged 13, said 'I was mutilated as a little nomad girl in the Somali desert. I almost died from blood loss, shock and an infection after this brutal torture. I suffer from nightmares, flash-backs and chronic pain,She said 'I was 13 years old when in was cut in the most cruel way. I can remember everything. The pain, and of course I remember my mother screaming at me. Our neighbours were furious. From that night on I have suffered terrible pain while urinating and when I got my period.'Anna-Moora Ndege started cutting girls' sexual organs over 70 years ago.
At first she used a six-inch nail, sharpened on stone to create a crude flat blade. Now she uses a razor blade - bought at the little shop at the end of the dirt track leading from her mud hut in rural Africa.
Ndege, 86, along with Agnes Kerubo, are two of the cutters that can be found in villages, towns and cities in Kenya and across Africa and parts of the Middle East where communities cling on to this barbaric tradition.
She said 'Girls are cut to ensure they remain faithful because the sexual organ is not there anymore. When you are cut you will not be a slut looking for men here and there like a prostitute.
'You are docile, waiting for your husband because after you are cut, sex is for having children not for anything else.'
Although outlawed across the developed world and many parts of Africa, the practice continues among tens of thousands of families who fear being outcast if they do not submit their daughters to this horrific ordeal
And this summer tens of thousands of girls living in Europe and North America will be brought to Africa by their parents to undergo FGM as part of a warped bid to maintain their status in the traditional society. School holidays are known as the 'cutting season'.'When a girl has been cut she is considered to be grown up. Girls are cut to fit into their community. After that she can get married and become pregnant Kerubo said 'We use a sharp instrument like a knife or a razor blade. I put millet flour over the organs so that is not slippery so I can hold it. And the flour helps to stop the bleeding.'
The clitoris is put on the ground to be carried away by Safari ants, as part of the tradition,
'Therefore they destroy the girl's sexuality in cutting her genitals. It is the worst form of child abuse.'
0 comments:
Post a Comment