Written by Anna Mordasova
When we hear about female circumcision, what is the first thing that comes to our minds? Old African tribes? But does it still exist? The answer is yes and, moreover, it is a widespread practice, not only in the African continent or the Middle East.
What is FGM?
Female genital mutilation (FGM) includes all procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injuries to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. Usually girls at the age between 4 and 12 years are subject to this practice. There are four different types of FGM, where type I is partial or total removal of the clitoral glans and type IV includes all harmful procedures to the female genitalia for non-medical purposes, for example pricking.
Female genital mutilation is believed to be a religious practice, in particular, related to the muslim culture. In fact, it’s not true.
Into the roots of FGM
There is no reliable evidence to make any conclusions about when the practice of FGM started. However, there are Ancient Egyptian coffin texts that may refer to this practice and which date back to 1991–1786 BC. FGM was also mentioned in the notes of ancient geographers and historians. Taking into account the lack of trustworthy sources of FGM origins, it can be claimed that this practice is older than any monotheistic religion. Even within the Islamic discourse, the opinions are not unanimous: a joint research conducted by muslim scholars shows, that there is no mentioning of female circumcision in either the Holy Qur’an or Prophet Muhammad's Hadith. Muslim leaders also have contradictory positions in the debate: on one side, they condemn this practice, on the other, they support it appealing to the fact that FGM is another proof of virginity, «cleanliness» and will help to minimise the risk of adultery.
Another factor questioning that FGM is attributable to any religion is its performance in the countries which population is very diverse in terms of religions and ethnic groups, for example, Ethiopia.
Who is still practicing FGM?
As for the regional spreading of female genital mutilation, the highest numbers are in Africa - 97.9% of women in Somalia between 15 and 49 have undergone FGM, 86.6% in Sudan and 75.7% in Egypt. In Indonesia, 49.2% of women in the same age range were subject to this practice. According to the FGM global report, more than 600.000 survivals live in Europe (for example,137.000 in the UK, 125.000 in France and 41.000 in the Netherlands).
Why do we have to talk about this topic?
The possible consequences of FGM include both physical and mental health problems - excessive bleeding, infections, HIV, infertility, pain during sexual intercourse, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression or even death. There is no evidence that FGM has any beneficial effect on a female body, only harm.
Female genital mutilation violates human rights, in particular, rights of women and children protected by different international treaties such as the Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). It is a violation of the right to life and the prohibition of torture and inhumane treatment. The practice is not based on consent, so it deprives women of their freedom of choice and can be considered as discrimination based on sex. The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) sets a similar list of rights for kids, such as prohibition of any forms of discrimination and torture, and it guarantees the right to highest attainable standard of health.
All of the rights mentioned previously can be violated by the performance of FGM.
Also the wording is important: this practice should be called female genital mutilation, not female "circumcision" or female genital "cutting" in order to, first, differentiate this practice from the male’s one and, second, highlight that it is a harmful and violent practice by using the word «mutilation».
What makes the topic so complicated?
There is a debate about the fact that prohibition of FGM as a tradition can violate the rights of minorities for their cultural life. The cultural background of FGM is the belief that FGM increases the chances of marriageability and that it is a proof of femininity and modesty.The issue is more anthropological than legal and keeping in mind that this practice causes suffering among girls and women the international community is taking steps to tackle FGM. A compromise idea is performance of FGM among adults with their valid consent, but that’s hard to reach in reality.
What is the international and domestic reaction to FGM?
In 2012 the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on FGM, that urged states to address the problem and to ensure the fulfilment of women’s and girls’ rights. Also, ending female genital mutilation is included into the 5th Sustainable Development Goals - gender equality. A few UN agencies such as WHO and UNIСEF made Interagency Statements condemning the practice of FGM, collecting the data on this topic from different regions and summarising the lessons learnt from the past decades. Moreover, there is a UNFPA-UNICEF joint program aiming to eliminate FMG by interacting with governments on the questions of laws banning the practice.
Apart from the international level, there has been a lot done on the regional and domestic ones. In 2010 Amnesty International Europe led the «End FGM European campaign» and in 2011 Amnesty produced a guide on FGM, jointly with the Council of Europe, that is based on the Istanbul Convention providing a «path for change» for governments. Speaking about domestic jurisdiction, there is no universal practice even within Europe. The German Criminal Code prohibits the conduct of female genital mutilation, while in the Netherlands there is no specific regulation covering it. When taking decisions, the Dutch courts refer to the articles of the Criminal Code on child abuse. If parents conduct this practice on their children themselves, the punishment can be higher by one third. Also the medical institutions or practitioners who participated in a FGM performance will face disciplinary liability. In general, the Dutch governmental policy is focused on eliminating FGM. This goal was included into the «National Action Plans on Violence against Women 2002–2008» and «Gender Equality 2008–2011».
Raising awareness and empowering women
Analysing the research conducted by different institutions and the countries’ practices, there can be seen a decrease in the numbers of FGM performance (in Ethiopia and Kenya, for example). The crucial thing is the criminalisation of this practice, and while it has been already done in some African countries such as Egypt, a few European countries seem reluctant to implement appropriate norms into their legislation.
What is more, FGM is also rooted in the lack of education among women. That should be tackled by raising awareness and empowering women.