Female Genital Mutilation
Female
Genital Mutilation
Female
genital mutilation also referred to as female genital cutting (FGC) or female
circumcision is considered a harmful traditional practice and is a violation of
the human rights of women worldwide. FGM is defined by WHO, UNICEF and the United Nations Population Fund, as all
procedures that involve partial or total removal of the female external
genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for cultural or other
non-medical reasons
Prevalence
of FGC:
Female
genital mutilation has been documented in 28 African countries and in some
countries in Asia as well as in the parts of Arabian Peninsula and the Middle East . However, it
has also become a human rights and health issue in western countries where the
practice is continued by immigrants from countries where FGM is commonly
performed
Undoubtedly,
Africa is the continent with the highest FGC prevalence. The numbers of women
afflicted are thought to range from 30 million to 130 million women
Prevalence rates for sub-Saharan Africa were 39
% for women and 17 % for girls aged 0–14; for Eastern and Southern Africa 44%
and 14 %, and for West and Central Africa 31 and 17 %
Two-thirds of all women who have experienced FGM
reside in just four countries: Egypt, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Sudan (27.2 million, 23.8 million and 19.9 million)
respectively.
With the global population expected to rise in
countries where FGM is concentrated, the number of women and girls at risk of
FGM annually is expected to increase to about four million by 2050
The age at which FGM is performed varies but is
generally between age 0 and 15, though some adult females also undergo the
practice
Sexual dysfunction after FGM is a very important issue.
Women with FGM experience a wide range of health problems, including decreased
quality of sexual life
Female sexual dysfunction is severely associated with
the disorder of sexual desire, orgasm, arousal and sexual pain that may result
in other psychosomatic significant distress
The prevalence of FSD after FGM has been estimated
between 25% and 63% depending on the definition used and population studied
Women with any type of FGC
were 1.7 times more likely to experience
dyspareunia, were 2.5 times more likely to report no sexual desire compared
with uncircumcised women, and had decreased levels of satisfaction
Although, women who have been subjected to the
first and the second degrees of FGC, i.e. clitoridectomy and excision, are
reported to having fewer complications as compared to the ones who have
undergone the third degree, i.e. infibulations
Many mechanisms are proposed for difficult and/or
painful sexual intercourse after FGM including damage of clitoral nerves and
related receptors leading to the damaged nerve fibers that send incorrect
signals to other pain centers
Abathun
AD, Gele AA and Sundby J (2017):
Abdulcadir
J, Pusztaszeri M, Vilarino R, et al. (2012):
Clitoral neuroma after female genital mutilation/cutting: a rare but possible
event. J Sex Med; 9: 1220–5.
Abolfotouh
SM, Ebrahim AZ and Abolfotouh MA (2015): Awareness
and predictors of female genital mutilation/cutting among young health
advocates. Int J Womens Health; 7: 259–69.
