Nigeria-Female Genital Mutilation

Nigeria-Female Genital Mutilation

Abstract

Female circumcision seems to be the hottest trend in the United States right now.  Females are having the hood of their clitorises removed to gain greater sexual pleasure and sensation.  Another type of female circumcision done in the United States, which is considered cosmetic, is having the labia reshaped and evened up.  In Nigeria female circumcision is known as female genital mutilation (FGM) and is not performed for pleasurable or cosmetic reasons, it is considered a detrimental traditional practice.  FGM is internationally recognized as a violation of the human rights of girls and women in Africa, which is entrenched in cultural beliefs and perceptions over decades.  Before labeling female circumcision a trend, we must be knowledgeable of what FGM is considered in other countries, how it is performed, and what is being done to eliminate this practice.

Nigeria-Female Genital Mutilation

According to Sandra Bell, there are unsubstantiated reports that some women in the United States are in communities where an extreme form of female circumcision is the ritual sacrifice of the entire external clitoris (Bell, 2012).  In Nigeria the population is 150 million people and an estimated 115-130 million women and girls have undergone FGM, which consists of partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, whether for cultural or any other non-therapeutic reasons (World Health Organization, 2008). FGM is practiced in more than twenty-eight countries in Africa with Nigeria having the highest number of cases of FGM in the world, accounting for about one-quarter of the estimated 115-130 million circumcised women worldwide (2008).  FGM is usually performed on girls before they reach puberty.  It is a practice where either part or the entire clitoris is surgically removed leaving a reduced or total lack of sexual sensation.   This procedure is also an attempt to diminish the sex drive of women, deterring them from being sexually active before marriage or engage in extra-marital affairs.  According to Tony Hodges, this practice is a means to control a woman’s sexuality that determines the gender identity of women.  A circumcised woman is a virgin, ready for marriage and to bear children for her husband, girls who are infibulated will probably not find husbands and be considered outcasts (Hodges, 2001, pp. 195-200).  Nigeria is a large country where there are different religious cultures and practices.

In Nigeria, FGM is highly controversial and condemned by most religious and ethnic groups. The types of FGM are different from country to country, tribes, religion, and from cultural setting.  Nigeria has six large ethnic groups, Yoruba, Hausa, Fulani, Ibo, Ijaw, and Kanuri.  According to Hodges, Fulani is the only ethnic group that does not practice any form of FGM.  It has been said that the practice of FGM is not related to religion, but Muslims and Christians practice it in Christian predominated parts of Nigeria (2001).  FGM is practiced in many forms, but there is only four types performed in Nigeria. Listed by increasing severity:

• Type I or Clitoridectomy involves the removal of the prepuce or the hood of the clitoris. This procedure is commonly done in the southern part of Nigeria.
• Type II or Sunna involves the removal of the clitoris along with partial or total excision of the labia minora.  
• Type III is the worst of all the procedures, which is called Infibulation. This involves the removal of the clitoris and prepuce, followed by sewing up the vulva leaving only a small hole for urination and menstruation. Razor blades, knives or scissors are usually the instruments that are used. In some cultures, the woman is cut open by her husband on their wedding night with a double edged dagger. This is commonly practiced in Egypt, Ethopia, and Somalia.
• Type IV or unclassified types of FGM that includes pricking, piercing, stretching, or incision of the clitoris and labia; Cauterization by burning the clitoris and surrounding tissues; Incisions to the vaginal wall; Scraping or cutting of the vagina.  

In some areas of Africa, FGM is delayed until two months before a woman gives birth. This practice is based on the belief that the baby will die if they come in contact with the mother’s clitoris during birth. FGM is often considered as a necessary part of raising a girl properly, and preparing her for adulthood and marriage. It is often motivated by beliefs about what is considered proper sexual behavior and in many communities believed to reduce a woman’s libido and therefore believed to help her resist “illicit” sexual acts. FGM is associated with cultural ideals of femininity and modesty, which include the notion that girls are “clean” and “beautiful” after the removal of body parts that are considered “male” or “unclean”. Amongst individuals and groups opposed to female mutilation, it is seen as a method of reducing the sexual response of women in order to make them less likely to become sexually active before marriage.

After having medical procedures performed there are always consequences or side effects that one must endure for a lifetime especially when it is not beneficial.  In the World Health Organization publication titled Female Genital Mutilation (World Health Organization, 2012); the following are some of the health consequences that girls and women endure after FGM:

• Distress from pain and bleeding
• Infection
• Acute urinary retention
• Damage to the urethra
• Chronic pelvic infection
• Vulval adhesions
• Dysmenorrhea
• Cysts/keloids
• Sexual and birthing difficulties
• Mental distress

FGM violates the civil rights of freedom of rights to health, security, physical integrity, and the right to be free from torture and cruel and unusual punishment.

Alexander Topping, a journalist for The Guardian, indicated that 125 million girls and women worldwide are currently living with the consequences of FGM, which is most widespread in Africa (Topping, 2015). Since FGM is done when the girls are young, they are unable to give their consent which is recognized as a violation of the human rights of females as it reflects inequality between the sexes, and constitutes an extreme form of discrimination against women. Topping also indicated that Nigeria’s last president, Goodluck Jonathan, signed the ban into law to outlaw the practice of FGM on May 5, 2015 as one of his final acts as leader (2015).  The maximum punishment for violating the law is four years in prison and a $1,000 fine.  Earlier this year The Guardian launched a global media campaign to end the FGM, with support from the United Nations Population Fund, in order to help the local journalists report on FGM and shed light on its consequences.  Continued action is beginning to be taken at all levels over the last decade to eliminate FGM.  According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), an increasing number of men and women from groups who practice FGM have declared support for discontinuing the practice, and in some practicing areas, the number of FGM has decreased (UNICEF, n.d.).  Bringing an end to FGM requires a long term commitment. Educational activities must reach all groups within the community with the same basic information in order to avoid misunderstandings.  Communities must have the opportunity to discuss and reflect on new knowledge in public.  A public dialogue would provide the opportunity to increase the awareness and understanding of the community as a whole on women’s human rights and on national and international legal instruments on FGM.