Female genital mutilation or female circumcision

Female genital mutilation

• Female genital mutilation or female circumcision, is illegal in Britain
• Some girls die after being circumcised
• Many girls suffer health problems for the rest of their lives after the operation
• It is seen by most people as cruel and barbaric

An unacceptable practice

Female genital mutilation, or female circumcision, is when a girl's genitalia is removed for cultural and religious reasons. It is illegal in Britain, and is viewed as child abuse.

It can happen to girls aged between three and twelve. There are three types of operation:

• Summa circumcision, when the top of the clitoris is removed
• Clitorectomy, when the whole clitoris and labia are removed
• Infibulation, when the clitoris and labia are removed and the vagina is sewn up, leaving a small opening for urine and menstrual blood.

Why it happens

There are different reasons some cultures favour female circumcision - one is that it is a tradition that has been around for many generations. Some people believe that a girl who hasn't been circumcised is less likely to get married, as she is seen as 'unclean'. Others say that a man will die if his penis touches a clitoris.

Some people believe that a girl is more likely to stay a virgin until she marries if she is circumcised. If a girl has infibulation, she is cut open on her wedding night to have sex with her husband and is then sewn up afterwards. This is so she stays faithful to her husband.

But many people disagree with female circumcision, and in Britain it's widely viewed as not only harmful to health, but also extremely cruel to girls and women.

What the law says

In Britain, it is now against the law to have girls circumcised, and it is also against the law to take girls from Britain abroad to have the operation. People who break the law like this can go to prison for up to 14 years.

The health risks

Because female circumcision is against the law in Britain, many people pay back street practitioners to do the operation. These practitioners don't have to be medically qualified and don't always use pain relief or anaesthetics so the operation can be traumatic and painful. Dirty razor blades, scissors, knives and pieces of glass can be used to cut, which makes infections and HIV more likely. Some girls die after the operation because of shock, haemorrhaging (bleeding to death) or septicaemia (blood poisoning).

When a girl who's been circumcised becomes an adult, she doubles her chances of dying during childbirth, and is more likely to give birth to a stillborn child. She also risks bladder and vaginal infections, painful periods, scar tissue, cysts and abscesses and difficulty controlling her bladder. Fortunately, there is support available to girls and women who have been circumcised - both medical help and counselling. But the operation cannot be reversed, and its effects last a lifetime.