Female Genital Mutilation-cutting (FGM) - Muslims condemn the ugly practice

Female Genital Mutilation-cutting (FGM) - Muslims condemn the ugly practice

“Suhair al-Bata'a, a thirteen year old Egyptian girl died while the brutes were mutilating her genitals this week. This is an abhorrent cultural practice.  Indeed, it is not an Islamic practice or the Muslim practices worldwide; it is a shameful practice by many groups including Muslims, such as a few Bohra Muslims in India and other Muslims in Egypt, Somalia and Yemen.  Unless we condemn this ugly practice, it will be propagated as a Muslim practice,” concludes Mike Ghouse, president of the World Muslim Congress, a think tank based in Dallas.

It's time we remove the name of Islam and Muslims from this disgusting practice, just as the Medical Associations of the United States and United Kingdom have banned the practice since 1996, not only was it legal in America but it was covered by the health insurance. Muslims need to join the Christians and all others who condemn this.

Following the condemnation is the ugly history and practice of FGM here in America and Britain.  

The World Muslim Congress joins the American Society for Muslim Advancement in condemning this practice.

The Global Muslim Women's Shura Council (The Council) stands together with the Egyptian National Council for Women in demanding the eradication of this practice. The Council condemns FGC as a harmful and un-Islamic practice that contradicts the teachings of the Qur'an and the Prophet's Example (Sunnah). Laleh Bakhtiar, a Council member and the author of the English translation The Sublime Quran, states: "There is no mention of FGC in the Qur'an, it is a cultural practice growing as it did out of local customs in Egypt and elsewhere."

Daisy Khan, Executive Director of American Society for Muslim Advancement, said, "FGC violates human rights of over 130  million women worldwide and continues to pose a threat to three million girls every year, and as a tradition, it is an absolute corruption of the Islamic doctrine and must be eliminated from all Muslim societies."

In August 2010, 96% of Muslim women polled worldwide declared FGC to be an un-Islamic practice which must be eliminated. The Council has prepared various educational tools to help in the elimination of this practice. The Council appeals to the public to read/view and disseminate the three minute long video-
http://youtu.be/aL7p2omnw_g - the two-page digest "Female Genital Cutting: Harmful and Un-Islamic," and the ten-page full report.

FGM IN AMERICA

Female circumcision was legal in the United States until 1996, and even Blue Cross Blue Shield Covered the costs as a part of the insurance coverage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ORnf1BiL38c

Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a harmful traditional practice that involves the removal of part or all of the female genitalia.  The World Health Organization (WHO) has classified FGM into 4 types:

1.    Clitoridectomy: partial or total removal of the clitoris and/or the prepuce

2.    Excision: partial or total removal of the clitoris and the labia minora, with or without excision of the labia majora

3.    Infibulations: the most extreme form, the removal of all external genitalia and the stitching together of the two sides of the vulva

4.    Other: all other harmful procedures done to the female genitalia for nonmedical purposes, for example, pricking, piercing, incising, scraping and cauterization

What are the health consequences of FGM?

FGM is generally performed without anesthetic, and can have lifelong health consequences including chronic infection, hemorrhage, and severe pain during urination, menstruation, and sexual intercourse. It could lead to complications during childbirth and increases the risk of newborn deaths. Women may also suffer psychological trauma as a result of being subjected to FGM. While anti-FGM advocates occasionally report cases of death as a direct or indirect result of FGM, there is no statistical data on how many girls die from the procedure.

FGM is recognized internationally as a human rights violation, torture and an extreme form of discrimination against women and girls.

Why is FGM performed?

To control women's sexuality and to ensure virginity until marriage and fidelity in marriage.

To make a girl more acceptable in the community and increases her eligibility for marriage.

As a traditional rite of passage into adulthood.

FGM is associated with notions of being "feminine," "modest," "clean" and/or "beautiful."

Various myths surround FGM in practicing communities, e.g. that the clitoris will grow into a penis if not cut, or that a baby will die if its head touches the clitoris during birth.

America's Forgotten History of Female Circumcision

In the USA, while involuntary female circumcision never became routine like involuntary male circumcision became, it was promoted and done by some of the same doctors who were doing it to boys.

Clitoridectomy: Nineteenth Century Answer for Masturbation

http://www.nocirc.org/symposia/first/duffy.html

The following six excerpt quotes are from actual American medical journals:

"...that the girl who becomes irritable, disagreeable and hysterical may become charming, interesting and possessed of all feminine graces when her prepuce[clitoral hood] is forcibly peeled away from the glans of the clitoris, and we have made a distinct step forward in civilization..." [Is evolution trying to do away with the clitoris? Transactions of the American Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Vol. 5, 1892, pp. 288-302]

http://www.historyofcircumcision.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=50&Itemid=68

"I for one have circumcised as many girls as boys, and always with happy results." [Circumcision of Girls. Journal of Orificial Surgery, Vol. 7, July 1898, pp. 31-33]

"Many neuroses and even psychoses have their origin in pathological conditions of the hood of the clitoris." [Circumcision in the Female: Its Necessity and How to Perform It. American Journal of Clinical Medicine, Vol. 22, No. 6, June 1915, pp. 520-523]

http://www.noharmm.org/CircintheFemale.htm

"Circumcision will relieve one of the greatest causes of masturbation" [Why not circumcise the girl as well as the boy? Texas State Journal of Medicine, Vol. 14, May 1918, pp. 17-19]

"The same reasons that apply for the circumcision of males are generally valid when considered for the female." [Circumcision of the Female. General Practioner, Vol. 18 No. 3, September 1958, pp. 98-99]

http://www.noharmm.org/circumfemale.htm

"If the husband is unusually awkward or difficult to educate, one should at times make the clitoris easier to find[by amputating the clitoral hood]." [Female Circumcision: Indications and a New Technique General Practioner, Vol. 20, No. 3, September 1959, pp. 115-120]

http://www.noharmm.org/femcirctech.htm

Read the talking points on how FGC is un-Islamic and harmful:

http://www.wisemuslimwomen.org/images/uploads/WISE_Shura_Council_FGC_2-page_statement.pdf_.pdf

Read the Muslim Women's Shura Council Full Report here:

http://www.wisemuslimwomen.org/pdfs/shura_council_fgc_digest.pdf


Learn about ASMA FGC elimination projects in Egypt:

http://www.wisemuslimwomen.org/currentissues/femalegenitalcutting/

The World Muslim Congress is committed to sharing and producing literature about the core values of Islam; Pluralism, Justice. www. WorldMuslimCongress.com