Female Genital Mutilation Essay Research Paper OUTLINEThesis

Female Genital Mutilation Essay, Research Paper

OUTLINE

Thesis Statement: The continued .underground. practice of FGM (Female Genital Mutilation) must be stopped in order to protect women throughout the world from a useless, unnecessary procedure that has been supported by male dominating societies as a means of control, at the expense, and lives, of women.

I. Millions of girls and women have been mutilated by the practice of FGM

A. Model Waris Dirie shares her story of FGM and the consequences it has had on her life.

B. At age five, she underwent the procedure that would affect her for the rest of her life.

II. FGM (female genital mutilation) has been practiced for thousands of years in African and Middle Eastern Nations.

A. There are three types of FGM. The most common is the total excision of all external genitalia and stitching of the vaginal opening.

B. This causes severe physical and psychological health consequences and, in some cases, death.

C. The practice is performed in unsanitary conditions with primitive instruments and no anesthetics for pain.

III. Scarring and damage from the procedure create difficulty in a woman.s life.

A. Painful childbirth

B. Sexual intercourse

C. Infections

D. Infrequent and incomplete physical exams

IV. FGM has origins dating back several thousands of years in Egyptian Societies, but is most prevalent in the Islamic and African cultures.

A. Historic reasons for FGM are based upon control over the sexuality and essence of women.

B. Sexuality is reserved for men and women receive the gift of bearing their children.

V. Parents have believed that by having their daughters circumcised, it will ensure her marriageability.

A. Mothers, who have suffered from the procedure and wish not to have their children suffer, have had their children taken, without consent to perform FGM.

B. Those who refuse the practice are banished from their homes and the prospect of marriage.

VI. FGM is a means to alienate women from a male dominating society.

A. Without FGM, it is believed that women are uncontrollable.

B. Women are seen to be the weaker sex and temptation must be removed physically.

VII. FGM is illegal in most Western and many African nations, although it continues due to lack of enforcement.

A. Underground clinics and homes continue to practice FGM.

B. Health providers are not educated on how to deal with cases of FGM.

VIII. The continued mutilation is a reflection of the mutilating world in which we live.

A. The act of FGM must end.

B. The fight to ban FGM must be supported by men as well.

As many as 130 million girls and women around the world have been mutilated, a fact often hidden from those of Western culture. Bringing awareness to the inhumane torture of women is Waris Dirie, a Somalia-born model, whose face graces the cover of magazines worldwide. Reader.s Digest has featured her face and her own story of female genital mutilation.

At the age of five, she was filled with excitement as she anxiously awaited a special event that would take place the following day. Her favorite meal was prepared and she received extra attention from her family. The following day, after a night of sleeplessness, she was taken into the brush, where she and her mother awaited the arrival of a gypsy the family had requested. When the gypsy arrived, the girl was frightened and confused about the reason for her presence. The child was brought to a large, flat rock, where her mother restrained her tiny body. She became frozen with fear as her mother placed a root between her teeth and instructed her to bite. Peering between her legs, she watched the old gypsy rummage for her instrument. A broken razor blade, with evidence of dried blood, was spit on and wiped clean on the gypsy.s tattered dress. The girl was blindfolded so as not to witness the sawing of her own skin. The pain was so excruciating, she blacked out. When she awoke, punctures were being made through her skin so she could be sewn together. With her legs numb and the intense pain felt between them, she prayed for her own death. When the child awoke the second time, she found her legs and thighs bound so she could not move. She turned to the rock where the episode had taken place to find it drenched with her own blood. Lying alone with her legs tied, she could do nothing but wonder, .Why. What was it all for.. (Dirie, 1999).

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), also known as female circumcision, has been practiced for several thousand years in almost 30 African and Middle Eastern nations. It varies in degree, ranging from cuts around the clitoris (Type I) to, removal of the clitoris (Type II) or excision of all the external genitalia and stitching of the vaginal opening (Type III). With this last and most common type, the opening left is generally no larger than a match head, scarce opening for the passage of urine and menses. Severe physical and psychological health consequences can result from the procedure, as well as vaginal complications. In many situations, FGM is performed in unsanitary conditions with the girl forcibly restrained and cut with primitive instruments (razorblade, knife, glass, etc.), although it

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