Female Circumcision
...performed by older women in the tribes or communities. The practioners use only a razor blade, scissors or a kitchen knife. The girls receive no anesthetic and are left bleeding or hemorrhaging for days. The girls get infections very easily and many go into shock because of the pain. There are many prolonged effects from FGM, especially from infibulation. Most women have a hard time urinating. Their periods are very painful. Some will have serious complications because the hole that was left for them to urinate and menstruate is so small that everything cannot be released. Not only do these women have to deal the physical problems many develop serious mental problems. Their husbands inflict so much pain on them that they may become phobic. When they marry the infibulation has to be reopened so they can have sexual intercourse. Most men will then have the women recircumcised so that she will stay tight for him. This causes many complications in itself. Sometimes the man won’t even find the woman attractive anymore and take another wife or result to prostitutes. This can send a woman into deep depression. All of this for something a woman had no choice of in the beginning. Waris Dirie is a perfect example of this. She grew up in the Somalian desert. Her family was a tribe of herdsman who raised cattle, sheep and goats. By age five or so Waris understood where she stood in the tribe. Being a female meant that you were going to be the backbone of the tribe but you would have absolutely no power. Around the same time she realized her fate as a woman in her tribe she was exposed to female circumcision. In her tribe this was considered a rite of passage except that she was still on the verge of being a toddler. Her family made her feel like this was a very special occasion and even gave her extra food with dinner. Her mother woke her in the night and took her out into the desert. A gypsy came, wiped her dirty razor blade on her even dirtier clothes and performed the procedure. Not only was Warie exposed to the worst pain of her life at age five, she had to deal with the knowledge that her mother had allowed this to happen. She was sick with fever for weeks. As she grew older she had to live with the pain and discomfort that comes from this procedure. Later in life she visited a doctor that corrected the matter of urination and menstruating but she would never be able to feel the joy of sex. Waris now dedicates her life to educating people about FGM and trying to stop it. African counties are not the only places this happens. Over the years it has been found in Europe and the United States. The immigration of African, Sudanese and other peoples has brought this problem to other parts of the world. Cultural relativism helps anthropologists to understand the culture behind female circumcision. Tribes know t...