Female circumcision is a harsh procedure practiced mostly in Africa and the Middle East. It is when a female’s genital organs, such as the labia and clitoris are removed. This ritual continues to be practiced because of the religious and traditional reasons, however there are more reasons behind it. The practice is unfair and wrong and it needs to be stopped. In Waris Dirie’s “The tragedy of female circumcision”, she discusses why female circumcision is practiced. She also shares her personal experience with circumcision, how it affected her, and how she survived and overcame the mental and physical devastation this terrible procedure left behind. Dirie is now doing everything in her power to prevent this from happening to anymore girls. The practice of female circumcisions is not performed in a sanitary environment nor are they done by professionals. Dirie states “The woman who did it called herself a “professional cutter but she was just an old gypsy who traveled around with her bag” [Dirie, 177]. The woman who did her circumcision wasn’t a qualified professional of any kind to perform such a procedure. Also this woman didn’t use sterile tools to perform this operation. Dirie stated “The old woman held a dirty razor with someone else’s blood residue on it [Dirie, 177]. This is unsanitary and raises health issues. Dirie could have been exposed to someone else’s germs and blood when she was circumcised. This is a very unsafe practice. It can result in infection and severe discomfort for its victims. It can even become fatal. “I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t think I could not do anything” [Dirie, 177]. Due to the discomfort Dirie experienced after her circumcision, she explained she wasn’t able to even think because of the pain she had endured. In the passage Dirie discusses how the brutal procedure could even result in death, when she reveals she lost family members due to the procedure. “One of my younger sisters and two of my cousins died from the procedure” [Dirie, 177]. The practice of female circumcision is unjust and cruel. The trauma of the experience stops them from leading normal lives as a female, especially in the area of romance and sexual activity. “When I see a man or when he touches me, I want him to keep a distance” [Dirie, 177]. She is uncomfortable with men and being close to them, due to her sexual organs having been removed and the psychological wound it left behind. She has little or no sexual desire to be around men in that manner. This is a normal part of life for the average female but Dirie struggles with it due to what was done to her. However, despite all of the negative impact this procedure leaves on its victims. It’s still continued to be practiced, and Dirie states why in the text. “It’s done for the men. They think if you haven’t been circumcised, you’re going to sleep around. They cut you so you won’t be horny. It has nothing to do with religion”. [Dirie, 177]. This practice continues because of the men, they don’t want their woman to sleep around or stray. Furthermore they don’t want woman to have any sexual desire when they reach puberty, because sex is only supposed to be for a male’s pleasure purpose. This is selfish and unfair. Female circumcision needs to be discontinued and abolished. It is traumatic and unnecessary for its female victims. They will never lead a normal lives as females. The possibility of health risks and infections with this procedure, are very high. As well as fatality. Female circumcision, must be stopped immediately. Although the practice is mainly practiced in Africa and the Middle East it is not limited to only these places. According to “The Guardian” from an article written by Leyla Hussein titled “Thousands of girls in the United Kingdom are at risk to become circumcised”. Since people of many cultures immigrated to the UK, they have brought their cultures with them as well. And female circumcision happens to be a part of many cultures. In the article Hussein elaborates on her own dreadful experience. “I was cut when I was seven years old. Four women held me down. I felt every single cut. I was screaming so much I just blacked out”. [Hussein]. Hussein feels that female circumcision is child abuse and it must be stopped. In her article she also discusses some of the misconceptions of the practice. People feel that female and male circumcision can compare, it cannot. Female circumcision is way more painful than male circumcision and there is no medical reason to do it. “Another misconception is that it is something only practiced by Muslims, but it has nothing to do with religion and isn't mentioned in any of the holy books or condoned by any religion”. [Hussein]. Despite the misconceptions, Hussein has taken matters into her own hands to put an end to female circumcision. According to Hussein “cultural sensitivity is one of the biggest barriers to stopping FGM in Britain” [Hussein]. In efforts to prove her point Hussein hits the streets of the UK to see how many people are in favor of female circumcision. She was shocked to have received 19 signatures in as little as 30 minutes. “The fact that people thought it was OK because it's someone's culture, was really scary”. It unbelievable to think that just because some cultures carry female circumcision as one of their customs some people in society deem it ok, for the practice to be continued. This is immoral.
According to the World health organization better known as WHO, the practice of female circumcision continues to be practiced “include a mix of cultural, religious and social factors within families and communities”.[ WHO].Many cultures consider female circumcision as a cultural tradition, that’s why it’s often used as an argument for its continuance. Female circumcision is associated with cultural ideals of femininity and modesty, which include the notion that girls are “clean” and "beautiful" after removal of body parts that are considered "male" or "unclean".[WHO]. Hence, these cultures send the message to females that they are not worthy or clean as themselves, and have to alter themselves to be desirable to men. This is unfair to the females that come from these cultures, when the operation is performed they have organs removed, painfully they will suffer, both physically and mentally later in the future “About 140 million girls and women worldwide are currently living with the consequences of female circumcision”. [WHO]. Female circumcision offers no health benefits. “Procedures can cause severe bleeding and problems urinating, and later cysts, infections, infertility as well as complications in childbirth increased risk of newborn deaths”. [WHO]. The practice of female circumcision must be put to an end. It is a violation of human rights for girls and young woman it cannot be allowed to continue.