Posted by Chester Morton / Tuesday 15 November 2016 / No comments
The reasons for abolishing female genital mutilation
Definition of female genital mutilation
Female genital
mutilation refers to the process of cutting or removing specific parts of girl's reproductive organ. A little hole is left through which the girl can urinate. This
practice is prevalent in the northern parts of Ghana, among the Kasena,
Dagarti, Builsa and the Mossi.
REASONS WHY IT
MUST BE ABOLISHED
It could
lead to death
Female genital
mutilation could lead to the death of the girl on whom it is performed. Victims
have reported that the experience is very painful. It is reported that crude and
non sterilized implements are sometimes used, leading to a possible infection,
which if not controlled, could lead to the death of the victim. Sometimes too,
they are unable to to stop the blood flow after the incision so the victim
could bleed to death.
Complication
in child delivery
The scar that is
left after the incision during female genital mutilation makes child birth a
herculean one later in life. The scar that is left narrows the genital opening
of the woman so she finds it very difficult to deliver smoothly, prompting
further incisions by nurses to open up the birth canal.
Dangerous
health consequences
The tools used in
the female genital mutilation could be infected, posing a danger. Apart from
that the implements may not have been sterilized so the girls could be exposed
to infections leading to death.
Sterility
In every African
society, child birth is as important as the marriage itself if not more
important. It so happens that, sometimes, female genital mutilation tampers
with the girl's organs of reproduction, thereby preventing her from having
children of her own.
Loss of
sexual sensitivity
The clitoral
region of a woman has been proven to be the sit of sexual pleasure. It can be
argued, therefore, that if that whole region is taken away, the girl is
unable to feel adequate sexual pleasure. The woman's ability to enjoy sex in
marriage is denied and so she remains only the source of pleasure for the
husband without any reciprocal pleasures of her own.
Violation of
child’s rights
Female genital
mutilation is a violation of the rights of the woman at the time she has no means
of protesting or even understanding what it is and the implications thereof.
