100,000 Women Genitally Mutilated In Britain
April 25, 2012 No Comments
Female genital mutilation surgery (FGM) is still being offered in the UK, despite being illegal. This thought horrifies me.
Investigators from the Sunday Times report that doctors have offered to do the procedure on girls as young as ten. They also reportedly video taped a doctor, a dentist and an alternative medical practitioner offering to perform the operation, according to The Guardian.
FGM involves surgically removing parts of the vulva such as the clitoris and even sewing up the vaginal opening. It is a way of controlling a woman’s sexuality. It ensures that a woman will not enjoy sex or maybe will never be able to have it. It strips a woman of her sexuality, her body, and often causes long-term pain.
Research shows that every year 22,000 girls in the UK are at risk of FGM, and yet no one has ever been convicted of the offense. Some advocates think this is because the practice is kept secret by the doctors and even the survivors of the procedure. Others, such as model Waris Dirie who suffered FGM as a child, say it has to do with race.
“If a white girl is abused,” she said, “the police come break down the door. If a black girl is mutilated, nobody takes care of her. This is what I call racism.”
This needs to stop now.
Contact the author here: jennY@morningquickie.com
