THE UNCULTURED CUT

 

By Hanifa Adan 

Female genital mutilation (FGM) involves the partial or total removal of external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons according to WHO. It's still one of the most neanderthal cultures that is practised. These girls find themselves in despondency where the improbable and implausible turn outs are as common as they can be. The culture you're born into is what you become, they say. We take a look at three victims of FGM in the Cushitic culture and how surreal it was for them. 

According to official UNICEF figures (2020), FGM affects at least 200 million women and girls in 31 countries worldwide. This figure only includes countries where there is available data from large-scale representative surveys, which consist of 27 countries from the African continent, as well as Iraq, Yemen, the Maldives, and Indonesia. It is widely acknowledged that this presents an incomplete picture of this global phenomenon. The World Health organisation considers the practice to be a violation of human, women’s and children’s rights; it is illegal in most Western countries.

In 2011 Kenya passed a law that prohibits Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and imposes tough penalties on perpetrators and those abetting the practice. The law not only bans the practice in Kenya but also prohibits cross-border FGM and bars medical care givers from carrying out the practice. In addition, the law holds that consent cannot be cited as an excuse for conducting FGM.

The Cushitic culture which is more of the Somali and borana communities has been practicing FGM for ages now. The process  is supposed to mould the young girls into 'women'. Girls between ages 10-15 years are passed through the boorish process. For the ones in schools, it takes place during the holidays to allow time to heal and recuperate fully. The healing can take up to one to two months depending on how severe the cut is. 

It is performed by experienced midwives for all non medical reasons and as soon as the girls hit puberty. 

The most practiced form of FGM(according to the information given)  is cliteridectomy which is the removal of parts of the clitoris. Unlike the older generation which practiced excision – removing part or all of the clitoris and the inner labia (the lips that surround the vagina), with or without removal of the labia majora (the larger outer lips)

"It was on a Saturday morning just when I finished having my breakfast.I was in class 4 and it was during the August holiday. My mother called me inside while she stood outside. I saw four ladies aged between 50-60 years. I was astounded and my fear ran quicker than my curiosity. I was told to sit down and immediately I did. The three ladies who were behind me grabbed me. My hands and feet were completely tied down with my eyes closed -the smell of fright and terror overpowered the smell of the famous old women perfume I was covered with. My legs were wide open and within some few seconds I felt a sharp quick pain-the unaesthetic one that leaves you weary physically and emotionally. They let go of me and my teary eyes looked around the mess, bloody and uncouth mess. She showed me the piece of me she cut and the air became full of melancholy. I let out a loud scream caused by the itchy and bleeding aftermath of the cut. She used a razor blade, a new one that passes cold signals throughout the spine. I healed after three weeks and was back to normal" said Khadijah, a 24 year old university student. 

The prevalent justification for FGM is that it reduces women's sex drive. In a community that values female virginity a lot, the women would be more dignified and ready for marriage if they maintain their virginity. Evolutionary psychologists have long claimed that male anxiety over their female partners’ sexual experience and fidelity is driven by paternity uncertainty: the idea that men can never be 100% sure that they are the biological father of any offspring their partner gives birth to. FGM damages anatomic structures that are directly involved in female sexual function, and can therefore also have an effect on women’s sexual health and well-being. Removal of, or damage to, highly sensitive genital tissue, especially the clitoris, may affect sexual sensitivity and lead to sexual problems, such as decreased sexual desire and pleasure, pain during sex, difficulty during penetration, decreased lubrication during intercourse, and reduced frequency or absence of orgasm (anorgasmia). Scar formation, pain and traumatic memories associated with the procedure can also lead to such problems.

Salma, a now mother of two narrates her ordeal when she first had sex after marriage. 

"I remember that day vividly because it was something I grew up looking forward to. There was a certain excitement that came with it. My brothers were circumcised before me and I cried that day because I wanted to go with them to the hospital too. My friends would brag about how they've already gone through it so I felt left out. All the fantasies I had became oblivion when I was swimming in blood and exertion. I was given more than I could handle and I certainly bit more than I could chew. It took more than a month to heal - different from the duration my friends had. The aftermath didn't end there. It extended to my nuptial night -a day which was supposed to be special turned chaotic. I started bleeding profusely during sex. It was unimaginably painful. I figured it was as a result of the mutilation. I was rushed to the hospital and I became a topic for the next day" 

The severity of any perineal tear has three degrees. A first‐degree vaginal tear is defined as damage to the superficial vaginal epithelium; a second‐degree tear as involving the vaginal epithelium and deeper muscles, but excluding the anal sphincters. A third‐degree perineal tear is defined as a partial or complete anal sphincter rupture without the involvement of the anal mucosa and a fourth‐degree tear as a rupture of the anal sphincter and mucosa.

Most women after FGM may well have a reduction in tissue strength and, therefore, a greater probability of third‐degree vaginal tears. 

Compared with women without FGM, evidence suggests that women living with FGM have an increased risk of cesarean delivery, postpartum hemorrhage, episiotomy, extended maternal hospital admission, infant resuscitation, and inpatient perinatal death. FGM has been reported to be associated with difficult deliveries and fetal distress, which can also contribute to increased rates of cesarean delivery

"Pregnancy is one of the most important and crucial stages in a woman's life. I was overly excited  with my first pregnancy. Everyone in my family was. After all the hustle and bustle for nine months, the delivery day came. It came with much more than I expected. I wasn't able to push and the more I tried the more and vagina was going to tear so we had no other option than cesarean surgery. I have three kids now and they were all delivered through it." Fatma, a 43 year old mother explained 

While these girls take the pieces of their tainted fate and move forward, the rising generation is still prone to it. Raising awareness and educating the women on the dangers of FGM is a challenging mission. A mission that's not impossible and they move with the belief that there is a better life for them beyond the horizon.