Ayesha was a ten year old girl. She loved to paint. Her art dripped of beauty and innocence. She was a happy young child. One day, she went to her school teacher, teary eyed and showed her a drawing. It was that of a young child on a bed and a woman next to the bed with a blade. Horrified, the teacher asked her what the drawing meant. Ayesha wiping her tears away said that someone had cut her Shame-Shame. The teacher was horrified and left aghast. Ayesha was a victim of Female Genital Mutilation.
This is a common story within various sections of the Muslim Community, namely the Dawoodi Bohras in India and other communities in South Asia and Africa. This Practice of cutting the Vaginal Hood is calling Female Genital Mutilation. It is the ritual stitching or cutting of part or sometimes the entire female genitalia for non-medical reasons.
Female Genital Mutilation or FGM is one of those practices which have no legitimate history or any logical explanation to as to why is it existing. In Muslim Communities where it is practiced, the explanation given is that it is written in the Quran. There is no evidence of such anywhere within the book. The Hadith which is highly unreliable mentions it only but once.
Various explanations are given for FGM. Some explanations point to Safeguarding the Chastity of a girl or enhancing sexual pleasure. Either way, there is no evidence to support the claims. The cutting of the hood of the Vagina can lead to further complications. The vaginal hood has a prepuce, designed to protect the Clitoris. Un-hooding it will just lead to more infections. Excessive bleeding of the vagina has sometimes caused the deaths of young girls.
Also Read: WHO’s Take on Female Genital Mutilation
According to a report by Al-Jazeera, approximately 6,000 girls are subjected to FGM every day, with nearly a quarter of them under the age of 14 when it takes place. FGM victims often talk about mental trauma rather than any physical pain. The memory etched inside their minds is that of loss of innocence and mistrust of their own. In almost all cases, the child is taken for such Cutting by her own mother or any female member of her family; this causes a mental strain in the young mind of the child, which may cause psychological issues in later years. The patriarchal influence coupled with the deafening silence by the women themselves, who believe that this is an Act of Appeasement for God is why FGM today is still prevalent around the globe. Covered in a veil of reticence, the issue of FGM is as untouched as they want their women to be. Torn between Traditions and basic Human Rights, Women are finding their voices, though yet mellow. There is hope, but until then young girls like Ayesha will fall prey to the monster that is called FGM.
