To cut or not to cut? pt 1

What's so controversial about the objects displayed above (razor and knife)?

So in countries like Ethiopia, these tools (along with knives and glass) have been used to cut, along with partial and whole removal of external female genitalia (clitoris, vaginal lips etc) - often without being sanitized and in less than sterile conditions.

Shocking right? Well this practice is most commonly known as Female Gender Mutilation/Circumcision (FGM/C). In Ethiopia it is believed that around 71% of women have undergone the various forms of FGM/C. This could have happened at infancy until when they are 15 years old- depending on where the child is from.

The  four types of FGM/C are:

Type I- Clitoridectomy

Type II- Excision

Type III- Infibulation (this is type is prevalently used in Ethiopia)

Type IV- Other

Consequences of Female circumcision can include: severe pain, infection of uterus and vagina, complication in pregnancy and child birth amongst others (read the full UNICEF report here).

To many feminists, health and human rights organizations (UNICEF, DHS) the use of these basic tools on the bodies of young girls has been perceived as discriminatory as it strips the integrity of the body, negatively impairs sexual function and pleasure and is done to those who cannot be give informed consent.

 

Despite laws, outreach, education programs to prevent FGM/C it is still done as it carries cultural and religious significance.

In  places like Tigray and Addis Ababa Ethiopia, these tools are instrumental in transitioning the young girls into maturity, improving their image as clean, virginal creatures. In addition they're used to prevent sexual promiscuity, teenage pregnancy and helps them with their marriage prospects.

Therefore, the use of a razor upon the bodies of young girls means different things to different people, depending on where they are from. That is why if change is to be sought to prevent this practice it must be done sensitively in order to enact a lasting impact.