Female genital mutilation: barbaric custom or cultural rite “I trembled with fear. I sat at Netsent's head so she couldn't scream. The circumciser started cutting with a razor blade. She cut everything: the clitoris, the inner and outer lips. There was so much blood! This is an extract from an article published in Marie Claire in April 2003. The speaker is a young girl named Genet Girma, an Ethiopian, describing the conditions under which her sister Netsent was forced to have her genitals removed . Every year, two million girls undergo the devastating and disfiguring practice of female circumcision (Goodwin 157). Genital cutting, widely known as female genital mutilation (FGM), is the practice of cutting off parts of a woman's external genitalia. Although many people may view FGM as barbaric and dangerous, most who practice it view FGM as a religious rite and a deeply rooted cultural practice. The three main categories of FGM are clitoridectomy, excision and infibulation. The mildest form of FGM, clitoridectomy, involves removing all or part of the clitoris. Excision includes removal of the clitoris and cutting of the labia minora. The most extreme form of FGM is infibulation, the removal of the clitoris, labia minora and suturing of the labia majora. Infibulation leaves only a small opening in the vagina for urine and menstrual fluid to pass and requires tying the legs together until the stitches adhere. Often, the removal of stitches is part of the wedding night ritual (Taylor 31). As if the terrifying nature of the procedure wasn't enough, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) reports that FGM is "normally carried out by traditional practitioners with crude instruments, such as knives, razor blades and broken glass, usually without anesthesia.” The characteristics of FGM and the unsanitary conditions in which it is usually practiced can have serious consequences. Pediatric Nursing writes: “FGM can cause many physical complications, including bleeding and severe pain, which can lead to shock or even death. He also writes that "FGM can create long-term complications resulting from scarring and interference with the drainage of urine and menstrual blood, such as chronic pelvic infections, which can cause pelvic and back pain, dysmenorrhea, infertility, chronic urinary tract infection... ... middle of paper ......this (Ahmad). As the WHO has stated: “We must understand that female genital mutilation is a deeply rooted traditional practice. As such, it can only be completely abolished when attitudes have changed” (Taylor 31). As this statement suggests, there is a line to be drawn in the sand when discussing the practice of FGM. On the one hand, there are Western idealists who believe that FGM is barbaric and should be abolished, by their own hands if necessary. On the other hand, there are those who believe that FGM is a tradition and a cultural rite that should continue for centuries. And somewhere in between are those who believe that change must happen, but only when the countries involved are ready. We cannot impose changes on them. Works Cited Ahmad, Imad-ad-Dean. “Female genital mutilation: an Islamic perspective. » Minaret. May 1, 2003. English, Veronica. “Female genital mutilation”. Journal of Medical Ethics 27.3 (2001): 203-205. Goodwin, January “I said 15.1 (2003): 31-34.