In the big 2026 of the 21st century, while women are trying to recover as best as they can, from the respect, dignity and basic human rights that they were stripped for years, the taboo of female genital mutilation is still persistent.
Female genital mutilation (FGM), also known as female genital cutting or female circumcision, is the cutting or removal of some or all of the vulva for non-medical reasons. This practice is prevalently conducted in some countries of Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
In my opinion, FGM is a violation of human rights that should be totally eradicated. Despite the global effort put in to kill this practice, it’s still pretty much persistent because of cultural beliefs and social pressures.
First and foremost, FGM has terrible health consequences. Girls
that undergo this procedure experience extreme pain, infection, complication during childbirth and even death. The fact that it’s usually practiced without proper medical care makes the risk even higher.
Furthermore, the trauma inflicted by this practice leaves victims with deep psychological sequels. Many survivors suffer from depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This impacts their life and confidence, restraining one from living freely.
Also, the outrage of FGM is covered up as being a cultural practice; however, I don’t believe culture should ever justify violence and harm. Little girls are stripped of their innocence and future women a part of their feminism just to fit in, in another senseless societal expectation or just to be considered “marriageable”.
To end, in Guinea, FGM has been abolished and prohibited, and yet was it really a surprise to see Guinean men protesting this decision? Their argument is that little girls must be circumcised because that will prevent them from having sex before marriage to then keep them pure for their husband. Let me ask you this between little girls that have yet to hit puberty, let alone think about sexual intercourse and grown men protesting to harm them for” “purity,” who really need to be circumcised?