Female genital mutilation: barbaric custom or cultural rite“I was shaking to death with fear. I sat next to Netsent's head so he couldn't scream. The circumciser began cutting with a razor blade. He cut everything: the clitoris, the inner and outer labia. There was so much blood!" This is an extract from an article that appeared in Marie Claire in April 2003. The speaker is a girl named Genet Girma, Ethiopian, who describes the conditions in which her sister Netsent was forced to remove genitals. Every year, two million girls are subjected to the devastating and disfiguring practice of genital cutting (Goodwin 157). Genital cutting, widely known as female genital mutilation (FGM), is the practice of removing parts of the genitals. external female genitalia. Although many people may view FGM as barbaric and dangerous, most who practice it see it as a religious ritual and as a deeply rooted cultural practice. The three broad categories of FGM are clitoridectomy, excision and infibulation. The mildest form of FGM, clitoridectomy, consists of the total or partial removal of the clitoris. Excision involves the removal of the clitoris and the cutting of the labia minora. The most extreme form of FGM is infibulation, the removal of the clitoris, the labia minora and the suturing of the labia majora. Infibulation leaves only a small opening in the vagina for urine and menstrual fluid to pass through and requires tying the legs together until the stitches stick together. Removal of stitches is often part of the wedding night ritual (Taylor 31). If the terrifying nature of the procedure wasn't enough, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) reports that FGM is "normally performed by traditional practitioners with crude instruments, such as knives, razor blades and broken glass, usually without anesthetics ”. The characteristics of FGM and the unsanitary conditions in which it is usually performed can have serious consequences. Pediatric Nursing writes: “FGM can cause numerous physical complications, including bleeding and severe pain, which can cause shock and even death.” It also writes: "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... ... middle of paper ...... ce (Ahmad). As the WHO stated: “We must realize that female genital mutilation is a deeply rooted traditional practice only be abolished completely when attitudes have changed” (Taylor 31). As this statement suggests, a line needs to be drawn in the sand when discussing the practice of FGM. On one side are Western idealists who believe that FGM is barbaric and must be abolished, if necessary by their own hands. On the other hand, there are those who believe that FGM is a tradition and a cultural ritual, which should be continued for centuries to come. And somewhere in the middle there are those who believe that change must come, but only when the countries involved are ready. It is not possible to impose change 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 no to female genital mutilation.” Marie Claire 10.4 (2003): 157-159.Taylor, Vivienne. “Female genital mutilation: cultural practice or child abuse?” Pediatric nursing 15.1 (2003): 31-34.