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Female Genital Operations

The FGO Debate

It is often easier to reject the unknown; to dismiss the ways of thought unlike our own. When most people in a "western society" hear anything about female "circumcision" or genital operations, the common reaction is one of disgust and revulsion for the practice, sympathy for the "victims," and an urge to correct this "crisis." However, what many observers may see as oppression of women or cruel and unusual punishment is really a cultural expression that is hard to grasp for many outsiders. The debate over female genital operations is more than a battle for human rights. It is a clashing of cultures; a power struggle being waged on women's bodies. When approaching these issues, one should be careful to try and look past cultural prejudices and preconceived notions of what our body is and how it should be treated.
Part of the confusion over the debate about female genital operations is the differing forms. There is the basic "sunna cut" that is only a small nick to the clitoris. This method is fairly rare, though often pushed as an alternative. The procedure that is often thought of with female genital operations is excision or clitoridectomy, where the whole clitoris is removed. There is also an intermediate form where the clitoris and minor labia is cut as well. The last form is the one that leads to the most health risks and is probably the hardest to deal with for the women. With infibulations, minor and major labia are cut and sewn closed, leaving a small opening for urination. This means that in order to have intercourse or childbirth the women must be opened again.
Although the different types of procedures done are often a focal point of the debate, the issue of female genital operations is more than just the physical alterations to the body. Depending on the culture, there can be differing reasons for performing female genital operations, and despite a growing, popular view, these reasons are not necessarily reliant on...