Female genital mutilation in Iraqi Kurdistan: "we will never stop because Islam and our elders require it"


Archive photo: Hudan Mohammed Ali, 6, screams in pain while undergoing circumcision in Hargeisa, Somalia, June 17, 1996. Her sister Farhyia Mohammed Ali, 18, holds her so she cannot move. - Foto: JEAN-MARC BOUJU
From JihadWatch:

The mainstream media and Islamic advocacy groups in the United States constantly tell us that female genital mutilation is a cultural practice that has nothing to do with Islam. They do this despite the fact that the among the schools of Islamic jurisprudence, Shafi'is consider circumcision obligatory for women; Hanbalis say it is an honorable custom, but not obligatory; Hanafis say it should be done as a courtesy to the husband. None of the three, you'll note, say that the practice is wrong, immoral, un-Islamic.

Anyway, the upshot of this situation is that while most Westerners take for granted, if they've ever heard of female genital mutilation at all, that it is un-Islamic, it remains only Muslims who haven't gotten this message.

"For Kurdish Girls, a Painful Ancient Ritual," by Amit R. Paley for the Washington Post, December 29 (thanks to Morgaan Sinclair):

TUZ KHURMATU, Iraq - Sheelan Anwar Omer, a shy 7-year-old Kurdish girl, bounded into her neighbor's house with an ear-to-ear smile, looking for the party her mother had promised.

There was no celebration. Instead, a local woman quickly locked a rusty red door behind Sheelan, who looked bewildered when her mother ordered the girl to remove her underpants. Sheelan began to whimper, then tremble, while the women pushed apart her legs and a midwife raised a stainless-steel razor blade in the air. "I do this in the name of Allah!" she intoned.

As the midwife sliced off part of Sheelan's genitals, the girl let out a high-pitched wail heard throughout the neighborhood. As she carried the sobbing child back home, Sheelan's mother smiled with pride.

"This is the practice of the Kurdish people for as long as anyone can remember," said the mother, Aisha Hameed, 30, a housewife in this ethnically mixed town about 100 miles north of Baghdad. "We don't know why we do it, but we will never stop because Islam and our elders require it."

Kurdistan is the only known part of Iraq --and one of the few places in the world--where female circumcision is widespread. More than 60 percent of women in Kurdish areas of northern Iraq have been circumcised, according to a study conducted this year. In at least one Kurdish territory, 95 percent of women have undergone the practice, which human rights groups call female genital mutilation.

The practice, and the Kurdish parliament's refusal to outlaw it, highlight the plight of women in a region with a reputation for having a more progressive society than the rest of Iraq. Advocates for women point to the increasing frequency of honor killings against women and female self-immolations in Kurdistan this year as further evidence that women in the area still face significant obstacles, despite efforts to raise public awareness of circumcision and violence against women. [...]

Supporters of female circumcision said the practice, which has been a ritual in their culture for countless generations, is rooted in sayings they attribute to the prophet Muhammad, though the accuracy of those sayings is disputed by other Muslim scholars....

Of course. But they don't seem to be able to dispute the accuracy of those sayings effectually enough to curb this practice where it is found among Muslims.

Religious mutilation of females. This is the correct name for this evil.

falls under the category of 'torture' i believe. mental and physical

This has been going on since early B.C. It pre-dates Christianity and Islam.

This is done to over 2 million girls a year. Over 20 countries do this. It is a cultural procedure. It's not a religious procedure. They are given nothing for pain.

It has long term health consequences. It can cause problems with urinating, childbirth, creates nerve damage and more. Those are only the physical problems. It creates psychological problems too.

Immigrants in the U.S. are doing this too.

This is a most horrible practice.

Winx is quite correct when she identifies this horror as cultural and not religious.

Not that the facts matter.

I've know about this for years but never understood the "Why". Do they remove the clitoris to stop pleasure? Is it to stop the women from seeking outside sex partners? What is the purpose?

this is the best source i could find to explain it

http://www.mtholyoke.edu/~ehtoddch/politics/historyfgm.html

So why does the practice of female circumcision linger in so many countries?

It is very difficult to understand why female circumcision remains if it was supposed to fade out of practice once Egypt converted to Islam, but the best explanation is that the practice continues because it is considered a tradition. Few individuals who practice female circumcision are aware of the early mythology, but several do stereotype uncircumcised girls as more masculine.
Another theory is that female circumcision originated as a way to control women's sexuality. It was thought that the practice would control a woman's desire for sex and thus prevent premarital relations and keep the woman faithful to their husband after marriage. It went to the extent that female circumcision made men masters over female sexual function, it historically reinforced the idea that wives are their husband's private property.

Grim. What is actually removed?

that I don't know hun. i could barely stomach looking that up

call it cultural or call it religious.

does it matter?
does it even freaking matter.

I tell you human sacrifice is more understandable than mutilation of a woman jsut because shes a woman.

There was a recent interview on NPR about an woman who is trying to stop this via education. The men did not actually know what they were ordering their daughters to endure, so she showed them via a video tape. Many were totally unaware of what was entailed. She is changing minds about this practice. Yes it is a cultural practice, not sanctioned by Islam, but if you can't read the Koran or its commentaries for yourself, you are stuck with what "The Man" tells you.

Here is a link to several stories about this, and efforts to stop it

http://www.npr.org/search.php?text=Female+genital+mutilation

apparently it depends on the culture
http://www.jmu.edu/evision/archive/volume2/essays/meyerhardt.html

I looked it up.

Begin quote:

The WHO uses the term Female Genital Mutilation, and classifies FGM into four major types[23] (see Diagram 1), although there is some debate as to whether all common forms of FGM fit into these four categories, as well as issues with the reliability of reported data.[24]
Diagram 1:This image shows the different types of FGM and how they differ to the uncircumcised female anatomy.

[edit] Type I

The WHO defines Type I FGM as the partial or total removal of the clitoris (clitoridectomy) and/or the prepuce (clitoral hood); see Diagram 1B. When it is important to distinguish between the variations of Type I mutilation, the following subdivisions are proposed: Type Ia, removal of the clitoral hood or prepuce only; Type Ib, removal of the clitoris with the prepuce.[23] In the context of women who seek out labiaplasty, Stern opposes removal of the clitoral hood and points to potential scarring and nerve damage.[25]

[edit] Type II

The WHO's definition of Type II FGM is "partial or total removal of the clitoris and the labia minora, with or without excision of the labia majora (excision). When it is important to distinguish between the major variations that have been documented, the following subdivisions are proposed: Type IIa, removal of the labia minora only; Type IIb, partial or total removal of the clitoris and the labia minora; Type IIc, partial or total removal of the clitoris, the labia minora and the labia majora. [23]

[edit] Type III: Infibulation with excision

The WHO defines Type III FGM as narrowing of the vaginal orifice with creation of a covering seal by cutting and repositioning the labia minora and/or the labia majora, with or without excision of the clitoris (infibulation)."[1] It is the most extensive form of FGM, and accounts for about 10% of all FGM procedures described from Africa.[26] Infibulation is also known as "pharaonic circumcision."[27]

In a study of infibulation in the Horn of Africa, Pieters observed that the procedure involves extensive tissue removal of the external genitalia, including all of the labia minora and the inside of the labia majora. The labia majora are then held together using thorns or stitching. In some cases the girl's legs have been tied together for two to six weeks, to prevent her from moving and to allow the healing of the two sides of the vulva. Nothing remains but the walls of flesh from the pubis down to the anus, with the exception of an opening at the inferior portion of the vulva to allow urine and menstrual blood to pass through; see Diagram 1D. Generally, a practitioner recognized as having the necessary skill carries out this procedure, and a local anesthetic is used. However, when carried out "in the bush," infibulation is often performed by an elderly matron or midwife of the village, with no anesthesia used.[28]

A reverse infibulation can be performed to allow for sexual intercourse or when undergoing labor, or by female relatives, whose responsibility it is to inspect the wound every few weeks and open it some more if necessary. During childbirth, the enlargement is too small to allow vaginal delivery, and so the infibulation is opened completely and may be restored after delivery. Again, the legs are sometimes tied together to allow the wound to heal. When childbirth takes place in a hospital, the surgeons may preserve the infibulation by enlarging the vagina with deep episiotomies. Afterwards, the patient may insist that her vulva be closed again.[28]

Women who have been infibulated face a lot of difficulty in delivering children, especially if the infibulation is not undone beforehand, which often results in severe tearing of the infibulated area, or fetal death if the birth canal is not cleared (Toubia, 1995). The risk of severe physical, and psychological complications is more highly associated with women who have undergone infibulations as opposed to one of the lesser forms of FGM. Although there is little research on the psychological side effects of FGM, many women feel great pressure to conform to the norms set out by their community, and suffer from anxiety and depression as a result (Toubia, 1995). “There is also a higher rate of post-traumatic stress disorder in circumcised females” (Nicoletti, 2007, p. 2). [29] [30]

What amazes me is that the women themselves allow this to be done to their daughters. It's sick, period.

But its part of becoming a woman(in their eyes)it was done to me, my mother, her mother and every woman in this village(County, City) since anyone can remember. And we will not break with the practices/traditions that make us who we are.

Now I totally disagree with the practice, but I do understand why it continues.

This is a good source of information:

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs241/en/index.html


http://www.who.int/reproductive-health/fgm/

I'm sure by the end of this post someone will blame this on the Christians.

It has already been said that it is a culturally procedure and not a religious one.

Why do you even have to go there?

It's also considered to be a status symbol in some communities.