by:  M. M. AFRAH               afrah95@hotmail.com

 

FAX (416) 855 3642 Opinion Page, Toronto Star. Many African women groan whenever you mention the words female genital mutilation (FGM) or circumcision. So I wondered why these words are sensitive for many people in the Horn of Africa, Egypt, Sudan, parts of Kenya and West Africa. To answer that question I turned to Amina, whose family lineage practiced for generations what she now describes as disgusting, inhuman and horrendous. "However, whenever a mother refused or even questioned the necessity of the practice, she and her family is stigmatized or even put to death in some countries, where the female genital mutilation of a girl before puberty is considered as a sacred duty for her parents and the society as a whole," she said. I gasped when I heard the way the operation is performed, not by doctors but by old traditional midwives wielding rusty knives, needles from an acacia tree and dirty rugs, and of course without anesthesia or sedatives. What the old midwife has to do is cut the clitoris and sew up the labia majore (outer sex organs) together, leaving a tiny opening for the outflow of the urine. Those who were lucky to survive the knife, the tiny opening are the worst nightmare because it takes eternity for a girl to complete her toilet-often painful. The horror story does not end there. The girl would be immobilized and spends in bed, some times for a longer period and loses a lot of blood in the process. Undetermined number of girls died of infection that led to the deadly HIV/AIDES virus and died before they could see the light of day again. A case in point is an 11-year-old girl who died of infection only hours after the old midwife completed her unspeakable operation. But why do parents want their daughters to undergo this dangerous operation? I asked an elderly man who refused to have his two daughters circumcised in a backroom in Metro Toronto. "Islam does not sanction female genital mutilation. It is Pharaonic and therefore unlawful," he said. A nation-wide survey conducted jointly by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the defunct Somali Ministry of Health in the heydays of ousted military dictator, Major-General Mohamed Siyad Barre, revealed that nearly half of the victims died either of blood infection or hemorrhage, while 30 per cent died at childbirth. The survey also noted that fewer married couples were living up to their vows, because the bridegroom discovered that his spouse was not "properly" circumcised according to tradition. It later transpired during litigations that, doctors had performed the operation in what were described as "Sunna," which is more "humane" and less painful than the Pharaonic way. When General Barre tried to discourage people from what he described as un-Islamic, there was surge of opinions, and at times heated debates that led to fist fights in mosques throughout the country about the ritual. Opponents urged that the practice is cruel, un-Islamic and damaging to the women's sexual and reproductive health, while the traditionalists claimed the procedure protects women from what they consider as an excessive sexual desire and also guarantees virginity. "I went through three painful moments in my life; a) during the actual operation, b) during intercourse and c) during childbirth," said an old Somali woman currently living in downtown Toronto. She blames men for their desire to have a "completely sealed package", or money back as if the woman was a merchandize. She said the majority of the male population view uncircumcised girl as "unclean" and "used". She said that was in Africa where some vocal orthodox and religious fanatics have very strong grip on the society. "But why anyone wants to continue this barbaric practice in Canada," the old woman bemoaned. To get an answer I turned to a very knowledgeable community worker at the Regent Park Community Health Center, which serves many ethnic groups from the Horn of Africa. "Old habits die hard, especially with the elderly people who will shiver whenever they hear girls should not be circumcised," she told me. She warns newcomers to Canada that it is against the law to mutilate genitals, which many of these elderly people believed were religious injunction. She regularly conducts workshops at the Health Center, frequently quoting sermons from respected Imams and translations from the book "Sisters in Affliction," by a Somali woman in the 1980s when tempers about the ritual were running high. Now what can a government and society do to put an end to this ghastly operation? The obvious answer is: educate parents with the help of religious leaders and community workers who speak their language. By M.M. Afrah© Email: afrah95@hotmail.com