Her Genital Deface

 Female genital mutilation is a practice common in Africa countries with highest prevalence recorded in Nigeria and the act is still practiced in some societies despite the effort to eradicate it. 

Female genital mutilation has no health benefits and often leads to long term physical and psychological consequences. 

Psychological impact can range from a girl loosing trust in her caregivers to long term feelings of anxiety and depression as a woman. 

Female Genital Mutilation [FGM] also known as Female Circumcision is a procedure performed on a female child to alter or injure her genitalia for non-medical reasons. 

The unhygienic process of mutilation is usually done traditionally with traditional cutting tools and herbs. 

The perpetrators are usually family members; mothers, parent and grandmothers. Bear in mind that, even with a medical personnel employed and a sterilized cutting tool used, the mutilation is still not justified because damages are still resulted. 

The act creates a pathway for infectious disease into the female genitalia as well as other parts of the body thereby causing serious health complication. It can cause sexual transmitted infections, pelvic inflammatory disease and urinary tract infections. FGM encompasses an illegal surgical procedure for cultural or non-therapeutic reasons. 

Four Major forms are used in mutilating the female genital; Clitoridectomy, Excision, Infibulation and Other procedures (Type IV).

Clitoridectomy is the partial or total removal of the external part of the clitoris (hood of the clitoris). In excision, the whole clitoris and labia minora are removed. The meanest and most severe of them all is the Infibulation. It includes the removal of the whole clitoris, labia minora and the adjacent side of labia majora as well as stitching of the vaginal opening leaving a very little opening for urine and menstrual blood to escape. The side effects Include severe pain and bleeding, shock, difficulty in passing urine,

infections, injury to nearby genital tissue and sometimes death because of severe bleeding leading to hemorrhagic risk. 

Additional risks for complications from Infibulation include urinary and menstrual problems, infertility, later surgery [defibulation and reinfibulation] and painful sexual intercourse. Sexual intercourse can only take place after opening the infibulations through surgery or penetrative sexual intercourse which is usually excruciating during the first week after sexual initiation and the male can also experience pain and complications.

Type IV includes other procedures of mutilation such as pricking, stretching, cauterization or inserting herbs into the vagina. Clitoridectomy is more common in the southern parts of Nigerian and infibulation in the Northern part of the country.

 FGM is considered a violation of human right. Each year, approximately 4 million girls worldwide are at risk of undergoing female genital mutilation with most girls cut before the age 15. Efforts have been put in place in the past and present to eliminate the harmful practice but more hands are needed on deck to progressively cause a shift. Awareness should be created by educating persons on the serious damages that could result from this mutilation.

Thank yoo !