FGM: A devil society finds too difficult to shake off

By Simbarashe Msasanuri

Though Female Genital Mutilation is a danger to health and life, societies continue holding on to the ancient ritual with high regards as a way of initiating young girls into womanhood. Even the winds of cultural imperialism, modernization and globalization sweeping across Africa, seem to be failing to put an end to the barbaric act that is usually performed without anesthesia and is intensely painful.

 In Tanzania, Female Genital Mutilation is traditionally performed in areas such as Arusha, Kilimamnjaro, Dodoma, Singida, Mara and Morogoro, Iringa, Mbeya regions, and Zanzibar. According to Tanzania health statistics, FGM affects 18 percent of the female population in Tanzania.

 Women are left with little choice in the practice despite the physical and psychological harm. The practice is seen as necessary preparation for woman’s marital and family responsibilities. There are social stigmas associated with women who are not circumcised. For example it is thought that a woman not operated on will suffer ill health, disease and be affected by a taboo. Traditionally males are strongly prohibited from marrying into a family where women do not undergo female genital mutilation.

 Immediate consequences of FGM include severe pain and bleeding, shock, difficulty in passing urine, infections, injury to nearby genital tissue and sometimes death. The procedure can result in death through severe bleeding leading to haemorrhagic shock, neurogenic shock as a result of pain and trauma, and overwhelming infection and septicaemia, according to Manfred Nowak, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

Almost all women who have undergone FGM experience pain and bleeding as a consequence of the procedure. The event itself is traumatic as girls are held down during the procedure. Risk and complications increase with the type of FGM and are more severe and prevalent with infibulations.

“The pain inflicted by FGM does not stop with the initial procedure, but often continues as ongoing torture throughout a woman’s life”, says Manfred Nowak, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture.

In addition to the severe pain during and in the weeks following the cutting, women who have undergone FGM experience various long-term effects - physical, sexual and psychological.

Women may experience chronic pain, chronic pelvic infections, development of cysts, abscesses and genital ulcers, excessive scar tissue formation, infection of the reproductive system, decreased sexual enjoyment and psychological consequences, such as post-traumatic stress disorder.

Additional risks for complications from infibulations include urinary and menstrual problems, infertility, later surgery (defibulation and reinfibulation) and painful sexual intercourse. Sexual intercourse can only take place after opening the infibulation, through surgery or penetrative sexual intercourse. Consequently, sexual intercourse is frequently painful during the first weeks after sexual initiation and the male partner can also experience pain and complications.

When giving birth, the scar tissue might tear, or the opening needs to be cut to allow the baby to come out. After childbirth, women from some ethnic communities are often sown up again to make them “tight” for their husband (reinfibulation). Such cutting and restitching of a woman’s genitalia results in painful scar tissue.
 
A multi-country study by WHO in six African countries, showed that women who had undergone FGM, had significantly increased risks for adverse events during childbirth, and that genital mutilation in mothers has negative effects on their newborn babies. According to the study, an additional one to two babies per 100 deliveries die as a result of FGM.

 The three primary types of FGM include circumcision which entails the removal of the "prepuce" of the clitoris, excision or clitoridectomy which involves the removal of the entire clitoris in addition to the cutting or removal of the labia minora and infibulation, the most extreme form of FGM, which involves the removal of the entire external genitalia as well as the stitching of the vagina so that only a narrow opening remains.

It is against this background that some governments have crafted laws to ban FGM. In Tanzania, the Sexual Offences Special Provisions Act, a 1998 amendment to the Penal Code, specifically prohibits FGM. Section 169A (1) of the act provides that anyone having custody, charge or care of a girl under 18 years of age who causes her to undergo FGM commits the offence of cruelty to children.

The penalty for this offence is imprisonment up to fifteen years, a fine up to 300,000 Tanzania shillings or both imprisonment and fine. The law also provides for the payment of compensation by the perpetrator for the victim of the offence.

With this in mind, some societies devised ways to beat the law by employing hide and seek tactics.  In areas such as the central zone regions women are now performing female genital mutilation (FGM) secretly, in some hideouts, to avoid the long arm of the law and eyes of human rights watchdogs.

To make matters worse, FGM rites that are traditionally performed openly involving girls are now said to be performed on babies shortly after their births.

The Director of Women Wake Up (WOWAP), Ms Fatma Toufiq, was quoted as saying that parents in Dodoma and Singida regions conspire with elderly women to perform the outdated and harmful practice in the hideouts.

This shows that there is no light at the end of a dark tunnel for the problem as these tactics make it difficult to detect and bring the culprits to book.  To add insult to an injury, women are on the forefront of making sure that their daughters are cut. Though this is done in the name of culture, norms and values, more still needs to be done to educate these societies out of this devious practice.

 Though various groups have made inroads in reducing the incidents, it is vital that societies be educated and involved in as far as finding a permanent solution is concerned.  FGM is a devil Tanzanians should join hands and fight, for a better tomorrow.