FGM & Fistula : Silence and Violence Against Women

Tonight at 10pm on BBC 3 is "Stop Cutting Our Girls". It will be a hard watch but please make the effort, Female Genital Mutilation is still at large in the world and has made its way to UK shores. It is such a violent and unnecessary act that masquerades under cultural tradition.

© Hazel Thomas

What is FGM?

FGM,  also known as Female Genital Mutilation,  Female Circumcision or Female Genital Cutting is procedure that involves partial or total removal of external female genitalia. It is without health benefits and recognised as a violation of Human Rights.

According to statistics on ForwardUK.org there are :

60,000 girls under 15 at risk of FGM in the UK

137,000 girls and women are living with the consequences of FGM in the UK

Over 130 million girls and women worldwide have undergone FGM

FGM is practiced in more than 29 countries across Africa, parts of the Middle East, South East Asia and countries where migrants from FGM affected communities live.

Sadly FGM is still taboo and the lack of education and discussion doesn't help the problem, the same goes for Obstetric fistula, a childbirth injury that occurs in parts of the world to women with very low socio-economic status, often young girls bearing children before their pelvis is fully developed. Without immediate access to medical care, women and girls in poor and rural areas of Africa and Asian countries may remain in labour for three or four days (sometimes longer) without delivery. After delivery (usually stillborn) the necrotic tissue sloughs away to reveal the fistula. Often these women and girls are left incontinent and unable to bear more children . Women also suffer social segregation and stigma wrongfully attached to this totally preventable condition.

While Type I and Type II female genital cutting are not independent causative factors in the development of obstetric fistulas from obstructed labour, they certainly affect how a woman's body heals after going through an obstetric fistula. Research is still on going in the relationship between all 4 types of FGM and Obstetric Fistula. In this day and age, women should not be going through such medieval practices and health issues !

We can help end this this, firstly by not staying silent ! Donating money to help build centres and hospitals in rural areas that will give greater access to women seeking advice and help. Educating both men and women in communities on obstetric care and the dangers of FGM and providing safe houses for women to go to if they are in danger from FGM practices.

Hx