On February 6, the International Day of Zero Tolerance with Female Genital Mutilation is celebrated around the world. This utterly savage and misogynistic practice is still practiced in many parts of the world, especially in Africa (specifically in the western, eastern, and northeastern regions), the Middle East, and parts of Asia. The phenomenon of migration must also be borne in mind, so that female genital mutilation (FGM) would be carried out among migrants from these areas outside their borders .
Despite being recognized worldwide as a flagrant violation of the human rights of women and girls, the WHO counts the number of women and girls alive who have undergone FGM at more than 200 million.
This practice is usually done mostly in childhood , sometime between infancy and adolescence, and occasionally in adulthood.
It is estimated that each year more than three million girls are at risk of female genital mutilation.
The World Health Organization distinguishes four types of female genital mutilation. They are as follows:
– Clitoridectomy . It involves the removal of all or part of the clitoris and, rarely, only its foreskin (the fold of skin that surrounds it).
– Excision . This procedure consists of partially or totally removing the clitoris and the labia minora (folds that are on the inside of the vulva) and / or the labia majora (the folds that are on the outside).
– Infibulation . This name refers to the technique of narrowing the vaginal opening, which is sealed by cutting, repositioning and sometimes sewing the labia majora and minora. It may include removal of the clitoris.
– Other procedures in which the external female genitalia is seriously abused for no medical reason . We are talking about perforation, incision, scraping or cauterization of the area.
The WHO also refers to defibulation, which would be the cut that is made to a woman previously subjected to infibulation to open the opening of the vagina. This is usually done to improve your health and well-being as well as to make intercourse and childbirth possible.
As is logical, since they are real savagery, all types of FGM can bring serious consequences for the woman and even her death .
Immediate complications that can occur include: severe pain, bleeding, inflammation of the genital tissues, fever, infections such as tetanus, urinary problems, injury to neighboring genital tissues, shock, and death.
Among the serious consequences that can occur in the long term after one of these aberrant interventions are urinary infections, vaginal problems, menstrual problems, the appearance of scar tissue and keloid, sexual problems, increased risk of complications in childbirth and mortality neonatal, the need for new surgical interventions (such as defibulation) as well as psychological disorders and health complications of female genital mutilation.
In short: a real horror and an attack on human rights.
