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Taking a Stand Against Practices That Harm Women
Throughout the world, practices that
undermine the well-being of women while preserving male dominance
endure -- often defended in the name of culture and tradition. But
like slavery and foot-binding, they constitute egregious violations
of basic human rights.
In most industrialized
societies, although gender–based violence is officially condemned,
it persists, implicitly sanctioned by messages in mass media.
In some developing countries, practices that subjugate and harm
women – such as wife-beating, ‘honour’ killings, female genital
cutting and dowry deaths – are condoned as being part of the
natural order of things. Throughout much of Asia, a preference for
male children results in the neglect and sometimes infanticide of
girls, or their elimination by abortion in places where prenatal
tests are available to determine the sex of the foetus.
Forced early marriage of young girls or adolescents is another
culturally-defended practice that can cause lifelong psychological
as well as physical problems, especially those resulting from
early
childbearing.
And as conflicts among ethnic groups rage, women and girls have
increasingly become pawns of war, and face rape and forced
pregnancies. FGC, coerced sex and early marriage are also factors in
the spread of HIV to women.
A Global Consensus to End Female Genital
Cutting
Female genital cutting (FGC) generally refers to the removal of
part or all of a girl's external genitalia, and, in a more radical
version (infibulation), the stitching up of the vaginal opening. An
excruciating and sometimes deadly procedure, FGC is aimed at
preserving female chastity and marriage prospects. It achieves this
at the expense of a woman's sexual health and bodily integrity.
The recollections of Zainab
(22), who was infibulated at the age of 8.
My two sisters, myself and our mother went to visit our
family back home. I assumed we were going for a holiday.
A bit later they told us that we were going to be
infibulated. The day before our operation was due to take
place, another girl was infibulated and she died because
of the operation. We were so scared and didn’t want to
suffer the same fate. But our parents told us it was an
obligation, so we went. We fought back; we really thought
we were going to die because of the pain. You have one
woman holding your mouth so you won’t scream, two holding
your chest and the other two holding your legs. After we
were infibulated, we had rope tied across our legs so it
was like we had to learn to walk again. We had to try to
go to the toilet, if you couldn’t pass water in the next
10 days something was wrong. We were lucky, I suppose, we
gradually recovered and didn’t die like the other girl.
But the memory and the pain never really goes.
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In 1984, a United Nations working group conducted a broad exchange
of views on traditional practices affecting the health of women and
children. Based on the number of women affected, the associated toll
on their health, and the possibility of modifying the practice, and
other criteria, the group concluded that FGC should be given top
priority by the international community.
Female genital cutting is now on the international agenda, and it
is condemned by most governments. Because of FGC’s devastating
consequences on women’s reproductive health, and because it is a
violation of their human rights, UNFPA is in the forefront of
advocating against and working to end the practice.
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Female Genital Cutting |
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Immediate complications |
Long
term consequences |
-
Severe pain
- Shock
- Haemorrhage
- Tetanus
or sepsis
- Urine
retention
- Ulceration
of the genital region and injury to adjacent tissue
- Wound
infection
- Urinary
infection
- Fever
- Septicaemia.
- Haemorrhage and
infection can be of such magnitude as to cause death.
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Anaemia, the formation of
cysts and abscesses, keloid scar formation, damage to the
urethra resulting in urinary incontinence, painful sexual
intercourse and sexual dysfunction, hypersensitivity of the
genital area.
Infibulation can cause
severe scar formation, difficulty in urinating, menstrual
disorders, recurrent bladder and urinary tract infection,
fistulae, prolonged and obstructed labour, and infertility
(as a consequence of earlier infections).
Cutting of the scar tissue
is sometimes necessary to facilitate sexual intercourse
and/or childbirth. Almost complete vaginal obstruction may
occur, resulting in accumulation of menstrual flow in the
vagina and uterus. During childbirth the risk of haemorrhage
and infection is greatly increased. |
Finding Strategic Ways to Intervene
Eradicating long-standing traditional practices does not happen
overnight. One way to begin, though, is by information and
advocacy that raises public awareness and changes the climate of
public opinion. UNFPA supports national organizations who
advocate against FMG because they are best
placed to address specific cultural issues that sustain the
practice. UNFPA is
also active in efforts aimed at
decision-makers at many levels. About ten African countries have
outlawed the practice. The European Parliament also recently
issued a strong condemnation of FGC.
Consensus-building around social issues is extremely difficult,
because it touches the identity of nations, communities and
individuals. Discussion of social questions polarizes viewpoints
and may seem to widen the gap between cultures. But in the end,
the overriding social purpose concentrates our minds and enables
us to bridge all cultural gaps—not because we want to go home
with an agreed form of words, but because all of us, each in our
own way, want to save people’s lives.
– UNFPA Executive Director
Thoraya A. Obaid
UNFPA also supports a number of country level programmes to
abolish FGC. Among the most successful are those offer
alternative safe rituals to serve as rites of passage. Another
component of successful projects is the participation and
support of local leaders, including religious
leaders, who thoroughly understand existing
norms, attitudes and social dynamics, and who serve as agents of
change.
UNFPA’s supports many efforts to
eliminate FGC >>
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