International Action against Female Genital Mutilation

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„It is done because it is done”

People with western cultural values can hardly understand the given reasons for the custom of female circumcision. To the majority of the circumcised women the mutilation is a matter of course. From their point of view, tradition, religion and culture as well as medical and aesthetic beliefs require the ritual. Girls must be cut, so that men marry them. A woman can ensure her existence only through marriage. Therefore, she surrenders to the social pressure.

The circumcision, in particular the infibulation, is supposed to guarantee that the woman remains a virgin before marriage and faithful in marriage. This is the only way a man can be sure that she definitely gives birth to his children („his sons”). The sexuality of the woman is suppressed by the mutilation. The woman becomes the property of her husband. Her purpose is to satisfy his desires and to bear his children.