Women's Health Project:

Women's Health Project: Fact Sheets

Female Genital Mutilation

Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a surgical procedure that alters the structure of the clitoris and/or labia, and most commonly occurs in one of four types as defined by the World Health Organization.
The practice is generally performed upon girls between the ages of four and 12, but can occur as early as a few days after birth or as late as immediately prior to marriage.
Female genital mutilation is practiced in at least 30 countries in Africa and the Middle East and also occurs in some countries by immigrant population from these regions, such as European countries, the United States, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia.
Depending on the country and specific group involved, a variety of instruments, usually crude ones such as special knives and even sharp stones are used to perform this procedure, and often the same instrument is used over on another girl without sterilization.
Short term consequences of FGM include bleeding, post-operative shock, damage to other organs resulting from lack of surgical expertise of the person performing the procedure and the violence of the resistance of the patient when anesthesia is not used, infections, including tetanus and septicemia, because of the use of unsterilized or poorly disinfected equipment, urine retention caused by swelling and inflammation, and severe bleeding sometimes leading to death.
Long term consequences of FGM include chronic infections of the bladder and vagina, dysmenorrhoea (extremely painful menstruation), excessive scar tissue at the site of the operation, formation of cysts on the stitch line, child birth obstruction, and increased risk of HIV infection as a result of using the same utensil on numerous girls without sterilization.
Nightmares, depression, shock, passivity, feelings of betrayal are not uncommon among girls who have had this procedure done.
The U.S. Government views FGM as a harmful, traditional practice that threatens the health and human rights of women, and hinders development. Currently, it is illegal in the United States to perform FGM on a person under the age of 18, and sixteen states have passed legislation outlawing this practice altogether.

All information provided by the U.S. Department of State, "Prevalence of the Practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM): Laws Prohibiting FGM and their Enforcement; Recommendations on how to Best Work to Eliminate FGM."

Posted Sept. 10, 2002