aaa@link.UUCP (Wale Akinpelu) (08/03/85)
There is a strong debate going on in Kenya to stop women
circumcision. The proponent of this debate raised the
issue of infection and pain at the affected part of the
body.
The issues mentioned above are new to me. Can somebody
educate me on this? I have seen many women going through the
simple procedure before and I have never heard anybody
complaint before. As far as I know, the simple operation
could be performed in any local clinic with sterilized
surgical instruments.
There is the believe that women who are not circumcised
would not be faithful to there husbands. That is, they
would always be running after men. While I do nor see
anything wrong in women running after men, I am afraid,
men would not marry them.
--
Wale Akinpelu
AT&T Bell Laboratories
{allegra,attunix,bentley,ihnp4!research,ulysses}hou2a!link!aaasophie@mnetor.UUCP (Sophie Quigley) (08/08/85)
For anybody interested in the subject of female circumcision, I recommend "The Hidden face or Eve" by Nawal El-Sadaawi (I hope I spelled her name correctly). The author used to be the minister of health in Egypt, was clitorectomised herself when she was a child, and is strongly against the procedure. In article <343@link.UUCP> aaa@link.UUCP (Wale Akinpelu) writes: >There is a strong debate going on in Kenya to stop women >circumcision. The proponent of this debate raised the >issue of infection and pain at the affected part of the >body. > >The issues mentioned above are new to me. Can somebody >educate me on this? I have seen many women going through the >simple procedure before and I have never heard anybody >complaint before. As far as I know, the simple operation >could be performed in any local clinic with sterilized >surgical instruments. > I am not sure what it is that you have seen, but the procedure is usually performed on little girls by women when there are no men around. In most cases, the operation is not performed under sterile conditions and the patient is usually not willing. In a few words, the procedure consists in the partial or total (depending on the region of the world) removal of the clitoris of the child. In some regions of the world, infibulation is also performed as well. I am not too sure of the technical details of this (I suppose they vary from region to region) but the main idea of infibulation is to scrape the girl's vulvic lips and press them together so that the scar tissue closes off most of the vagina (a hole is left for menstrual blood to go through). Infibulation insures the virginity of little girls until their wedding night simply by turning intercourse into a torture (yes, the vagina has to be ripped or cut open). >There is the believe that women who are not circumcised >would not be faithful to there husbands. That is, they >would always be running after men. While I do nor see >anything wrong in women running after men, I am afraid, >men would not marry them. > Well, in some countries like Egypt clitorectomies are performed less and less. Women still manage to get married. Clitorectomies do not decrease sexual desire in women. It simply decreases the enjoyment of sex for them. >Wale Akinpelu -- Sophie Quigley {allegra|decvax|ihnp4|linus|watmath}!utzoo!mnetor!sophie
todd@reed.UUCP (Todd Ellner) (08/09/85)
> There is a strong debate going on in Kenya to stop women > circumcision. The proponent of this debate raised the > issue of infection and pain at the affected part of the > body. > > The issues mentioned above are new to me. Can somebody > educate me on this? > -- > Wale Akinpelu *** REPLACE THIS LINE WITH YOUR MESSAGE *** "Female circumcision" is actually a euphemism for clitoridectomy, removal of the clitoris. This procedure results in the elimination of the most sexually sensitive part of the woman's body, making orgasm impossible, if I remember correctly, or at least exceedingly unlikely. The justification for this mutilation has traditionally been that women with intact genitalia will enjoy sex too much and, therefore, be unfaithful to their husbands. I knew that this practice survived in parts of Africa but did not know that Kenya was one such. I am not sure if it still happens elsewhere. I hope not. Feminists have written extensively on the subject. If you wish to know more check the women's section of any good bookstore. Hope this has been of help, Todd Ellner USnail : Box 335 Reed College Portland, Oregon 97202