Female Genital Mutilation: If It Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It

So, does this custom indeed benefit the female? On the contrary, there are several negative side effects, including bleeding, infection, difficulty urinating, difficulty having sex, difficulty giving birth and even death. 

So it is obvious that something must be done to stop the butchering of so many women across the globe. The World Health Organization currently has implemented a joint WHO/UNICEF/UNFPA policy statement on this matter and a Regional Plan to Accelerate the Elimation of FGM was published to promote policy development and action at the global, regional, and national levels. As a result, many countries where female genital mutilation is a common practice are developing national plans of action based on the strategies proposed by WHO. The World Health Organization is also responsible for research, development and training of health careproviders. Furthermore, the United Nations condemns the practice and has made an effort to reduce it by making it known that it is conflicting with certain international compacts such as the Convention on All Forms of Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, commonly known as CEDAW. This organization believes that any practice, no matter how deeply welded in any culture, must be abolished. Even with this outreach, only a few people have been prosecuted.

Somewhere out there right now, a young girl lies hemorrhaging in pain after being mutilated with a penknife and no anesthesia. She might die there in shock and pain, or perhaps death will meet her later in life after a long, painful birthing process that couldn’t be successfully completed due to her small opening. There was nothing wrong with her anatomy prior to her operation; everything was functioning correctly. Unfortunately, she was born into a culture that is ignorant to this fact and attempts to fix what is not broken. Only through efforts made by such notable organizations such as WHO and CEDAW can we educate those cultures that they are doing more harm than good, and that, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.