Theologians Battle Female Circumcision
"Intercourse is painful for circumcised women. To be able to penetrate, men must often force themselves into their wives' vaginas. Those whose penises are incapable of doing the job use a knife to enlarge the opening."
December 06, 2006
A SMALL REVOLUTION IN CAIRO
Theologians Battle Female Circumcision
By Amira El Ahl in Cairo
In Cairo, a small revolution has been launched: A conference of high-ranking Muslim theologians has agreed that the practice of female genital mutilation is irreconcilable with Islam. The painful and often deadly practice of female circumcision affects millions of women in Africa.
Fatima's scream is as blood-curdling as it is heart-wrenching. The little girl, who looks to be about eight years old, screams in a panic, initially in fear and then because she is unable to bear the pain she is experiencing. She is lying on the floor of a dirty hut somewhere in the Ethiopian desert. Her body is contorted with pain as she screams, cries and finally lies there whimpering. Her new, green floral dress is soaked in blood.
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posted by ... @ 2:07 PM
4 Comments:
Until the artificial separation between the sexes in this matter, mostly promoted by the west, is given up, nobody should talk about a "revolution". Mutilation of boys is also a very real and even much more widespread problem which isn't discussed for cultural and, which should shock any decent person, ideological reasons.
I'm not sure what you mean by "artificial separation", but I would be interested in any information about mutilation of boys that you may have. It's all horrible.
In response to the previous comment: The separation between the sexes in this matter is not at all artificial. Although it could be argued that male circumcision is also barbaric, it comes nowhere close to the barbarism of female circumcision. It is a comparably minor operation, from which boys almost always fully recover (whereas the mortality rate from female circumcisions is very high). Male circumcision in now way hinders a man's sexual or reproductive life, whereas circumcised females endure excruciatingly painful sex without the possibility of an orgasm. Additionally, research has definitively shown that male circumcision is effective in reducing the spread of HIV. Female circumcision has absolutely no medical benefits.
To repeat lies over and over does not turn them into truth.
Boys never "fully recover" because the mutilation will never be reversed, and by the way, dozens of boys die in each of South Africa's circumcision seasons alone. Occasionally, the same happens to a boy even in western hospitals.
It does hinder a man's sexual life, FYI I am one of these men and I can definitely confirm the info about its effects sites like circumstitions.com, nocirc.org or doctorsopposingcircumcision.org can give anyone who wants to read up on the subject.
The total excision is a lot worse, nobody doubts that. But male mutilation, when done "right", still obviously equals the removal of one of the two different feelings of arousal every intact person knows (head of the clit vs. underside/labiae/etc). No sane woman, and hardly any informed man either, would ever have that done voluntarily.
Also, research has not "definitely shown" a lower risk of HIV infections; rather, the studies were easy to debunk and reflect exactly what the article is talking about: a transformation from ritual to science (the second one; the first was a hundred years ago and involved treatment of "hysteria" in both women and men). And greed of certain doctors who earn good money with performing the operations.
Thus you've involuntarily supported one of the arguments against the artificial separation.
I have proof at least one women's organization is fully aware of the effects on boys but chooses not to publish this information unless asked. The old man in the conference who alleged a conspiracy might be closer to the truth than most people would expect, after all.
Lastly, don't forget you're discussing with someone for whom this unfortunately isn't merely a theoretical matter.
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