In a horrific article, the Guardian reports that up to “2,000 British schoolgirls” will undergo female circumcision over the summer holidays. Some are “cut” abroad, others are mutilated during “cutting parties” right in the UK. Aside from religious reasons, the reasons cited for this practice include:
Cleanliness, neatness of appearance and the increased sexual pleasure for the man are all motivations for the practice. But the desire to conform to tradition is the most powerful motive. The rite of passage, condemned by many Islamic scholars, predates both the Koran and the Bible and possibly even Judaism, appearing in the 2nd century BC.
Extreme social pressure keeps these girls “compliant,” they feel they’ll become outcasts if they don’t agree to the “procedure.”
Other girls have died, of shock or blood loss; some have picked up infections from dirty tools. Jamelia’s mother paid extra for the woman to use a clean razor. It is thought that in the UK there are one or two doctors who can be bribed by the very rich to to carry out FGM using anaesthetic and sterilised instruments.
Note: this vid is disturbing and NSFW
http://youtu.be/y0NuCMKaRpY
