Female Circumcision

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remains a revered rite of passage in parts of Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. According to the World Health Organization, circumcision dates back almost 4,000 years. No one knows exactly how the practice began, though scholars speculate its origins lay somewhere along the Nile Valley.
The reasons for performing this procedure are almost as numerous as it's consequences. The procedure can simply be a small but painful nick across the hood of the clitoris, but is typically more severe. The most severe type of circumcision is called infibulation. The clitoris, inner labia and most of the soft flesh of the labia are scraped or cut away. Often with a double edged blade, scissors or even a shard of glass, performed by a close relative, midwife or barber. The July 14, 1996, Los Angeles Times, states:
"The child is then bound from waist to toes, and she will remain tied for weeks until scar tissue nearly seals the vagina. She is left with just a pencil-thin hole close to ...

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but in some regions, the torture can be put off until just before marriage or the seventh month of pregnancy (Samad, 52). The reality of is that it is still accepted, regularly practiced, and willingly exercised as a rite of passage for young girls into womanhood. Female genital mutilation (FGM) is believed to have been performed at least 1400 - 2000 years ago beginning during an era know to the Muslims as "al-gahiliyyah" or "the era of ignorance". FGM is generally associated with the Muslim religion, however in reality, it is more of a social custom than a religious one. Today, it is common throughout North and Central Africa, the Middle East, and Muslim populations of Indonesia ...

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