The Practice Of Female Genital Mutilation In Igboland

In Igbo land, Female Genital Mutilation is commonly known as “ibi-ukwu,” a direct translation being “cutting of waist” since the traditional Igbo system is not expected to name private parts for public usage. Basically, this is the cutting off of the female child’s clitoris (this is the part of the woman’s sexual organ that carries most of the pleasure spots).

According to World Health Organization, 2012, Female Genital Mutilation entails the cutting or total removal of a female’s clitoris or injury of parts of the female external genitalia for some non-therapeutic reasons. For the Igbos who practise this, the age of the practice is not constant and varies from village to village — for one, in some villages, it is performed very early after birth, for another, it is delayed until puberty.

The practice still happens in Igbo land although at largely diminished rates. Some continue to argue for the values of tradition using chastity as a defense for continued practice. They believe that a woman without clitioris would not enjoy sex and thus remain interested in boys and never become “loosed”.

Specific to the Igbo people who practice circumcision is a belief that women left without being circumcised are consorted by spirit husbands or demons that create unnatural sexual desires; they also share the more widespread beliefs that FGM prevents childbirth pains and allows for the safe delivery of children.

The practice of Female Genital Mutilation did was not originally initiated by the Igbo people but it is most common amongst the Igbos and some of the factors supporting the continuation of Female Genital Mutilation includes:

Familial Factors: The decision to circumcise is most often left to the mothers, grandmothers or other female family members or leaders in the community, as girls are most often subjected to FGM either as infants or as young children before they reach what is considered to be a marriageable age.

Social Influences: Before even marriage is considered, there are considerable social benefits to circumcising that influence decision-making. Both among the Igbo people and in the majority of FGM-practicing countries, the process is considered to be a rite of passage for 35 a woman that is crucial to the formation of her identity.

Myths: This is the series of beliefs tied to FGM including getting rid of uncleanliness, preservation of femininity, and perceived danger of the clitoris.

Some of these above-mentioned factors supporting It has not been categorically proven and justified the importance of Female Genital Mutilation or the health benefit, Hence the consequences of this practice;

Health Consequences: The practice of FGM, regardless of the process used, results in a number of serious health complications. The trauma of the procedure induces intense pain that often results in clinical shock (WHO, 2000). During and immediately following the procedure, the girls or women subjected are likely to faint and experience severe bleeding.

Risk of Infection: The procedures for FGM generally entail the removal of what is considered to be the “undesirable genitalia” of a woman or girl using surgical instruments, knives, or crude objects such as shards of glass, thorns, or other sharp implements.

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Because the circumcision ceremonies are typically performed on multiple girls at a time, the circumcising tools are often used on all girls present without sterilization. This results in a high risk of both infections.

Pregnancy Complications: Although FGM is routinely performed under the belief that the procedures will increase the likelihood and safety of child-bearing, infertility is a frequent complication 28 arising from female circumcision.

Emotional Consequences: Women who have undergone FGM experience serious, long-lasting emotional and psychological damage. The event is clinically traumatic for most of the women who experience it, and as such, many exhibit symptoms of posttraumatic stress.

Sexual Health Consequences: Sexual intercourse after FGM is often very painful to the point of its classification as dyspareunia. Due to the removal of the clitoris and other female sex organs key to arousal, effective natural lubrication is incredibly difficult to achieve and delayed if at all, and anorgasmia is typical.

Social Consequence: Marriage is often a social outcome of circumcision; the practice signals to the community that the women are of marriageable age and ready to remain faithful to their husbands, and as such a newly circumcised woman will often be visited by potential suitors and 31 prepared for marriage soon after the procedure is finished

Statistically, women and girls who have undergone FGM are more likely to report suffering from obstetric complications compared to women and girls who have not undergone FGM (El-Shawarby & Rymer, 2008). The first large-scale study on FGM was conducted as part of a WHO collaborative and included participants in six African countries and involved more than 28,000 women who had experienced FGM (ElShawarby & Rymer, 2008).

Results from this study indicated that pregnancy and delivery of infants born to these women were more likely to be complicated with prolonged labor and delivery, high rates of cesarean births, stillbirths, early infant death (neonatal death), low birth weight, increased incidence of the need to resuscitate the infant, and extended maternal hospital stay.

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