Female Genital Mutilation

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outcasts.� is not a new practice. In fact circumcised females have been discovered among the mummies of ancient Egyptians. A Greek papyrus dated 163 BC refers to operations performed on girls at the age they received their dowries. A Greek geographer reported the custom of circumcision of girls he found while visiting Egypt in 25 BC. In Africa female circumcision has been reported in at least twenty-six countries and can be viewed as a public health problem �because of its wide geographic distribution, the number of females involved and the serious complications caused by the operation.� is practiced in three major forms: �Sunna� circumcision, Clitoridectomy, and Infibulation. Sunna circumcision consists of the removal of the tip of the clitoris and/or the prepuce (covering). Clitoridectomy, also referred to as excision, consists of the removal of the entire clitoris (both prepuce and glans) and removal of the adjacent labia. Infibulation, also referred to as pharaonic ...

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without being sterilized and the patient is rarely given anesthesia. Circumcision among the Yoruba occurs one week after birth while in Ethiopia girls are operated on after they are forty days old. In Somalia individuals or groups of girls are operated when they are between the ages of five and eight. In Kenya, many girls are circumcised between the ages of eleven and fifteen while in the Ivory Coast the operations are performed as a village puberty rite. In midwestern Nigeria operations occur before the birth of the first child. In the Mossi area of Burkin Faso, group circumcisions are held every three years for girls between the ages of five and eight. Girls line up with their mothers ...

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