The Orchid Project

***WARNING: This Post Contains Sensitive and Disturbing Information and May Not be Suitable for all Readers***

I decided to include the above disclaimer because, although this is an important and far reaching issue, not every one will want to read about this. And, since I haven't yet decided how much detail I will include in this post, I thought it best to begin with a disclaimer.

Last week the WOW GEO students had the great opportunity of meeting Julia Lalla-Maharajh, founder of the UK based non-profit Orchid Project which has the simple vision of "a world free from female genital cutting."

Jess and Julia

Me and Julia

Before going into detail about our meeting with Julia, let me explain what Female Genital Cutting (FGC), or sometimes called Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), actually entails. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), FGM "comprises all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons." There are different levels of FGM, none of which have health benefits to the woman, and they include the following classifications:

• Clitoridectomy: partial or total removal of the clitoris (a small, sensitive and erectile part of the female genitals) and, in very rare cases, only the prepuce (the fold of skin surrounding the clitoris).
• Excision: partial or total removal of the clitoris and the labia minora, with or without excision of the labia majora (the labia are "the lips" that surround the vagina).
• Infibulation: narrowing of the vaginal opening through the creation of a covering seal. The seal is formed by cutting and repositioning the inner, or outer, labia, with or without removal of the clitoris.
• Other: all other harmful procedures to the female genitalia for non-medical purposes, e.g. pricking, piercing, incising, scraping and cauterizing the genital area.

 Here are some key facts provided by WHO concerning FGM:

• Female genital mutilation (FGM) includes procedures that intentionally alter or injure female genital organs for non-medical reasons.
• The procedure has no health benefits for girls and women.
• Procedures can cause severe bleeding and problems urinating, and later, potential childbirth complications and newborn deaths.
• An estimated 100 to 140 million girls and women worldwide are currently living with the consequences of FGM.
• It is mostly carried out on young girls sometime between infancy and age 15 years.
• In Africa an estimated 92 million girls from 10 years of age and above have undergone FGM.
• FGM is internationally recognized as a violation of the human rights of girls and women.

 
I have read about this practice several times, so to have the opportunity to meet someone who is working tirelessly to end this practice was a great honor. As one can imagine, we had many questions about the practice itself, why it happens, who is most at risk, and what we could do to help end this horrible treatment. Many of the answers to these questions can be read on the Orchid Project website (click on the project name to be directed to their home page), so I will only share a few here.

One of our first questions what "why does this happen?" The short answer to this is that "women lack empowerment and status" within the communities in which this is most prevalent. Here are some other reasons FGM is practices:

• Beauty/Cleanliness: 
Female genitals are unhygienic and need to be cleaned, female genitals are ugly and will grow to become unwieldy if they are not cut back, FGC is a fashionable thing to do to become a real woman
• Male Protection/Approval:
 FGC is an intiation into womanhood and into the tribe, the noncircumcised cannot be married, 
FGC enhances the husband’s sexual pleasure, 
FGC makes vaginal intercourse more desirable than clitoral stimulation
• Health: 
FGC improves fertility and prevents maternal and infant mortality
• Religion:
 God sanctifies FGC
• Morality: FGC safeguards virginity
, FGC cures “sexual deviance” i.e. frigidity, lesbianism, sexual arousal.”

Where is this done? Here is a short list but includes some of the highest rates of FGM:

• Indonesia: 225 Million
• Egypt: 75.4 Million
• Ethiopia: 74.8 Million
• Sudan: 41.2 Million
• Tanzania: 40 Million
• Kenya: 34.7 Million

Unfortunately because of the widespread and traditional use of this practice, there is insufficient data so much of the information available are only estimates.

To see more about this cause and view a CNN interview with Julia click here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-KS--CL2T8

Get Involved today to help end this disturbing and pointless practice.