For those of you who are very interested in this topic, I recommend this
site:
www.fgmnetwork.org

It has links to every imaginable website relating to this issue. Best,
Ylva

On Tue, 14 May 2002, Joe Sambou wrote:

> Yelva, thanks for forwarding this to the L.  I was trying to access the site
> from your post but was unable to.  After getting through by other means, I
> thought I forward a copy to the L, since the Imam Fatty Branch of the Gambia
> government has already issued a decree on the subject.  Thanks for your
> services.
>
> Chi Jaama
>
> Joe Sambou
>
> GAMBIA: Female genital mutilation increases infections, researchers say
> ABIDJAN, 19 Apr 2002 (IRIN) - Women who have undergone female genital
> mutilation in The Gambia have a higher prevalence of bacterial and viral
> infections, a recent study of 1348 women aged 15-54 years found.
>
> “Female genital cutting (FGC) is associated with higher levels of bacterial
> vaginosis and herpes simplex two virus (HSV2)," the December 2001 study
> said. It added: "HSV2 is a known co-factor for HIV transmission. The higher
> prevalence of HSV2 suggests that cut women may be at greater risk of HIV
> infection."
>
> The researchers, however, found "no association between FGC and commonly
> cited negative consequences - damage to the perineum and anus, vulval
> tumours, painful sex, infertility, prolapse and other reproductive tract
> infections".
>
> Some 58 percent of the women were found with signs of FGC. The researchers
> found that the majority of women who had undergone such an intervention
> wanted it to continue, while almost all those who had not, wanted it
> stopped.
>
> The researchers said the campaign against FGC should adopt a human
> rights-based approach. They recommended that it concentrate on women’s
> reproductive rights, rather than focus solely on the damaging health effects
> of the practice.
>
> "A focus on damaging health consequences is vulnerable to the argument to
> medicalise the operation. Eradication of FGC should be addressed as one of
> the many rights of women and girls, especially in societies where serious
> discrimination occurs," the study noted. Globally, two million girls and
> women undergo FGC each year, the researchers said.
>
> The study, titled ‘The long-term reproductive health consequences of female
> genital cutting in rural Gambia: a community-based survey’, was carried out
> in the central region of Farafenni by researchers from The Gambia and the
> London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
>
>
>
> [ENDS]
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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