Jennifer,

When I first saw the tape, it sent chills through my system, and I was completely spellbound for a while. It is heartless, brutal and barbaric, and it shocks my conscience that baby girls could be subjected to such horrendous suffering and ordeal. My opinion; it should be completely wiped out from the face of the planet, especially with all the hazards it leads to.

Thanks for the invaluable insight.

Regards,
Omar----- Original Message ----- 
From: JENNIFER EIDSON <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, October 05, 2000 9:17 PM
Subject: Re: Female circumcision; a burning issue in Norway.


> Omar,
> So what is your stance on this subject?
> I myself find Female Circumcision, aka; Female Genital Mutilation, a
> horrible, intolerable act which is totally barbaric and a brutal form of
> child abuse.  I can not believe that many generations of people
> religious or not would condone such practices.  It is not only inhumane
> but total mutilation to the female body.  I think that it is sad for
> women to have to leave their homes and to seek asylum in other
> countries, because they refuse to have a part of their body that God
> gave them, simply cut from their body.   I have read many cases on FGM
> and they all go back to the same realization.   Parents are lying to
> their daughter simply because they were lied to by their parents and so
> on.  Parents are making decisions for their daughters when they don't
> even know about their own human anatomy, much less what is good for
> their daughters.  Girls are told that if the clitoris is left alone, it
> will be wild, and grow and drag on the ground.  Parents are told by
> their elders; that if their daughters are left uncircumcised, they will
> be wild, and will crave men; that no man from their home country will
> marry them uncircumcised.  They are told that circumcision aids in
> menstruation and childbirth (this is totally not true); and that it is a
> religious (usually Islamic) requirement.
> My question is how could parents put their daughters through such a
> horrible thing?
> Why would or how could a parent justify such an act?  Whither it be just
> a small cut to the hood of the clitoris, or complete removal of the
> clitoris and some of the outer and inner labia.  Or in more severe cases
> infibulation.  Infibulation from what I have gathered is almost all the
> external genitalia cut away, the remaining flesh from the outer labia is
> sewn together.  How can parent go to sleep at night
> knowing that they have done this to their innocent daughters?  There is
> no doubt within the medical community that FGM is a brutal, harmful
> practice.  A World Health Organization report on FGM says,
> 
>         The immediate physical effects are as follows:  acute infection,
> tetanus, bleeding of adjacent organs, shock resulting from violent pain,
> and hemorrhage, which can even cause death. In fact, many such deaths
> have occurred and continue to occur as a result of this traditional
> practice.  The lifelong physical and psychological debilities resulting
> from female genital mutilations are manifold: chronic pelvic infections,
> keloids, vulval abscesses, sterility, incontinence, depression, anxiety,
> and even psychosis, sexual dysfunction and marital  disharmony, and
> obstetric complications with risk to both the infant or fetus and the
> mother.
> Perhaps many women have gone through FGM and come out ok but there are
> many other women who have gone through FGM and had severe side effect
> from it.
> Why not leave the body as God made it?
> We as a whole people need to educate others and ourselves on the
> severity of this practice!  Why should countless women have to leave
> their countries to keep from having such a intolerable act preformed on
> them?   Ask yourself these questions!  Do I want my daughter to grow up
> and hate me for what I have done to her?   Do I want my daughter to be a
> able to enjoy sex when she is ready?  Do I want my daughter, to say, I
> feel nothing, when I have sex?   Do I want my daughter, to go through
> unnecessary physical pain and irritation?   Really is this what it comes
> down to?   Do parents want to be asking themselves years from now these
> questions?   I don't think so!  I hope not, anyway!  I myself would
> never and I mean never have this preformed on my daughters and I hope
> that others will make a stand and stop this unnecessary practice.  You
> can never get back what you have taken or stolen from these girls and
> women!   Well, I have shared how I feel on this subject and I would love
> to hear hows other feel on it.  Please send your comments to the L or to
> me directly at: [log in to unmask],.
> I look forward to reading from you all.
> 
> Sincerely,
> Jennifer Eidson
> 
> P.S.
> This is to those parents that have recently announced the births of your
> children on the Gambia-L   Would you do this to your innocent daughter?
> 
> Jennifer Eidson
> 
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