Disclaimer – 18+, hard and uncomfortable to read. So people who don’t want to get disturbed, feel uncomfortable and kids skip this article. 

Few days back, I saw an Instagram post which was heart wrenching. It made me worried and I even felt uncomfortable to read that. I am sharing that post here. https://www.instagram.com/p/CaHn6eMp_nZ/?utm_medium=share_sheet

This Instagram post is about the real life story of a woman, Asma.

This is what she said :

“In our community, girls would not get married unless they are circumcised which is a sign of their purity & faithfulness towards their future Husbands.

6 years ago, my mom took me to a midwife. I was 12 then & she was worried about what if I start masturbating or fall in love with someone. So, to curb my sexual desires forever, she let the midwife remove my Clitoris & stitched my Vagina. The procedure was extremely horrible.

2 years ago, I got married. On my first night, I was too scared because I knew, something terrible would happen at anytime. When my husband came into our room, he removed my panty and looked at my vagina & started caressing it out of excitement. He brought a razor blade to cut those stitches so that he can Intercourse with me. I asked him if we can cut these stitches from a doctor.

He got furious & told, “I am waiting for this day for years & I don’t want any doctor cutting my wife’s vagina stitches. It would be disgraceful to my family.”

When he tried to cut those stitches, I started shouting out of pain & pushed him to which he brought his mother, father & his 2 brothers into the room.

They all hold me tight & my husband cut those stitches in front of his parents. It was so shameful because I was lying naked and they all were all laughing. There was blood all over the floor & I was crying out of pain. In that condition, he had Sex with me. It wasn’t less than a rape.

The next day, I called my mom & explained everything to which she said, “Even I too went through the same. You need to be strong & satisfy your husband with everything.”

I have already lost my faith in my family, community & religion. I just hope, the government ban this cruel ritual because girls & women too have Right to have Sexual Pleasure.” – Asma

 

I checked whether this was true or not, sadly it is true and it happens. “Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is practised by the Dawoodi Bohra, a sect of Shia Islam with one million members in India.” 

This practice is also known as infibulation.There are 4 types of FGM, infibulation is one of them.

  • Female genital mutilation (FGM) involves the partial or total removal of external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.
  • The practice has no health benefits for girls and women.
  • FGM can cause severe bleeding and problems urinating, and later cysts, infections, as well as complications in childbirth and increased risk of newborn deaths.

Female genital mutilation (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. The practice is mostly carried out by traditional practitioners. In several settings, there is evidence suggesting greater involvement of health care providers in performing FGM due to the belief that the procedure is safer when medicalized.

FGM is recognized internationally as a violation of the human rights of girls and women. It reflects deep-rooted inequality between the sexes, and constitutes an extreme form of discrimination against girls and women. It is nearly always carried out on minors and is a violation of the rights of children. The practice also violates a person’s rights to health, security and physical integrity; the right to be free from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment; and the right to life, in instances when the procedure results in death.

No health benefits, only harm. FGM has no health benefits, and it harms girls and women in many ways. It involves removing and damaging healthy and normal female genital tissue, and interferes with the natural functions of girls’ and women’s bodies. Although all forms of FGM are associated with increased risk of health complications, the risk is greater with more severe forms of FGM.

More than 200 million girls and women alive today have undergone FGM in 30 countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia where FGM is practiced. FGM is mostly carried out on young girls between infancy and age 15.

 

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