FGM- Atrocious and very much existent!

“Um Atiyyat al-Ansariyyah said: A woman who used to perform circumcision in Medina.

The Prophet said to her: Do not cut too severely as that is better for a woman and more desirable for a husband."

Those who advocate Female Genital Mutilation from an Islamic perspective commonly quote the above Hadith to argue that it is required as part of the Sunnah or Tradition of the Prophet.

Although it is not prescribed in the Qur'an. The Qur’an states that god apparently created the clitoris for the sole purpose of generating pleasure. It has no other purpose. There is no instruction in the Qur’an or in any of the writings of the Prophet Mohammed which require that the clitoris be surgically modified. Thus god must approve of its presence. And so, it should not be removed or reduced in size or function. The Qur’an promotes the concept of a husband and wife giving each other pleasure during sexual intercourse.Behind circumcision lies the belief that, by removing parts of girl’s genitals organs, sexual desire is minimized. This permits a female who has reached the dangerous age of puberty and adolescence to protect her virginity and therefore her honor, with greater ease.

The girls are made of go through this at the age of 9-13 by their own mothers and aunts especially during their summer holidays as the wound requires a month or so to heal (as described by a 22 year old who recalls her painful days that made it impossible for her to urinate without tears in her eyes for the next month after the circumcision)

After all these years of talks about women empowerment and liberalization, these kind of barbaric acts of abuse and tolerance infuriate me. 90% of the women from the community are being circumcised. Not only under unhygienic conditions but also without any use of anesthesia.

The pain and discomfort the girls go through at such a tender age is beyond imagination . Sitting on my extremely comfortable bed with tea in one hand and newspaper in the other complaining about a minor headache makes me feel extremely ashamed of myself. Makes me wish i could take a significant step in eradicating such inhuman traditions under the name of religion carried out in various countries behind shut doors.

P.s working with Aseema i see little girls coming from really disturbed and poor families who are so eager to learn and educate themselves. It makes me extremely proud to be able to teach them something new and see how happy it makes them to KNOW!

P.p.s check Page 2 Hindustan Times dated 9th December 2011 for more.