Have you heard about female genital mutilation?

Every 11 seconds, another girl’s genitals are mutilated… We ask: Where is her voice?
What is female genital mutilation? ―operating‖ areas are used, some of the
short term effects include infection,
Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a procedure that inten-
hemorrhaging, shock, ulceration, and
tionally alters, injures, or removes a female’s genital or-
even death.
gans, partially or wholly, for non-medical reasons.
Some of the long term effects include
The procedures have been classified in various ways by
anemia, the formation of cysts and ab-
various groups; one widely accepted classification system
scesses, damage to the urethra, leak-
is the Type I – Type IV classification system.
age, painful urination and menstrua-
Type I is known as a cliteroidectomy, a procedure in which tion, and an increased mortality rate in
all or part of the girl’s clitoris is removed. In some in- mothers and babies during childbirth.
stances, only the prepuce (the ―hood‖) is removed.
FGM, which leads to so many problems for the girls who
Type II is called excision. Excision consists of partial or undergo the procedure, is not, although it may sound other-
total removal of the clitoris as well as the labia minora (the wise, a form of torture. It is a cultural practice, most
inner ―lips‖) and sometimes the labia majora (the outer widely known as ―purification‖ in the cultures that practice
―lips‖) as well. it. Again, the beliefs behind female genital mutilation and
why it is necessary vary widely among the cultures that
Type III is known as infibulation. Infibulation varies in practice it—from religious based beliefs to myths and folk-
practice, but typically involves removal of all of the exter- lore.
nal genitalia—the clitoris, labia minora, and labia majora.
Then, a smooth surface is created over the vaginal open- For example, some cultures mutilate their women simply
ing, typically by sewing the entire opening shut, with the so she will feel less pleasure during sexual intercourse.
exception of a pin-sized hole from which urine and men- Others believe that if a girl’s clitoris is not removed, it will
strual fluids are to pass. continue to grow for the duration of her life, eventually
dragging on the ground behind her. Some also believe
Type IV female genital mutilation consists of other harm- parts of the vagina are poisonous, and if not removed, they
ful procedures performed on the female genitalia for non- will kill the woman’s husband during intercourse as soon
medical reasons. A few examples include pricking and as his penis touches her vagina, and, likewise, her un-
scraping of the genitals. mutilated vagina will kill her baby during childbirth.
The long and short term side effects of any of the types of The majority of female genital mutilation in the world
female genital mutilation are vast. As female genital mu- takes place in 28 countries in Africa; however, there have
tilation is not carried out in a medical facility or by a medi- been documented cases in most countries throughout the
cal professional, and since crude, unsanitary tools and world.
Female genital mutilation is a violation against women and children, but still, FGM has re-
mained in the shadows, and continues to be practiced freely everyday…
In Africa alone: there are 100-150 million women who have already suffered from FGM;
another 3 million girls will fall victim to FGM each year-that’s about 8,200 girls a day, or
another girl every 11 seconds!

It’s time to take female genital mutilation out of the shadows and put it into the international spotlight.
That’s why we’re calling on you to join PROJECT: ONE MILLION AWARE and help us get
the word out about the horrors of female genital mutilation. For more info, see below.

Join PROJECT: ONE MILLION AWARE!

Visit www.ReleaseMeFGM.org and click the PROJECT’s graphic on the left. Read through the in-
structions, and get started!
Also, please stay in contact with Release Me--a nonprofit working to end female genital mutilation
worldwide. Contact us via: email: info@ReleaseMeFGM.org, phone: (713) 835-2276, and join us
on Twitter: @ReleaseMeFGM (Also, if you’re on Twitter, follow the hashtag #FGM, and use it when
you send Twitter messages about female genital mutilation.).