Campaign
Against Female Genital Mutilation
In
Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham
Community
Awareness Report
Report By
Mary Kanu
Sponsored
By
West
London Health Promotion Agency
Hammersmith
and Fulham Team
Introduction
Development Support Agency Development Support Agency is
set up to relieve poverty, sickness and distress of African women by raising
awareness, disseminating information and advancing education among African
women, including refugees and asylum seekers, displaced and trafficked women,
and those facing all other forms of abuse and exploitation in rural and urban
communities, in England & Wales and Africa.
Our
Vision
Our
vision is a world in which African women and their communities are empowered to
promote their interests and live free of perennial poverty, ill health, lack of
decision-making powers and other forms of disempowerment and exploitation.
Aims
DSA
aims to promote and uphold the principles and values of, Participation,
Sustainability, Transparency and Justice
Our
Thematic Areas: Our work falls under four thematic areas:
·
·
Community Health
·
Community Involvement
·
Project Support
The Female Genital Mutilation Project was developed in
response to sexual and
reproductive health issues that confront some of the women we work with. It
falls under our Community Health Programme, which is designed to promote Primary Health Care and provide
information, advice, training and a referral service on health issues such as
HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infections, maternal and reproductive health,
female genital mutilation, malaria, disabilities, nutrition, sanitation, and
screening for cancer, diabetes, heart diseases, sickle cell anaemia and mental
health.
Project
Aims
The
project was aimed at developing a participatory approach for sustainable
empowerment of women to campaign against Female Genital Mutilation
(FGM)
within Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham
The
Project Objectives were
- To mobilise ethnic
communities affected by FGM and those at risk within Ealing, Hammersmith
& Fulham
- To address health issues
that affect women who have undergone FGM and those at risk by developing
information and education materials; and organizing seminars
- To encourage women to
seek medical services and to facilitate referral systems by providing such
women with information on services
- To organise community
meetings through which dialogue will be developed to encourage women to
say “no” to FGM and especially Re-stitching after childbirth
- To organise empowerment
training workshops
- To conduct small focus
group discussions with community members to evaluate change in behaviour
- To produce a final
report at the end of the project
Project
Activities
The
following activities were aimed at carrying out the project within the
framework of the six months time frame:
- Outreach work to
sensitise and mobilise ethnic communities that practice FGM
- Develop and disseminate
information and educational materials on FGM
- Organise 2 community
meetings
- Organise two training
workshops on FGM
- Provide information on
medical services available to victims of FGM and facilitate referral
services
Outreach
and Project Coordination
The
first phase of this project was to identify the ethnic communities within
Ealing, Hammersmith and Fulham that practice FGM. The community outreach work
was able to identify the following groups of people in the community:
·
Those with expertise on the cultural issues, practice and implications
of FGM in their various communities
·
Community leaders, men and women willing to attend meetings and focus
group discussions on FGM
·
Those willing to attend information sharing workshops
·
Those willing to share their life experiences on the practice and
implications of FGM
Through various consultations and information gathered
during the process, it was decided that the project organizers should use a
more strategic approach in addressing the issues of FGM since the practice was
basically informed by cultural and religious beliefs. One of the approaches was
to promote and organise the activities of the project as a health program for
African women.
The project was thus promoted as health programme to
discuss the health problem that women experience and link it with FGM. The
focus group discussion with men was aimed at presenting the health implications
for women that have undergone FGM to the men, and get their views: what they
thought, what could be done, and what interventions they could plan for their
communities to address the health and social problems associated with FGM.
It
was also during the community outreach work that we engaged the services of Ms
Nimo Mohammed to facilitate the sessions and train the participants.
We
wanted someone from the community with the expertise on the practice and
implications of FGM. Ms Mohamed has worked extensively with the Somali
community over several years. She has developed strong links with the women and
thus has been able to conduct several outreach activities related to health,
access to housing facilities and services as well as immigration matters within
the Somali community. Apart from her roles as the facilitator and trainer, her
contribution to the meeting was invaluable and many of the women attending were
able to express themselves thanks to her interpretation skills of the Somali
language.
The
grant supervisor for this project, Ms Eunice Kyalo was also present during the
events. Ms Kyalo, a specialist on Sexual Health Matters, made significant
contributions and highlighted the wider aspects of FGM to include the
challenges and implications of migrating to
Information and
Educational Materials
The
project identified and collated information and educational materials suited to
the needs of the proposed participants for the various activities of the
project. We had developed an information flyer that identified types of FGM and
graphic illustrations of the different forms of FGM. At the meetings, the
participants also watched a video and were given handouts on the issues
covered.
Community Meetings
and Workshops
We
held two community meetings, (one for men and one for women) and two workshops
for the women.
The Community
Meetings
Aims and objectives
of the community meetings
The aim of the community meetings was to enable
African women and men to share their views, experiences and opinions on:
- The practice of FGM within their various cultures
- Propose concrete steps on how to take the campaign forward in order
to benefit the larger community because the practice of FGM has far
reaching implications affecting all members of the community.
Meeting Objectives:
It was expected that by the end of the meeting, the
participants would be able to:
- Identify the various types of FGM practiced all over
- Determine the social and health consequences of this practice on
women and men.
- Propose ways of addressing this issue within the community and
especially among those who perpetuate the practice despite the changes in
spatial and temporal settings
- Give their views on how to run the subsequent workshops
The First Community Meeting
with Women
Fourteen participants attended the meeting. All of
them were women of African origin who represented different nations from the
African continent. There were 6 Somali women, 2 Nigerians, 2 Ugandans and 4
Kenyans.
It was interesting to note that every country/culture
represented practiced one form of FGM or other.
Session one
In this session, the facilitator explained to both
meetings that there are several types of FGM practiced in
Types of FGM
- Cutting off of the clitoris
- Cutting off of the clitoris and other parts of the genitalia
- Sewing up the genitalia, leaving a tiny passage for urine and
menstrual flow
- Cutting off of all the genitalia and sewing of the genitalia
leaving only a tiny passage for urine and menstrual flow
- Pulling/extension of the labia
- Inserting corrosive substances to add dryness to the vagina.
Why circumcision is still practised in the African
culture?
In the women’s meeting, this question produced several
answers. The answers were recorded as follows:
- It is considered a rite of passage into adulthood
- Some owe it to religious demands, (especially among Muslims).
- It is believed that women are curtailed from being promiscuous (excessive sexual appetite is held in
check)
- Some cultures (where pulling is practiced) believe that this
improves love making for both partners.
- “Our parents did it so must we” justification that remains cemented
in people’s minds despite the changes in time and space.
These points were however refuted as invalid. In the
first instance, in some cultural groups, little girls as young as four years
were mutilated in the name of transition from childhood to adulthood. What
happened in reality is that these children were deprived of their childhood and
unlike their male counterparts, they were forced to grow up overnight. This in
itself is very distressing as the girls are now forbidden to play freely, dress
like before and do things they used to enjoy, all in the name of growing up. In
most cultures, for example the Bantu speaking groups of
Secondly, the older generation of women within the
Muslim community was brought up to believe that circumcision was a way of
becoming pure and thus more in line with the will of Allah. They therefore
upheld the practice with fastidiousness trusting that Allah acknowledged their
faithfulness. However, it has since been proven that female Genital Mutilation
is mentioned nowhere in either the Koran or the Bible. Male circumcision is
recorded in both Books as a pact between God and man.
Thirdly, cultural traditions are used to inhibit
women’s free expression within the community. This is a deep-rooted gender
issue whereby the men who are fundamentally the governors of traditional norms,
perpetuate male domination through such practices. An outgoing, outspoken woman
is considered sexually active and an embarrassment to the community. It was
believed that by cutting off the clitoris, this would inhibit sexual activity
and thus render the woman more docile and submissive to her husband and the
community at large.
In practicing communities, pulling of the labia is
done by an older aunt who begins this practice on the little nieces at the
tender age of four or five. This is a form of abuse whereby the girls are
brought up knowing that pulling (painful and distressing) will make them good
wives. The girls will carry the scars of elongated labia and loosened vulvas
all their lives.
Likewise, the use of corrosive substances causes pain
and discomfort for the women. However, since it is culturally justified as a
requirement for pleasuring and “keeping your husband happy”, the woman is
obliged to undergo the exercise.
The effect of FGM on women and the community as a
whole
In
discussing this issue, the women shared their experiences and made the
following contributions:
- Divorce and separation. A member shared with the group the findings
of a research carried out by St. Luke’s Hospital in the South Eastern Nigeria.
After asking women why they divorced, the researcher found out that 95% of
the women complained that they did not enjoy sex with their partners. This
led to infidelity as they went out in search of sexual satisfaction
elsewhere. Triggered by this great percentage, the researchers went on
find out why the women did not enjoy sex. To their amazement, they
discovered that all the women involved had undergone FGM, having their
clitoris cut off at an early age. As a result of this, men also suffered stigmatisation
as being unable to satisfy their women sexually. Both partners therefore
tended to change partners and look for satisfaction elsewhere. This led to
a high incidence of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.
- With the issue of migration to the
- The women shared their experiences and encounters in hospitals,
especially during childbirth. They noted that doctors and midwives have
until recently been oblivious to the practices of FGM. Therefore during
check ups, childbirth or other gynaecological exercises, the medical teams
have met with challenges that they had never been prepared for before.
This in the past has led to still births, refusal to give treatment,
phobia, trauma on the part of the victim and other distressing
consequences.
- There has been a very high rate of urinal tract infections, Pelvic
inflammatory diseases (PID), cases of Vesico-Vaginal Fistula (the
uncontrollable leaking of urine), painful menstruation and passing of
urine and other medical complications among young girls and women.
- Socially, the girl child is stigmatised when she cannot pass urine
in one sitting due to a stitched vagina. Having to spend long class time
in the toilet brings upon herself blame and punishment that she cannot
understand. Likewise, she has to spend precious school days lying in bed
riddled in pain due to suppressed menstrual flow, every month. In some
cases the prevention of menstrual flow and urine has caused irreversible
damage to the uterus and urine bladder, necessitating operations that
render the girl childless or maimed for life.
- The child suffers trauma and distress on learning that she cannot
live as a child anymore. She suffers physical pain and is suddenly
inhibited even in her natural process of elimination of body fluids.
- Corrosive herbs/substances inserted in the vagina make sex not only
painful (but apparently pleasurable for the man), but they also provoke
breakage to the skin surface and can act as a catalyst to transmission of
sexually transmissible infections including HIV/AIDS
- Using the same sharp objects to cut or sew up several children (as it is a cultural practice to conduct
this operation in age groups) the risks of infection is also multiplied.
- Complications before, during and after childbirth are commonplace
among women who have undergone infibulations.
Proposed Solutions
The
women emphasised the need to lobby the following groups, who are the mainstay
of this practice:
- We need to target the men! This practice only seems to benefit men who
want to marry a virgin who is “tight” on their wedding night. Men are most
reluctant to address this issue and mostly justify the practice by hiding
behind culture and religion
- Older women who cannot live with the shame of not passing down the community’s
cultural norms will even have their children “kidnapped” and taken back to
their countries over the summer holidays to have the operation performed
on African soil. The stigma of their offspring being rejected for marriage
or being socially seen as an outcast is too much for the older women to
bear.
- The young men need to understand the negative effects of practicing FGM on their
women. They should learn to move on and appreciate their partners as they
are.
The group also noted the fixation with this cultural
practice has led many people to commit crimes or cause children to run away.
There have been cases of murder, suicide, disappearance where the adherence to
culture has become overbearing. There is a need to slowly turn the people’s
mindset on harmful practices while offering an alternative that will benefit
the entire community. For example developing alternative rites of passage that
uphold cultural values and better health for all can replace the harmful
practice of FGM.
The
Men’s Meeting
This second community meeting was
exclusively set-aside for men. The meeting was attended by men, mainly from the
Somali community. The age range was between 36 and 60 years. The men offered
different opinions regarding the reasons for the practice of FGM in their
country. It is interesting to note that although they all came from
The Practice of FGM
When men were asked the reasons for
upholding FGM in the African culture, they came up with the following
responses:
- It is cultural and it is expected that to be marriageable, a girl
should be found “sealed” on her wedding night. If not, the man has the
right to divorce her the next day. Circumcision is therefore a prerequisite
for marriage in the honourable and acceptable way.
- Girls are happy to be circumcised because it is a sign of their
purity and virginity before marriage. By extension then it is assumed that
both the girl and boy are happy for circumcision to take place. Marriages
have been cancelled when the man discovers/learns that the girl is not
circumcised. This can be very traumatic for all involved.
- It is proof of the quality of the girl
- It protects the man’s dignity and pride to have a daughter that is
circumcised.
- It is also a form of security. The explanation given here was that,
in that vast and nomadic land where 90% of the people were nomads and
therefore open to hazards and attacks from bandits and raiders, girls
could be easily abducted and raped. But once the bandits discovered that
the girl was sewn (too small to penetrate) they would abandon their plot
to rape. But today, some members argued, because of the security available
in homes (secure houses as opposed to huts and tents in the wilderness),
girls may not need to be sealed because they will not be violated.
- One contributor used the mobile phone to illustrate his point: “if
your mobile phone is not locked, it is available for use by anyone
interested. But once locked the mobile phone can only be used by the owner
who has the key code”.
- Men believe that if the woman is not cut and sealed, she is
unhygienic. They feel that the labia minora and majora are of no use.
- To make the girl sexually docile. Otherwise, she will be too
active/promiscuous
- A girl and boy can maintain a quality relationship until they are
married because they will not engage in sex.
- In the
- The aspect of religion was mentioned but it was hotly contested as
many claimed it did not exist in the Koran, but in the equivalent of the
biblical concordance book called the “Hadith”.
- A girl who is uncircumcised becomes an outcast, is denied food and
is left to die in the wilderness. It is therefore in her interest that the
girl child be circumcised.
The Harmful effects of FGM
With regard to the harmful effects of FGM, the men
required prompting because the apparent reasons were all for the good of the
community. But after further prompting from the facilitators and with emphasis
on the health and social implications, the following responses came up
reluctantly:
·
Although it is for security, it is a barbaric culture. The perpetrators
never considered the suffering the women would be going through. And even if
she suffered, she would be reminded that it was for her good and the good of
the community at large.
·
This has caused infections in men and women because her passage being
too small, the woman suffers repeated painful penetration and the man also
self-harms in the struggle to penetrate. An example was given where a young
couple was unable to have intercourse for over three months and finally
required assistance at the clinic to have the woman opened up.
·
Urinary tract infections as a result of retention of urine and menstrual
blood flow
·
The men seemed to remember many women who had died as a result of
childbirth but unaware that these complications were related to FGM
(stillbirths due to the closed passage, haemorrhaging, infections and vaginal
odour)
Session Two
During the second sessions the participants discussed
ways of alleviating the suffering of African women and young girls. Both groups
were very clear about the need to have information and facilities that could
assist in alleviating the suffering of women and girls. The following were the
remarks that came from the group.
Women’s
Recommendations
1.
There is a need to have a counselling centre for families that struggle
with the practice of FGM.
2.
The centres should also provide group counselling and support for women
and other key people who are the influential role models and the community
gatekeepers to enable them address the positive and negative aspects of
cultural practices, especially the health and social implications.
3.
Educate social workers and law enforcement agencies on the harmful
effects of taking children away from their parents after they have been
mutilated. The group proposed vigorous prevention campaigns rather than cure
when the harm is already done.
4.
Provide a list of culturally sensitive, aware and equipped
centres/officers that will assist and support women who have to live with FGM.
Examples of already existing centres are GUYS Clinic,
5.
Develop a strategy of reaching out to key perpetrators of FGM within the
communities, i.e. mothers, aunties, mothers-in-law, fathers, older men and
young men.
6.
Hold local informal groups for women and men in their local meeting
places.
7.
Inform and educate mainstream health professionals on FGM in order to
avoid the stigmatization that leads to women avoiding critical checks like the
smear test and other gynaecological issues.
8.
Lobby policy makers and address the existing laws regarding child abuse.
The government is lacking in providing appropriate prevention services and only
responds when the crime has been committed. There should be a legal requirement
allowing the children to reach an age of consent whereby they may “design”
their bodies if they so wish.
9.
Acquire funding to recruit outreach volunteer and sessional workers who
will meet with the local community on a regular basis in order to build trust
and support to effectively address the issues of FGM.
10. Provide crèche facilities and
transport fees for all participants. This will also provide the women with an
opportunity to go out and meet with other members of the community as a way of
therapy for isolation, loneliness and in some instances, depression emanating
from their cultural beliefs and demands.
11. Organise monthly meetings
specifically for aunties, mothers-in-law and men to address their role in
perpetuating FGM among the younger generations.
The Men’s Recommendations
The men reluctantly agreed that the community needs to
question some of these anachronistic practices. The following recommendations
were generally agreed upon:
·
There should be a massive campaign in the
·
The awareness campaigns must take place both in the
·
There should be a clinic to assist circumcised girls who cannot “open”
on their wedding night. Also for FGM sufferers who may be in need of attention
due to complications such urinary infections and PID (Pelvic inflammatory
diseases).
·
Provide information on existing services for sufferers of FGM.
·
Hire people from the various practicing communities to facilitate
sessional and voluntary outreach work. The communities, (Somali in particular)
responds to word of mouth; many are illiterate or do not respond to written
invitations. They will attend community events and perhaps volunteers could
take advantage of such events to pass on important information.
·
Provide counselling and support services both for men and women who may
be suffering as a consequence of FGM. Men too can be traumatised by FGM through
painful penetration and stigmatization of not being able to penetrate.
·
Counselling and advice is also necessary for men who may require help in
dealing with exposure to the risk of HIV/AIDS within the community in
Evaluation and Conclusions
The participants agreed that the meetings were very
helpful. For example, it was the first time that Somali women had actually met
with women from other communities where various types of FGM are practised.
They were very surprised to learn of other methods and consequences of FGM
among other cultural groups.
The men found the meeting very stimulating. At the
same time it dawned that the task of influencing change within the community
would be very challenging. The urgency of the matter was not ignored, thus the
urge to set up awareness campaigns in the
The facilitators thanked DSA for planning, preparing
and conducting the meeting and reiterated the fact that a lot had been learned.
The Training Workshops
Introduction
This part of the programme was divided into two
workshops. The first training workshop took place on 16th August
2003 and the second on 30th August 2003. Both meetings were designed to provide more insight on the types of
Female Genital Mutilation that women still suffer in
The Participants
A total of 20 women attended the two workshops. The
participants represented six countries in Africa;
The
Facilitators
Ms. Eunice Kyalo and Ms Nimo Mohammed facilitated the
two workshops. Ms Kyalo gave insight on the breaches to human rights that women
suffer worldwide. Female Genital Mutilation is just one of these violations.
She went on to explain the processes of FGM and the social and health-related
consequences of the practice.
The participants were particularly curious to know how
different types of FGM affected the sexual health of the women affected. It
emerged that even among the Somali women; there were different responses
because of the different types of FGM practiced in the country.
Workshop Objectives
- To identify the different types of FGM among African women
- To highlight the consequences of FGM on health and social wellbeing
of those involved
- To mobilize women to seek acceptable solutions for them and their
daughters.
First Workshop Session
Ms Nimo Mohammed facilitated this session. She started
by inviting the women to give their experiences on FGM, facilitated the first
sessions. Participants were able to identify the different types of FGM
highlighted at the community awareness sessions. They also highlighted the
social and health implications of FGM. The trainer reinforced this by using a
videocassette to highlight the human rights violations that women all over the
world suffer She urged the participants to watch a Channel Four TV documentary
shot in Kenya on the practice of FGM and the effort of a group of people to
stop the practice in the country.
First Session Recommendations
The participants made the following recommendations:
- That a drop-in centre be created to provide support for victims of
FGM
- That there be a special workshop to enlighten the women who have
been damaged by FGM on techniques of sexual enjoyment since many of them
have lost the sensation of sexual pleasure as a result of FGM.
The
Second Workshop Session
Session I
Nimo Mohamed and Eunice Kyalo facilitated the second
workshop. The first session was set out to review the previous meetings and
give participants the opportunity to share their experiences since the last
sessions.
Eunice gave an overview of the extent of FGM today.
Over 3million women worldwide experience FGM annually and the practice is
prevalent in 28 African countries. It is therefore not a practice that is
peculiar to one group of people. She noted that different communities practise
FGM differently, for different reasons and at different occasions. In
In the Somali community, the ritual is mainly upheld
for purposes of presenting brides in their virginal state to their husbands, a
condition that is tied to much honour or woe to the families concerned and to
the community at large.
Among some communities, the woman experiences the
cutting on her wedding day and is expected to have sex with her groom. Other
women are cut and stitched immediately after delivery. All this causes pain,
trauma and complication.
Session II
The participants were divided into two groups to
discuss the benefits, if any, and disadvantages of FGM from experiences. The
groups were asked to look at the consequences of FGM and the benefits. The
following were the responses shared:
Group 1
This group decided to look at the consequences of FGM
in a sequential manner starting with the actual process of FGM. The
contributions were recorded as follows:
- During circumcision, the actual pain and trauma of excision and at
times stitching up the tender parts of the genitals
- Infection – including risk of excessive bleeding if the circumciser
cuts a major nerve
- At the next stage of marriage, the woman is welcomed by shock on
her wedding night when penetration is extremely painful if not totally
impossible. Many women have had to go to hospital to be cut open because
the opening is too small. The wedding night brings back painful memories
and trauma.
- The woman is sexually inactive both as a result of the trauma and
also because sexual intercourse is very painful. This removes any desire
for sex.
- During birth, the woman has to be cut up again in order to deliver
safely.
- In many cases where rapid intervention is not possible, women have
given birth to still born children and they themselves have died as a
result of childbirth.
- Caesarean section during delivery has become commonplace for women
who have gone through type three form of FGM because midwives and doctors
are new to the realities of FGM and avoid distressing the child during
labour. Women also fearing the pain and distress opt for this form of
delivery.
Benefits
This group could not find any benefits to this
practice.
Group II.
This group looked at the benefits that the community
claimed to warrant the necessity of FGM.
- Preserves virginity until marriage
- Ensures cleanliness
- Brings honour to the family
- Husband is proud of his virgin bride
Disadvantages
- In the short term: it is painful
- Difficulty in passing urine
- Shock
- Uncomfortable stitches
- Infection
- Dehydration because the girl fears passing urine
- Urine retention
- Death
- Excessive bleeding.
Long-term effects
- Painful periods
- Retention of periods
- Migraine
- Nausea
- Swollen stomach
- Infection
During marriage
- Painful sex or no sex at all
- No sexual sensation
- Scared/ fearful
- Fertility problem/blocked tubes
- Marriage breakdown
- Shock
- Caesarean section
Conclusions
from the two groups
The groups came together and
gave the following analysis. FGM is beneficial only to men and is used as a
means of upholding the so-called integrity of the community. There is
absolutely no advantage to the women who are forced to practice this barbaric
act.
Recommendations
- Men and women need to be educated and this campaign against FGM
should be made massive so that all concerned are involved. Small meetings
will not be effective in spreading the necessary change that is required.
- The video viewing on Channel 4 on 19th August was an eye
opener for many in society. This needs to be followed up by a big project
that will further enable people to change their views on FGM.
- Workshops should go beyond
- Women want to continue the fight and therefore need the tools to
become effective advocates.
- Invite young girls and boys in order to open their understanding on
FGM and their society’s expectations (for the practicing communities)
- Invite other communities and if possible, visit those practicing
countries and create this awareness.
Our Conclusions
and Action Plan
Overall
summary of Workshop Analysis
This workshop has been a very informative one to the
organizers, DSA, who had not envisaged the magnitude of the implications of FGM
among African women. The contributions of these women prove that many African
women are still suffering in silence and many are still advocating for the
practice on their daughters even though they accept that the consequences are
adverse.
This realisation prompts the need to prepare special
training workshops for volunteers who can now go into the communities for
mediation and support for women who may be in need of support, advice and
information regarding how to address issues around FGM.
Also the women were keen and ready to receive training
in order to become advocates in the community.
This workshop also highlighted the fact that the
participants are not in need of training on FGM. Rather, they require awareness
raising tools on the consequences of the practice, enabling them to address
these issues within their communities and the skills to present them
effectively.
They will benefit more from seminars, information
sharing workshops and forums that update them on issues of sexual health,
social development and personal empowerment. Training will not be of visible
importance to them.
Action Plans
- Recruit and train participants from this pilot project to become
community advocates
- Organise outreach work, and use a variety of methods to reach those
at risk, the victims and the perpetrators: door to door visits, group
discussions and open forums for men and women, especially the gate keepers
of this cultural practice
- A youth forum for young men and women to inform, advice and educate
on FGM
Case Studies
Names have been changed to
ensure anonymity
Halima.
She got the shock of her life when, after giving
birth, she went to pass urine and the flow was so intense that she jumped off
her feet. This was an entirely new experience for her because, as long as she
can remember, she has always passed urine in droplets. This is because she was
stitched when she was a little girl and had since gotten used to this limited
flow.
Amina.
After giving birth to her second child, she is unable
to take antibiotics to cure her urinary tract infection because she is
breastfeeding. She was stitched as a young girl and this infection has been
with her for a long time.
Jane
Jane was the envy of the group as she explained her
type of FGM as the sunna which only slits the clitoris without
chopping off any parts of the genitalia. She gave examples of her fulfilled
sexual experience to the amazement of many women in the workshop.
Mariam
She has gone through the trauma of a divorce because
she had married outside her culture, and her husband could not cope with the
complications of FGM. Some of these were the fact that she had painful
intercourse. Besides, like most women, Mariam feels that the men do not
understand the need to be sensitive and even more patient because the trauma of
FGM has scarred their wives’ genitalia as well as their ability to fully enjoy
sex.
Hana
Her
parents divorced because her stitches would not hold after two attempts. As a
result of what she went through, she ensured that her daughters did not go
through the pains and suffering of FGM.
Anda
Her
first pregnancy ended in a stillbirth because of her stitches. Medical intervention
was not readily available to relieve her labour.
Enne
She
recalled that as a young girl she was always dehydrated because she was too
scared to drink water. She found the ordeal of trying to pass urine very
traumatic.
The
Midwife
A woman came to see her wanting to be stitched up because
her husband had been good to her, and this would be the best gift she could
think of. As a result of several births, she no longer considered herself
“tight” enough to please her husband. Upon his return from a long journey
away, he was overjoyed to experience such sexual pleasure that he had only
had when he first married his wife. Amazingly,
after this first experience, he recommended her to go back to the midwife
to have her “tightened” again in order to give him the same pleasure.