| Abstract: | Documented cases of female circumcision are reported for Malaysia, Indonesia, East and West Africa. Infibulation is reported for East and West Africa. A specific village listing is provided. Female circumcision as practised in African villages is designed to reduce sexual enjoyment. Those girls who refuse the operation are often ostracized. Sunna circumcision, the cutting of the prepuce of the clitoris, is performed with razor blades and knives by old women. In some areas cuts in the vagina are made to make childbearing easier. The result is the opposite. Moslems perform infibulation (fastening the labia majora together) to insure virginity and paternity. In Kenya defenders of the practise of clitoridectomy say its opposers are viewing the situation emotionally from a Western perspective. Changes are typically resisted by men, especially if they are perceived as being determined by outsiders. |
