Female circumcision

[donnashuggy]

It's on now on Insight, not many topics I cannot keep an open mind about but this is one

I had to change the station after 2 minutes

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/video/17956419892/Insight-Clear-Cut-Fuambai-on-female-circumcision-a

[the_bob_delusion]

You shouldn't challenge someone else's cultural or religious belief. It's offensive to them;\

They don't need to justify why they do it as long as they believe it's right. 

[darksideofthemoon]

This seems to me to be totally illogical ... if a woman has her important bits removed, how is she going to enjoy intimacy?  Why would she want to get married?  Doesn't the man suffer too?  

You are forgetting that in that society it isn't what the woman wants that's important.  She is there to have babies by the man she has been married to.  

By not being able to enjoy sex it makes her, in their eyes, faithful to the husband.  Yes, she can have children, that is what she is there to do, but enjoy sex or chose to marry?  No, that is not the point at all X-(

[freakiness]

Agree crystal, it's not circumcision. And calling it so is a way to justify it.

Male circumcision at least derives for hygienic reasons.

Totally disgraceful.

It seems more like casteration

[2106greencat]

BS. Not when it comes to chopping up girls who live here.

Not when it comes to girls anywhere.  They have aright to live whole not with bits chopped off.

But how do they know any different if that is how they have been raised?

I am not commenting on right or wrong here, myself - think it is barbaric - but right or wrong it is their way so I guess we can be as horrified as we like, we have no rights to stop them.

[green.fields]

It is illegal in this country and I'm pretty sure if you live in this country it is also illegal to take your daughter overseas to have it done. The problem of course is that if it is done overseas then unless there are complications or the child tells someone outside the family it may well never come to the attention of the authorities.

A couple charged for taking their daughter to Bali to have it done.

http://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/wa-couple-on-child-genital-mutilation-charges-20120907-25jdg.html

[icyfroth]

But how do they know any different if that is how they have been raised?

I am not commenting on right or wrong here, myself - think it is barbaric - but right or wrong it is their way so I guess we can be as horrified as we like, we have no rights to stop them.

 We have a right to stop them if they do it in this country. It's child abuse and it' s against the law.

I understand it's a ritual deeply rooted in their culture and religious beliefs. I believe the operations are done by the grandmothers and priestesses, women who endured the same procedure themselves as girls .

The procedure is performed with often rudimentary equipment with only the most basic consideration for cleanliness and hygiene. Many young girls die of infection and trauma, others are condemned to a lifetime of pain, birth complications and urinary tract problems.

We can't stop them in their own country, but when they come here to start a new life they need to live by the laws of their new country. 

[17smilesalot]

was a super model who wrote about this happening to her, she was given no pain killers and nearly bled to death. i agree it is disgusting

[freakiness]

But how do they know any different if that is how they have been raised?

I am not commenting on right or wrong here, myself - think it is barbaric - but right or wrong it is their way so I guess we can be as horrified as we like, we have no rights to stop them.

I do believe if they are living in Australia and making this their home our rules trump their old culture and we do have the right to stop them.

[the_great_she_elephant]

But how do they know any different if that is how they have been raised?

I am not commenting on right or wrong here, myself - think it is barbaric - but right or wrong it is their way so I guess we can be as horrified as we like, we have no rights to stop them.

Ignorance of the law is no excuse and female circumcision is ILLEGAL in Australia

[icyfroth]

I remember reading about this lady years ago, apparently she was "done" as a child herself and is now a committed crusader against it. She has an incredible story:

Waris Dirie

Waris means Desert Flower, a flower that can bloom even in the roughest climate. Waris Dirie is a nomadic child from Somalia and a mother of two beautiful sons. She is a human rights activist, a supermodel, and a best-selling author who has received numerous prestigious awards for her work and her commitment in the fight against female genital mutilation

http://www.desertflowerfoundation.org/en/