The Female Genital Mutilation Homepage http://www.fgmnetwork.org/ At this very moment about 8 to 10 million women and girls in the Middle East and in Africa are at risk of undergoing one form or another of genital mutilation.
Even though there is increasing awareness for this topic, we may not realise the magnitude of this problem: the number of affected women is vast; pathophysiological understanding is low, as female genital mutilation is often compared to male circumcision, but in fact, it is far more drastic and damaging (a more appropriate analogy would be between clitoridectomy and removal of the entire penis); sociocultural differences are hard to assess and understand.
This website presents information concerning female genital mutilation from a variety of perspectives: psychological, cultural, sexual, human rights, just to name a few. Even though medical problems such as wound infections, transmission of infectious diseases, and long term sexual health and obstetric problems are only briefly addressed, the information provided is important to all health professionals. Of particular interest is the introduction, which explains what female genital mutilation is and where it is practised.
Because of the simple structure, navigating this site is easy, but unfortunately, several of the links are inaccessible. Some of those accessible are worth a visit, especially a particular case study: a transcript of a hearing concerning a 19 year old woman from Togo, seeking political asylum in the United States to escape from ritual female genital mutilation. Even though lengthy, this protocol provides a good example of the problems in understanding between different cultures and social structures. Fortunately, all links to advocacy groups and organisations working on the issue of eradication are functioning.
Not surprisingly, this website would benefit from regular maintenance and update (on 31 December 1998 a conference from August 1998 was still being announced). Serious readers may be happy with what they get. However, an occasional visitor may miss this issue’s importance because of these shortcomings, together with a rather dull presentation.