Miriam Schwamm : Female genital mutilation

02/09/2008 | Female genital mutilation

Diptyque
Technique mixte
(Jute, dentelle, soutien-gorges etc.)
2008

Extrait d’un article pour Middle-east-info.org :

Type II FGM, referred to as excision, is the removal of the entire clitoris and part or all of the labia minora. Crude stitches of catgut or thorns may be used to control bleeding from the clitoral artery and raw tissue surfaces, or mud poultices may be applied directly to the perineum. Patients with Type II FGM do not have the typical contour of the anterior perineal structures resulting from the absence of the labia minora and clitoris. The vaginal opening is not covered in the Type II procedure.
Type III FGM, known as infibulation, is the most severe form in which the entire clitoris and some or all of the labia minora are excised, and incisions are made in the labia majora to create raw surfaces. The labial raw surfaces are stitched together to cover the urethra and vaginal introitus, leaving a small posterior opening for urinary and menstrual flow. In Type III FGM, the patient will have a firm band of tissue replacing the labia and obliteration of the urethra and vaginal openings.

The physical complications associated with FGM may be acute or chronic. Early, life-threatening risks include hemorrhage, shock secondary to blood loss or pain, local infection and failure to heal, septicemia, tetanus, trauma to adjacent structures, and urinary retention. Infibulation (Type III) is often associated with long-term gynecologic or urinary tract difficulties. Common gynecologic problems involve the development of painful subcutaneous dermoid cysts and keloid formation along excised tissue edges. More serious complications include pelvic infection, dysmenorrhea, hematocolpos, painful intercourse, infertility, recurrent urinary tract infection, and urinary calculus formation. Pelvic examination is difficult or impossible for women who have been infibulated, and vaginal childbirth requires an episiotomy to avoid serious vulvar lacerations.
Less well-understood are the psychological, sexual, and social consequences of FGM, because little research has been conducted in countries where the practice is endemic. However, personal accounts by women who have had a ritual genital procedure recount anxiety before the event, terror at being seized and forcibly held during the event, great difficulty during childbirth, and lack of sexual pleasure during intercourse.

Selon l'Organisation mondiale de la santé, la mutilation sexuelle féminine la plus fréquente est l'excision du clitoris et des petites lèvres (Type II), puisqu'elle représente près de 80 % des cas. La forme la plus extrême en est l'infibulation (Type III) : environ 15 % des cas. L'OMS estime que, dans le monde, 100 à 132 millions de filles et de femmes ont subi des mutilations sexuelles. Chaque année, 2 millions de filles supplémentaires risquent de connaître le même sort. La plupart d'entre elles vivent dans 28 pays africains, un plus petit nombre au Moyen-Orient et dans des pays d'Asie. Mais on en trouve de plus en plus en Europe, au Canada, en Australie, en Nouvelle-Zélande et aux Etats-Unis d'Amérique.