Scandinavia Fights Female Genital Mutilation

globalpost.com:

STOCKHOLM, Sweden -- When she was 11, a Swedish-born girl was taken on vacation to her mother's native Somalia. The mother wanted to "make her daughter clean" and paid a man to cut off her daughter's clitoris and labia while two women held her down.

Afterward, the girl was stitched to her urethra.

Read the whole story: globalpost.com

Comments

[MosheDayanHero]

04:14 AM on 09/23/2009

The mother who thus mutilated her daughter should be arrested and jailed. And her conviction needs to be widely advertised all over Europe.

[Hirnlego]

04:01 PM on 09/22/2009

The emancipation of women is one of the worlds most important missions.

[MosheDayanHero]

04:52 AM on 09/23/2009

Not in the Muslim world it is not.

[Paulo1]

11:03 AM on 09/22/2009

No sympathy until they include the barbaric mutilation of male children known as circumcision.
Until then I will not be condemning the same butchery of young girls.

[MosheDayanHero]

01:04 PM on 09/22/2009

A comment utterly devoid of any connection to reality.

[jasjohn128]

09:21 AM on 09/22/2009

Didn't Sweden and other (formerly) European countries aniticipate they'd be confronted with revolting cultural practices like this when they began to permit unrestricted immigration from Muslim countries without requiring assimilation?

Swedish law does not trump Sharia law for the colonizing Muslims. They've not moved West to become "Swedes" or "Europeans"; they've simply come to occupy your land and extract tribute, which is a duty you owe to them. And which you graciously provide in the form of absurdly extravagant cash-and-kind "welfare" subsidies and this revolting tolerance you don't yet have the courage to renounce.

Arguing these differences issue by issue - burqa, FGM, etc. - is just displacement activity, a distraction, to avoid admitting that you've surrendered sovereignty to an alien, hostile, barbaric population that intends to make your countries just like their own.

[gainswor]

11:56 AM on 09/22/2009

What about all the millions of Christians who do it?

[MosheDayanHero]

01:16 PM on 09/22/2009

There are NO Christian religious leaders, anywhere in the world who endorse FGM.
Ditto for Jewish, Buddhist, Taoist, Hindu, ,Zoroastrian etc...
There is only ONE major religion which allows FGM and has prominent religious leaders who APPROVE this barbaric practice.
And no verbal gymnastics will change this fact.

[sumanne]

03:19 AM on 09/22/2009

Before you start posting you might want to watch this.
This is a real fgm procedure done to a young girl.
Every day this procedure leaves children and young women incontinent, not able to have sex without pain or dying in childbed. Many of the girls dont survive because they die of sepsis.
http://www.care2.com/news/member/198234727/408550
The only way to stop this is educating the mothers of the girls. If you can - please donate money to charities who try to stop this awful deathbringing custom.
http://www.unicef.de/fileadmin/content_media/presse/fotomaterial/Beschneidung/Beschneidung.pdf

[MosheDayanHero]

10:36 AM on 09/22/2009

Very good post.

[Hdaryl01]

06:45 PM on 09/22/2009

Yep. It's a travesty. Watch this one as well. http://video.yahoo.com/watch/163488/562046

Sound like he's having fun? No pain?

For no medically indicated reason. 3000 per day, every day in the U.S. 1 million per year, every year in the U.S. The most commonly performed surgical proceedure in the U.S. every year. Multi billion $ industry in the U.S.

And the U.S. has the audacity to even discuss human rights, or comment on the barbaric nature of FGM?

And, the difference is.....?

[MosheDayanHero]

12:54 AM on 09/23/2009

Hudaibiya" - I-mic practice of lying to Infidels.
The objective is to divert attention away from the subject through duplicity and obfuscation.

[Alarmist]

03:00 AM on 09/22/2009

This problem needs a lot more attention. I remember a few years ago, a judge in the US did not even believe this could possibly happen, when a woman wanted asylum to prevent it from happening to her. He had never heard of it, and did not think people did that kind of thing. This is one reason we need to be more culturally aware, so that we can both be more sensitive, and step in to prevent such atrocities.

[gainswor]

11:55 AM on 09/22/2009

So the judge hadn't heard of it, ok, what happened to the woman?

[larsbars08]

12:31 AM on 09/22/2009

First of all, what we call FGM is practiced far, far, far from the mainstream of Islam. Second the term FGM encompasses several different practices that go from the repulsive to the relatively benign. In some parts of West Africa like Senegal, there is a practice where they essentially prick the clitoris. The practices is done by women and is managed by Women elders of the tribe. It is considered a badge of honor.

I would like to point out that the majority of these practices are run by Women. So lets be careful about calling this another case of Muslim women being oppressed by Muslim Men. Unfortunately I think there is a tendency among Westerners to save the "uncivilized" or as I heard quote once, "white people saving brown women from brown men." Not my quote but it does apply.

Yes a lot of it is repulsive and should be outright banned throughout the world, but I would be careful of criticizing something you have very little information about. What was done to the Girl in the story is terrible and it should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, but we should be careful about how we react to things like this. Everyone could use a little perspective and this is one thing we should watch for.

[MosheDayanHero]

09:10 AM on 09/22/2009

"First of all, what we call FGM is practiced far, far, far from the mainstream of Islam."

So you mean the entire Muslim community of Indonesia is out of mainstream of Islam?!
Try again.

[gainswor]

11:54 AM on 09/22/2009

You need to stop with the anti-Muslim slander, you are just spreading nonsense backed by nothing but your bigotry.

[mudshark12]

11:34 PM on 09/21/2009

FGM is an extremely barbaric and backward practice which should outlawed. At least in Scandinavia they are doing something about it.

[MosheDayanHero]

09:32 AM on 09/22/2009

Straight to the point. Thank you.
U.S. has a federal law on the books prohibiting this practice. Unfortunately, the penalty listed is only " "imprisoned not more than one year." A slap on the wrist, at best.

[gainswor]

07:38 PM on 09/21/2009

Everyone here who is against FGM should go give money to a charity which helps provide education to people in the countries where it is practiced. Or better yet, go there and educate them yourselves, I have and it was an incredibly enlightening and rewarding experience. Education the only way to end the practice and free people from the oppression of religion and traditional mindsets. Sitting around bitching about it and ranting on about how its 'disgusting' won't solve anything, nor will throwing parents in jail and forcing already traumatized children to undergo examinations of their genitals on a regular basis.. Put your money where your mouth is and stop the problem where it starts.

[weatherwaxx]

11:34 PM on 09/21/2009

Most people cannot travel to another country. Kudos to you for doing so.

Can you list some charities that participate?

[gainswor]

12:30 AM on 09/22/2009

Here's one: http://www.globalfundforchildren.org, though I suggest researching various charities to find one that works for you and your world view.
I know many people are not able to afford traveling to another country, but there are plenty of organizations which will set you up with paid teaching or aid worker positions (including flights and lodging), reliefweb.int is a great website to find things like that, though a simple google search can find you most of this., if not more.

[Alarmist]

02:58 AM on 09/22/2009

Education, yes. But just because you are doing something about one thing doesn't give you the right to pat yourself on the back and expect everyone else to do that too.

Do you go door-to-door and get out the vote? Do you volunteer at a soup kitchen? Do you clean up litter? Do you volunteer to teach people how to read? Do you hold fundraisers? Do you help out in New Orleans after Katrina? I'm not saying you have to do all those or any of those things. But how rude would it be for someone who did, to say to you that you're not doing anything?

The people you criticize in your comment, may very well be doing something about a problem other than this, but they have a right to comment on this.

[gainswor]

11:50 AM on 09/22/2009

I'm not "patting myself on the back" I'm saying that if you are passionate about stopping FGM you should do something other than just sitting around on your computer talking about how its disgusting and barbaric. The only way to fix a problem is by actually trying to fix it, not talking about how it's a problem.
And I'm in no way criticizing people for having an opinion, just saying that if they feel strongly about that opinion they should show it by doing something, giving even 5$ to a charity is better than doing nothing at all. Also, many of the things you mentioned above I have done - because I was passionate about the cause and I would encourage others to do the same if they aren't already.

[Ping]

07:13 PM on 09/21/2009

I saw it MamaMaggiecat. thx.

[lthuedk 1]

06:42 PM on 09/21/2009

What a gruesome depiction of male control justified by faith. Unfortunately for America, the residue of another culture survived, still dutifully expressing troubling First Millennium human behavior; the control of women. Very manly, indeed, wanting to Scalia-ize or Alito-ize or Thomas-ize a woman's rights.

It was there all the time, you know. That place where a man can be a man without controlling that which he loves. It's not about faith, but faith in one's self that might deliver the last right of manhood.

http://www.light-to-dark.com/nailed_by_the_insecure.html

My fellow American.

[Blurp]

03:32 AM on 09/22/2009

Yes indeed. I agree. Now how about women having their male children's foreskin lopped off because they like the way it looks.

[mariegachelin]

06:03 PM on 09/21/2009

Finally, these countries have decided to take a stand against a practice that is so outdated and totally abusive to women. FGN is a just an avenue in which certain societies use to control women and I hate to say that it is being supported by men who hate women. Men who love women don't want to hurt women.

Although FGN is practiced in many African and Middle Eastern countries, it is just one of those "old wives tales" that somehow integrates itself as part of a culture or religion. Religion is supposed to be good, it teaches ethics, it is not to physically hurt and control people. Many of these countries ar using these practices because no one stands up to them and no one bothers to educate the victims and potential victims. It should not be a Western culture vs Eastern culture; it's just abusive practice and It's about time that these countries, especailly Sweden are speaking up.

[TLCTugger]

05:24 PM on 09/21/2009

- - Both FGM and male circumcision kill hundreds per year, send thousands to the hospital with complications, and disfigure countless innocents for life. Both are strongly defended by many victims. Both are done by force and coercion.

- - Male circumcision typically removes about half a male's sensual pleasure-receptive nerve endings (20,000 of which are concentrated near the tip of the foreskin). Circumcision eliminates the exquisite frictionless rolling/gliding mode of stimulation, and removes the protection for the glans and adjacent mucosa, leaving them to get dry and numb from air and abrasion with clothing.

- - FGM can range from a pin-poke to draw a ceremonial drop of blood, a non-amputating slit to the hood, to the more barbaric excisions and infibulations. All are disgusting superstitious blood rituals and are illegal for 94% of the world's females with no religious exemption.

- - The typical male cirumcision is far more destructive than the non-amputative forms of illegal FGM, yet we allow them to happen. People can send out party invitations to view the barbarism of their children. If I arrived at such a party I would call the police to intervene.

- - Foreskin feels REALLY good. Protect boys too.

[davidwayneosedach]

03:03 PM on 09/21/2009

If the Muslims want to emigrate to Scandinavia they should be willing to live by their laws.

[riff4u]

02:23 PM on 09/21/2009

It seems you speak for all Islam. June 24, 2007 the Mufti of Egypt Ali Gum states "this custom (of FMG) is prohibited."