The Impact and Influence of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)

The Critical Analysis of the Influences of FGM
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The Critical Analysis of the Influences of FGM
Problem Statement
The world is a beautiful place with many things to enjoy. For example, food and music can enable people to enjoy and appreciate the world. There are languages and clothes to cherish. The world has also allowed us to interrelate and learn a lot. Notably, individuals come from a different culture where they embrace different customs and religious beliefs to remain relevant to their culture. Generally, regions or communities are associated with other cultural happenings and societal expectations impacting marriage institutions and childbearing. The report deliberates the issues of Female Genital Mutilation, abbreviated as FGM. FGM is an active practice. The FGM process involves partial or complete removal of female private parts, especially the vagina, for non-medical reasons. Concerning Toshe (2010), Ethiopia record about 74% prevalence cases of FGM. FGM is experienced in numerous communities, especially in African and Asian nations. There should be an obligatory rule subjecting educators to study more about FGM and how to handle such cases because they are likely to encounter FGM issues and victims.
On the other hand, educators should support such individuals and develop interventions. Many women and girls suffer due to FGM practice. Some females get affected by sepsis leading to the death of many victims because most of the FGM practices happen traditionally without any medical personnel. They also occur in a non-medical environment. On the other hand, FGM can lead to a birth complication during the delivery process. It led to many miscarriages, postnatal bleeding, and protracted maternal hospitalization. Female Genital Mutilation is highly concerned with human growth and development because it influences females’ emotional and physical development throughout their lives. With close relation to the above analysis, the paper discusses FGM in terms of the regions practicing it and the emotional and physical development impacts among women and girls.
The Importance of FGM in the Field of Family Life Education
Family Life Education is the specialized practice of imparting and enabling community members to learn new skills and knowledge to advance their wellbeing and support interpersonal associations through teaching, strength-based methodology, and preclusion plans. FGM is a problem across many nations. Some girls and women are subjected to the painful process and violate their rights and freedom. Educating youths on FGM helps spread its health risks and other complicated issues. On the other hand, the government strives to clarify that females have a right to make decisions concerning their bodies and turn down any FGM practice forced on them by their parents. Family Life Educators on Human sexuality and internal dynamics can use their prowess to educate community members more information about FGMA. On the other hand, educators can impart skills and values to give hope to FGM victims. As mentioned earlier, the imparted skills and knowledge will improve the wellbeing of community members and strengthen interpersonal relationships when they understand FGM and embrace interventions to prevent it.
Literature Review
Female genital mutilation denotes removing all processes encompassing partial or whole removal of the exterior parts of feminine genitalia for non-medical purposes. Other activities of female genital mutilation involve causing injury to female genitalia. The practice of FGM is considered a harmful activity that infringes human rights. For example, FGM encroach upon the series of deep-rooted human rights values and guiding standards incorporating equality and non-discrimination based on the right to light and sex. On the other hand, FGM also violates freedom from torture, cruelty, and degrading human beings. According to WHO (2022), FGM practices are categorized into four types. Type one FGM practice encompasses partial or whole amputation of the clitoris, while type two incorporates partial or complete elimination of labia minora or minus cutting the labia majora. On the other hand, type three is infibulation, which involves thinning the vagina orifice by removing and positioning the labia minora. Finally, type four applies injurious processes to the vagina for non-medical motives such as scrapping and pricking. 
Prevalence and Trends
The precise figure of females subjected to FGM procedures is unknown. However, UNICEF has come out with some statistics. For example, about two hundred million females have passed through the FGM process. Most of these individuals were cut before the age of 15. FGM is common in Africa. Other places include the Middle East and Asia. The states with the highest prevalence are concentrated in North African countries such as Sudan and Egypt. On the other hand, western African countries record high cases of FGM, incorporating Djibouti, Somalia, and Eritrea. These countries have about 80% overall rates of patients. About 90% of FGM involves eliminating some parts of the female clitoris or even the prepuce. About 10% of girls and women undergo infibulation, the most severe FGM practice.
Declining Rate 
There has been a significant decline in FGM cases over the past 30 years. However, the progress is unevenly distributed. According to UNICEF (2020), one in three girls 15 to 19 years in 30 countries with FGM data have undergone the problem in question. There is barely any modification in some countries. For instance, the FGM rate declined in Guinea from 98.6% to 96.8%. Generally, the numbers of girls with 15 to 19 years passing through the FGM process have declined across FGM practicing countries.
On the other hand, the rate of FGM is also declining among women ages 45 to 49 years. For example, the FGM rate dropped from 75.3% in 2005 to about 65.2% in 2016. Nevertheless, the general prevalence data may partially reflect the advancement amongst young girls and women. Kandala et al. (2018) confirm significant decline rates of FGM in African countries. For example, there is a deterioration in the pervasiveness of FGM in East Africa from 71.4% in 1995 to about 8.0% in 2016. Similarly, the North African FGM rate has reduced from 57.7% in 1995 to about 14.5% in 2015. The FGM rate has also decreased in West Africa from 73.6% to about 25.4% in 2015. 
According to Koski and Heymann (2017), countries practicing FGM have also recorded less severe types of FGM. For example, South Sudan has abandoned type three “pharaonic” FGM practice, which is the most painful to type one Sunna FGM process. Concerning Bedri et al. (2019), Sunna FGM practice is the least severe, also known as type one. The anti-FGM campaigns and initiatives promoting awareness of FGM health risks have played crucial roles in decreasing the problem. These programs have also been complemented with religious discourses on FGM. For example, some South Sudan religious groups direct followers to abandon pharaonic and embrace Sunna FGM practice as a religious obligation.
Medicalization of FGM Practice 
Most girls and women undergo traditional FGM practices performed by midwives. Interestingly, countries subjecting girls and women to the FGM process executed by professional health care practitioners in a medical facility. The patients are given quality medication and direct supervision to ensure everything is under control during the recovery process. They also use medical cutting blades, perhaps lessening death risks and sepsis. Moreover, countries practicing medical FGM use anesthetic to reduce pain and suffering compared to traditional FGM methods where girls and women undergo severe pain. According to Kimani and Shell-Duncan (2018), about 90% of women exposed to medical FGM reside in Egypt, Nigeria, and Sudan. Notably, the figures of UNICEF don’t include FGM information of Indonesia, where newborn females must through medicalized FGM as part of healthcare services given to them.
Constructing the Ideal Girl and Woman
Concerning Berg and Denison (2013), people practice FGM due to cultural traditions that function as women’s social control and identity. Concerning femininity and sexuality, the link between FGM matter and sexual decency is the utmost noticeable subject in readings classifying the bases and instigators of FGM. On the other hand, FGM types such as infibulation are believed to be an effective way of reducing sexual desires and helping women to resist illicit sexual acts. According to Mwanri and Gatwiri (2017), infibulation can also help preserve a woman’s virginity and wife’s faithfulness. The observation is dominant in cultures where society values virginity as morality proof. Women who have lost their virginity before marriage are promiscuous and hypersexual in such communities.
Concerning Yirga et al. (2012), reducing hypersexuality in women increases the prevalence of FGM practice in African countries. On the other hand, FGM is perceived to increase the probability of women finding an appropriate spouse and attaining a prosperous family (Elamin & Mason-Jone, 2020). The idea of Marriageability is considered one of the significant reasons for embracing FGM. Marriageability has been recognized as the principal motive for adopting FGM among Somalians living in Ethiopia (Abathun et al., 2016). Women refusing to be cut can be subjected to severe social sanctions from the ethnic group. They can also be recognized as unqualified for marital matters, which is a disgrace to the household members and harms the prospective husband’s social reputation.
FGM and Mutual Group Uniqueness
FGM is alleged as a community bond playing a crucial role in associating mutual, cultural, and kinship connections leading to a mutual group distinctiveness...