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ALMOST 3,000 GIRLS living in Ireland could be at risk of undergoing female genital mutilation.
FGM refers to the ritual cutting or removal of some or all of the external female genitalia. The practice is most common in Africa, Asia and the Middle East, and carried out for cultural or religious reasons.
Unicef data states that at least 200 million girls and women in 30 countries worldwide have undergone the extremely painful procedure.
Three women’s rights leaders were in Ireland this week to discuss how they are trying to stop FGM – also referred to as cutting – in their region.
An ActionAid study carried out in 2016 found that 2,639 girls living in Ireland may currently be at risk of undergoing the practice. Thousands more have undergone FGM before moving to Ireland.
During the week the women visited migrant communities in Cork to share their experiences. The ActionAid programme they lead in Kongelai in northern Kenya, funded by Irish Aid, has reduced FGM by 27% in the region in the last six years.
The network now has over 1,000 women who are helping eradicate FGM.
Women who carry out the practice are known as cutters. Cheposalawich Cholongosia cut about 60 girls over the course of a decade, some as young as 10 years old. She is now a champion for ending the practice and has convinced three other cutters to abandon FGM.
I was haunted by the innocent blood that I caused by circumcising girls and women before I left the practice. I want to reach out to other circumcisers and help them abandon the practice.
Speaking to TheJournal.ie, she recalls: “As I was growing up, my grandmother did it. There’s a societal expectation and cultural responsibility … When I was a teenage girl my mother did it as well. It’s passed on from generation to generation.”
Cutters generally do not perform the practice on their own children.
“My mother did not circumcise me, she reached out to another woman to come and do it,” Cholongosia, who is also known as Cholonge, tells us.
Growing up in that environment, I wouldn’t question it. It was a normal experience for a girl, she would not be married off if she was not circumcised. Some girls looked forward to the cutting being done so they could move on and get married and have children.
Cholongosia, now 47, doesn’t recall the exact age she married, but says she was aged between 14 and 16. Her husband was in his late 40s at the time. He was already married to three other women.
The couple went on to have six children – three girls and three boys. All of the girls were cut.
Cholongosia was respected in her community because she was a cutter, but she started to have serious doubts about the practice.
I was called a hero in public but in the evening, when I was alone in the house with my husband, the blood kept on haunting me. It felt like my hands were shaking, the sound of the girls screaming would affect me at night. Over time it had this psychological effect on me.
Her husband was supportive when she told him about her worries and encouraged her to stop cutting.
She finally decided to stop the practice after coming into contact with the ActionAid programme in Kongelai, where she and other women were taught about the negative impact FGM has on girls, children’s rights, and legal issues with the practice.
Severe pain and infection
Immediate complications from FGM include severe pain, shock, haemorrhaging, tetanus, infection, fever and septicemia.
Long-term consequences include complications during childbirth, anaemia, the formation of cysts and abscesses, urinary incontinence, painful sexual intercourse, hypersensitivity of the genital area and increased risk of HIV transmission, as well as psychological effects.
Cholongosia said it was initially somewhat difficult for the network to “challenge cultural practices”, but over time it gained more and more support in the community.
She wants FGM to be eradicated from Kenya in the next decade or so, noting: “If we reduced it in six years by 27% (in our community), it’s possible to eradicate it in Kenya in the next 10 to 15 years.”
She says no single approach will be successful in this regard, with a multisectoral approach involving education for both females and males, training and law enforcement needed.
Susan Cheyech Alukulem, a farmer who chairs the Kongelai women’s network on a voluntary basis, was also in Ireland this week.
As part of her role she accompanies survivors of FGM to the police, the children’s welfare office and school administrations. She also trains and advises vulnerable girls and women, and fosters girls during school holidays.
“I want to save my girls and many other girls and women from the pain I went through. I want my girls and other girls to pursue their education something that I was denied because of female genital mutilation,” she explains.
Dinah Chepkemei Nyorsok, Policy, Advocacy and Campaigns Capacity Building Coordinator with ActionAid Kenya, established the women’s network.
In order to eradicate FGM in Ireland, she encourages the use of visual aids to disseminate information on the pratice and its effects, and stresses the importance of learning from communities that have abandoned cutting.
“Share information among those practicing it, target the decision makers in the communities that practice it,” she says.
The women were visiting Ireland and Belgium as part of ActionAid’s AFTER (Against Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting Through Empowerment and Rejection) project funded by the European Union.
The project was initiated last year to work with migrant women and girls from FGM/cutting-practicing countries. The project is being implemented across five European countries (Belgium, Ireland, Italy, Spain and Sweden) by six partners.
ActionAid is a member of Ireland’s National Steering Committee on FGM. It will host a public screening of the documentary Girls From Earth in Filmbase in Temple Bar, Dublin 2, at 4pm tomorrow. Following this there will be a Q&A session with the three women. For more information about the screening, click here.
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Our laws and courts should treat it as child abuse….Penalties should be the same….Excuse of saying it is a cultural practice or not knowing it is illegal in Ireland should not be tolerated….Doctors should report it to police same as they report children suspected at risk of sexual abuse….
@John003: Agreed. And to think the so-called ‘only democracy’ in the Middle-East, Israel, allows the mutilation of male infants genitalia all in the name of religion, known as the ‘brit milah’, it is carried out on the 8th day of the baby boy’s life.
“The basis for Jews to circumcise their sons is found in the bible (Genesis 17, 10-14), where it says: “This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; every man child among you shall be circumcised”.
The circumcision of newborn Jewish boys belongs to the essence of Judaism, it marks the entry into the Jewish community and symbolises the ties between God and Abraham and between God and the Jews. The command is compulsory for Jews.
Circumcision is also practised by secular Jews and connects Jews of all tendencies, from orthodox to reform, with another. It is not only a tradition but a central part of the Jewish identity. It is of essential significance and constitutive for being a Jew.
Circumcision counts as one of the most important commandments in Judaism and even outweighs the commandments of the highest Jewish feast days, Shabbat and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), on which certain activities may not be carried out.”
@Atheos Euripides:
Lots of countries allow circumcision, including Ireland.
Focusing on one country like this gives the impression you are a bigot and a racist, intent on spreading hatred and intolerance.
Just sayin’.
@Atheos Euripides: over 56% of boys in the US are circumcised but Jewish people make up about 1.5% of the population. You’re just an ignorant racist.
@Caitriona Smith: They’re just two facts Caitriona, Israel allows male genital mutilation and it’s mandatory in Judaism. Sorry you confused religion with race.
@Brinster: my friend wanted his new born son to be done and the hospital said can’t be done in Ireland. Only for medical reasons.
A quick search on Google will tell you there are 13 hospitals in Ireland willing to perform “cultural circumcisions”. Maybe you should try Google rather that “your friend” for information.
Senseless & mindless procedure that will affect the girls mentally & physically for the rest of their days,simply sick.
Religion – ya right…
@Nameless: FGM is the best example to give when someone bleats that we have to respect all other cultures and beliefs. No we damn well don’t. FGM will always be wrong. Some aspects of other cultures – whether social, religious, ethic or whatever – will always be wrong.
@Brinster:
Well can we once and for all decide what ‘we’ consider to be right or what is acceptable by our laws And our culture, maybe adjust our constitution accordingly. Perhaps then we can decide who gets to live here or otherwise we can then collectively decide who should leave. I think we collectively need to decide who we are, and what the majority want.
@Kieran W: I’d agree that anyone who practices, supports or enables FGM needs to be jailed immediately, upon conviction.
@Brinster: ‘Halal’ is another. Beyond barbaric and cruel.
@Lovely weather: “Forcing a rape victim to carry a foetus to term, even when that foetus has a fatal abnormality” is a particularly cruel one. Wouldn’t you agree?
One of the most disgusting practices ever devised by humanity. Ban it. Everywhere. Now.
@Matty Killucan: and that includes neo-natal, religious and non-medical reasons on males as well!
@The Supreme Being: Agreed but it is MUCH worse for girls. They often cut off the outer labia and clitoris and then sew up the vagina, leaving a small hole for urinating and menstruating. Infections and death are common. Absolutely horrific.
@The Supreme Being: I remember a baby boy died in waterford a few yrs back from having it done.Nigerian lad found not guilty of reckless endangerment.
I think it’s astonishing to have an article of reasonable length such as this about FGM and not mention the word religion even once. FGM is primarily a religious practice and to achieve the reduction in practice quoted will require a significant triumph of compassion and reason over tradition and faith-based belief.
@Kelvin O’Connor: Very well said, though I think the main driver for fgm is American foreign policy and the racism of white westerners.
@Kelvin O’Connor: what religion practises FGM?
@Matty Killucan: Marty you say “I think the main driver for FGM is American foreign policy and the racism of white westerners”
I take it you are being facetious (although why you would be on a topic of this nature I can’t understand) but on the assumption that you aren’t being facetious can I say “what a load of rubbish”. FGM existed for a long time before western adventurism. It is declining due to the influence of “western” notions of gender equality and human rights.
Finally, FGM is more a cultural practice than a religious one although the two issues are often conflated in the mind of practitioners. There is. I basis for FGM in May religion that I know of.
@John R: Islam. However, its not only muslims who do it.
@Cian: that was meant for Caitriona Smith.
@John R: Are you high? Sorry if you didn’t get my point but I think others did.
@Matty Killucan:
How is American foreign policy the main driver for FGM?
@Nick Allen: Swoosh!!!
@Cian: it is rare enough among Muslims. It is most common in Christians and other indigenous religions in sub Sarahan Africa.
@Ann Casey: the one religion that connects fgm across continents is islam. Obviously all Muslims dont do it, certain sects do. It’s an Islamic practice and has been part of the Islamic tradition for 100s of years.
Cutting season as it’s called is fast approaching as the schools go on holidays.
Victims will have time to recover at home and not arouse suspicion from teachers as they suffer the after affects. Not a single conviction in this country.
A Barbaric, sick and sadistic “tradition”, the innocent needlessly suffer so those committing the act can remain in control.
@Rowe:
Yes it is a barbaric practice and very much about keeping women under control and tolerated as a cultural or religious belief. There should be no tolerance of these practices whatsoever.
Do the right thing and report offences you may know or suspect towards children who are at risk, even if you are not sure, call Crime Stoppers, your name is not required and the service is confidential. 1800 25 00 25
@Andi Black: unfortunately,you have to be part of the ethnic group,to find out and report,and that can’t/won’t happen,all kept hush,hush
Wait for it….its their culture. .We must respect their values..They enrich our culture… We should change our laws and way of life to accommodate them..It should be free on a medical card. Anyone who disagrees is a racist..
@marg fitzgerald: yes,unfortunatley,modern Ireland is turning that way,and the do gooder lefties are pushing that along the road,and when we are so messed up as our UK neighbours are,theyll wonder how we got here,with our over welcoming arms,open borders,and dopey Eurocrats
I’m glad you feel haunted by it. You should and a lot more besides.
@Deirdre D’Arcy Murphy: she’s disgusting
The same applies to boys in tribes in South Africa. There are two “Initiates” seasons and the tribe regards it as a cultural imperative that the boys be circumcised and not medically. There are deaths every year. When a boy survives this process as most do he is celebrated as having become of age. Quite frankly there is no valid reason for FGM or MGM. I have yet to hear a valid reason forwarded for the genital mutilation of both boys and girls. There is no reason to mutilate the human body by reference to either religion or culture. It is a tribal control mechanism which is hard to circumvent from within because those initiated will not respect those who are not initiated. It would be very interesting to see how sociologists perceive these practices in African, Jewish and Moslem societies.
How many girls did this woman mutilate? And she was let in?
@Shawn O’Ceallaghan: she and all who partake,or have done in the past should be deported
If this is going to occur in back alleys either way then maybe like Needle Clinics we should have painless medically supervised centres to carry out the procedure safely.
@winston smith: No it needs to be removed from society like the abuse it is .
If someone takes drugs , that is a conscious decision they have made themselves , FGM is nothing of the sort and serves no purpose , bar the subjugation of females .
@winston smith: Dear god I hope you’re joking. Let’s also have clinics where parents can have their kids’ arms needlessly amputated too shall we? You sir are an idiot.
@winston smith: I see your point but I disagree . It needs to be stopped .. education is the key here . We can’t set up clinics to allow the butchering of children for no reason .
@winston smith:
Education is the cure not clinics to accommodate this sadistic tradition.
@winston smith: Are you this stupid ? What the fuk is the fascination with damaging human genitalia ? This barbaric practice does not have a place in our society so best to fuk off back to darkest Africa asap !
@David Conroy: it doesn’t have a place in any society including Africa ..
@winston smith:
Should we also have drop in ‘Murder clinics’ if we need to murder someone in a safe and painfree environment for the victim?
60…? Shame she had to mutilate so many little girls before she became haunted by their screams and loss of blood. Cutters routinely use blunt/unsterilised blades, dirty scissors, bits of slate, stone – whatever, to cut. Just like the sadistic individuals in abbatoirs hacking at an animal’s throat with a blunt knife. Humanity STILL hasn’t moved in from the cave. When a torturer was interviewed about how he could cut a (conscious) person open from neck to groin he responded with, ” they make a low groaning noise..but after you’ve cut a few open you get used to it. It becomes normal.”
3000 ‘could’ be ‘at risk’ here.
How many are ACTUALLY at risk here?
How many have undergone fgm here?
How did they come up with the figure 3000?
SHE SHOCKING REALITY OF BEING A BLACK GIRL LIVING IN IRELAND :(
@Time to Wake Up: shocking reality of having parents who are OK with this abuse
@billy Dorney: BAN IT NOW
Ah yes….the cutting off of part of a girls vagina or a boys willy for religious reasons. Can’t get into heaven without genital mutilation folks.
What the fudge!! It’s barbaric and primitive!! She was haunted by the blood!!! I’m haunted by thinking about what this ugly evil primitive woman did!! I could scream just thinking about the process of FGM!! Those poor girls and women!! Why is she even allowed to speak about her ghastly actions???!!!!!!! Cork will never be the same for me with women like her living there!!!!
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