MP says female circumcisions carried out in NSW

BSNtobe2009 · Nov 6, 2006

I think it is a barbaric practice, but I did see one case where I wasn't sure what I would do if it were my daughters.

The parents were here in the USA only to go to school. They had two daughters in the time they were here. They were going back to Africa where if women were not circumcised, they would not be able to marry, and being married in their village was how a woman could survive (have a place to live, eat, etc).

The parents wanted their daughters circumcised prior to returning so the procedure could take place under anesthesia and under sterile conditions, and have the proper medication and supervision for recovery.

On one hand, it seems like a terrible thing to do to your daughters, but on the other hand, it's a heartwretching decision b/c of your culture, you would not be ensuring your child's future if you didn't.

I can't imagine having to make that decision.

Grace Oz · Nov 6, 2006

What Medical practioner here in Australia would carry out such a barbaric procedure? and, WHERE is the patient advocates?????? Would there be fellow nurses assisting in this mutilation? Just as male circumcision has lost popularity due to enlightened healthcare professionals, the media etc advising parents against such procedure, one can only hope the same will happen for these female mutilation victims.

txspadequeenRN, BSN, RN · Nov 6, 2006

I did a 30 page paper on this very subject and this is a horrific event. I know way to much about this and I wish I had not even touched on the subject. This still happens in the US, there was laws put into place to protect young women/children from this practice . However, it was found that there are cultures that live here in the states that still believe in this and there are back door operations that conduct these practices. It is a very sad thing to have to face..

txspadequeenRN, BSN, RN · Nov 6, 2006

Most likely the medical practioner is a elder female. They rarely have medical training and the assistants are usually friends and family members. This is if it is like it is in African cultures. If your surprised about this then I need to stop because the rest would floor you.

What Medical practioner here in Australia would carry out such a barbaric procedure? and, WHERE is the patient advocates?????? Would there be fellow nurses assisting in this mutilation? Just as male circumcision has lost popularity due to enlightened healthcare professionals, the media etc advising parents against such procedure, one can only hope the same will happen for these female mutilation victims.

txspadequeenRN, BSN, RN · Nov 6, 2006

I studied one woman from Africa, she had fled with her three little girls to the US to protect her children (she did not want them to go through what she had as a child) One Christmas her mother came to visit and the woman left her little girls with the grandmother while she went shopping. When she came back she found her 3 little girls in the floor covered in blood and screaming. She had took the girls to some hidden operation and had the procedure done. The grandmother told her daughter that ..it needed to be done....and this was in the US.....

I think it is a barbaric practice, but I did see one case where I wasn't sure what I would do if it were my daughters.
The parents were here in the USA only to go to school. They had two daughters in the time they were here. They were going back to Africa where if women were not circumcised, they would not be able to marry, and being married in their village was how a woman could survive (have a place to live, eat, etc).
The parents wanted their daughters circumcised prior to returning so the procedure could take place under anesthesia and under sterile conditions, and have the proper medication and supervision for recovery.
On one hand, it seems like a terrible thing to do to your daughters, but on the other hand, it's a heartwretching decision b/c of your culture, you would not be ensuring your child's future if you didn't.
I can't imagine having to make that decision.

gwenith, BSN, RN · Nov 6, 2006

I have read "desert Flower" by Warris Dirrie very eye opening. I do not believe this is being done here by qualified practitioners - we WOULD prosecute - either child abuse or bodily harm. The trouble is that the more you prosecute the more it gets driven underground - but there has to be a way to stamp out this barbarism. Education is one way.

BSNtobe2009 · Nov 6, 2006

I studied one woman from Africa, she had fled with her three little girls to the US to protect her children (she did not want them to go through what she had as a child) One Christmas her mother came to visit and the woman left her little girls with the grandmother while she went shopping. When she came back she found her 3 little girls in the floor covered in blood and screaming. She had took the girls to some hidden operation and had the procedure done. The grandmother told her daughter that ..it needed to be done....and this was in the US.....

That's horrible! The parents that I saw found a doctor from their culture here in the USA and their entire reason for having it done here is because of anesthesia and meds to prevent a scene from happening just as you described.

The parents were asked by the interviewer why didn't they just stay here in the USA and both had extensive families in Africa and wanted to go back.

To circumcise a boy is one thing...it's one quick swipe and it's over, but girls? I am crossing my legs right now thinking of how many MINUTES it would take to complete such a procedure.

czarina · Feb 19, 2007

I've read literature that on other tribes they don't cut anything, they sew it shut, leaving a small hole for urine. :no:

ukstudent · Feb 19, 2007

To circumcise a boy is one thing...it's one quick swipe and it's over, but girls? I am crossing my legs right now thinking of how many MINUTES it would take to complete such a procedure.

How many male circumcisions have you seen? Because most take minutes as well.

GardenDove · Feb 20, 2007

Female circumcision is a whole different animal than that done to males. It's sole underlying purpose is to deny sexual gratification to women by removing their privy parts, to ensure that they will not sexually stray. It is part of a wider plan to utterly subjegate the women in these cultures.

This is an intolerable practise and should be stamped out, it's barbaric.

ukstudent · Feb 20, 2007

Please don't get me wrong. I think it is totally barbaric and should be stopped. I was just trying to point out that because male circ's are culturally good in America then it is looked at differently than female, while most of the world makes the two both barbaric. If you look at history the reason for male circumcision is the same, to decrease sexual desire and to stop men from having affairs (didn't work). And the reason it is still being done is the same as the reasons female circs are still being done in Africa, to get married, to look like everyone else, to look like their parent. Now before people start to flame me female circs are more invasive and normally done in dirty barbaric conditions. Of the two, female circ's should be stopped first if I had to chose.