Basic Origins of Female Genital Mutilation

The World Health Organization defines female genital mutilation as "the partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs whether for altered cultural or other non-therapeutic reasons.  The United Nations estimates that an average of about four girls a minute continue to be mutilated.  Hopefully with increased knowledge, the protection of girls, and women will move the number of mutilations to zero as they gain knowledge and organization. By force, Female Genital Mutilation became a custom in Northern Africa over the last 1000 years, and slightly more recently in western and southern Africa.

" The historical origin of this mutilation practice began in the early days of Roman and Islamic expansion. It was agreed upon by the two invading forces to train and force the conquered Africans to mutilate girls and women in order to add to the suppression factors against Africa’s Women, leadership character development, and family building. By nature, women and men are developed normally with all parts that should be there and working right. One of the threats was the death, or forbiddance of marriage of all girls that did not receive the procedure. As many things This practice was for the most part abandoned in Islamic countries in recent centuries, but carried further in practice within European nations as part of male supremacist conceptions that only men should have pleasure from sex, and to prevent any personal pleasure without permission from a man.  

   As with many misinterpretation used by invaders using religion as their power base, the knowledge and practice of the Koran, was used as an aide to justify control over the physical abilities, presence, and personal habits of women. During the expansion of Islam, good Muslims recognized and abandoned this conception, while others continued the negative behaviors and action by integrating female genital mutilation as justifiably healthy for over 1000 years. During the time of this action, several other faiths inter-mixed the suppressive behavior against females into the traditional systems of life. Even though this was though to be a good form of torture by European enslavers later in time, they did not want to damage the women in this way, so this was not forced to continue by enslaved Africans in the America’s or the islands like Jamaica.  Gradually historical truth is spreading, and practice of this is fading out worldwide.

The Almoravids called a jihad ("holy war" in Arabic) on African family structures, targeted women from the early 200’s ad to very recently. European men now come to Africa to secretly rape or spend some money to trick very poor women into sex, then leave while the woman gives birth. This can now be seen all over Africa in many southern African West African and East African nations. African Women are not only victims of torture and mutilation by our own family members, but still victims of rape and humiliation from white and Asian men. 

 
To clear blame against Islam, there are many Muslim countries in which the mutilation is essentially unknown, including Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. In this since, the body of a woman may be better respected.

Present Situation

Over the years, some countries where Female Genital Mutilation have taken place have passed laws forbidding the procedure, especially on children. Some countries with laws banning mutilation include (Senegal, Egypt, Kenya, Djibouti, Togo, Ghana, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Sudan, France, Sweden, Canada, New Zealand, the United States, and England).

   A law can be effective only if there is the belief of a crime being committed, a person or persons operate within the law, or if the victim reports the crime. Unfortunately, these laws are often ignored. We not only need to know our full history, we need to create better principles for living with and for each other.

(1) The Destruction of Black Civilization__ from Dr. Chancellor Williams,

(2) Black Women in Antiquity __from Dr. Ivan Van Sertima, and

(3) Video presentation by Prof. Basil Davidson on “Africa”.