Female genital circumcision (FGC) Essay
Female genital circumcision (FGC), also called genital mutilation, is a custom widely spread in many African and some Asian and European countries. According to the data, provided by the International Centre for Research on Women (ICRW) and the Centre for Development and Population activities (CEDPA), the amount of woman who experienced FGC is 130 million and 2 million are at risk of incurring this procedure each year (2002). Awareness of this issue among the Westerners is rather poor nowadays. The online FGC Education and Networking Project is designed to provide the information about this practice to the doctors, researchers and attorneys, and to cooperate with the people who take suchlike projects.The maintainer of this website is Marianne Sarkis.
According to the data provided in the FAQ section of the website she’s already got an MA and is currently working a PhD in cultural anthropology. She also was a featured speaker at the Fifth International Symposium on Sexual Mutilations held in 2001 at Oxford University and then held numerous workshops and conferences. Marianne Sarkis organizes trainings for the pre-med students and family physicians concerning the FGC. She cooperates with the researchers and activists who work on this issue throughout the world.The maintainers of the page state that it was created in 1995 as a personal webpage, as the amount of resources on this topic were scarce.
They say that the project is not yet incorporated, but its status is going to be changed within the next few months.This site provides valid information for those interested in the issue. The detailed explanation of what is FGC and its typology can be found there. It also contains the articles briefly researching the main reasons for existence of this custom. The materials hosted at this website also provide the information about the programmes designed to stop FGC. What is also important, they suggest the agenda for performing necessary changes in the communities that practice FGC.There is also the data about the particularities in performing, reasoning and struggling with the FGC practices in different countries where this custom exists.
It gives the data about the spreading of three different types of FGC, which are clitoridectomy, excision and infibulaton, in the different regions and communities. It also shows the bond between the religious practices existing there and the FGC types practiced. The documents provided grant the statistical data about the amount of women who experienced this procedure and about those who are in danger of going through it. They also tell about the history of struggling with this practice in various regions and give its characteristic points. There are also the specific recommendations on organizing committees and bureaus for the eradication of this custom and the tips for empowering the local dwellers. In addition there can be found some info about the facts of practicing FGC in Western European and American countries by the immigrants from the African countries, where it is dictated by the strong social and cultural obligations.The FGC Education and Networking Project website is a valid resource, providing the specialists and those who are interested, with the information on this problem question.
It’s created and maintained by the person who’s the specialist in this field, for uniting the efforts of those who are concerned. It may be useful either for the researchers of this item, health practitioners, attorneys, psychologists etc. In my opinion this organization gives useful and valuable data on the topical item and should be supported either by the government and individuals.
Works citedJulia M. Masterson, Julie Hanson Swanson. Female Genital Cutting: Breaking the Silence, Enabling Change. International Center for Research on Women and the Centre for Development and Population activities, 2002.Marianne Sarkis, The FGC Education and Networking Project, FAQ.
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