The The film is about female genital mutilation in Sierra Leone. A UNICEF report in 2012 indicated that 88% of girls in Sierra Leon go through the cut. Through interviews with girls who have gone through the cut, the women who administer the procedure, women supporting it women working with intergovernmental organizations; the film provides us with different points of views on the subject of FGM. The supporters of FGM include mothers, girls who have gone through the process and the women who administer it, also called the scopia. According to the interviewees, even educated women support the procedure despite the knowledge of its consequences.
While everyone agrees that the practice had cultural significance in their tradition, the parties differ sharply on its relevance today, its effects and whether or not the practice should continue. The supporters of the practice believe that it still plays a significant role in the process of preparing girls to be women while those opposed to it argue that its time has passed. Those opposed to FGM cite various medical effects such as infections, tetanus, fistula, birth complications and pain during sex as a reason to stop the practice. Some who have gone through the process also note that they are going through some of those problems. The proponents of FGM, however, deny these effects. They argue that the practice reduces sexual desires in women allowing them to tame their sexual passions. Those opposed to it reject the argument citing studies that found that 80% sexual workers had gone through the procedure.
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Through the film also reveals that some mothers take their children through FGM at birth or during infancy. According to advocacy groups, this makes FGM a human rights and child abuse issue. For this reason, the local authorities and the practitioners have reached an agreement that bars the scopia from administering the cut on children below the age of 18.
Seeing the film, I was appalled by the description of the process, “the cutting of the clitoris” and the stitching of the birth canal. I felt sympathetic to women describing the effects the process had had on them including difficulties while delivering and pain during sex. It was also shocking to learn that some mothers administer the cut to children at birth and infancy. I was however surprised to find young girls who had been through the cut supporting it and citing the various benefits of the process.
The two significant problems that result from female genital mutilation are female sexual dysfunction and problems in delivery. Female sexual disorders arising from FGM are classified either as hyposexuality or disorders involving sexual disorders, arousal, orgasm and sexual pain (Elneil, 2016). These may result from infibulation psychological trauma or both. The primary cause of birth complications for women who have gone through female genital mutilation is de-infibulation. De-infibulation is the tearing of the virginal tissue when an infibulated woman has an expansion of the vagina. This may occur mildly during intercourse, during childbirth this becomes a significant issue and results in severe bleeding. Moreover, it results in difficulties in performing pregnancy examinations which could lead to incorrect monitoring of the stage of labor (Evans et al., 2017).
The best intervention to deal with female sexual dysfunction is physiotherapy. Pelvic floor physiotherapy can be applied to deal with sexual dysfunction resulting from FGM. Since sexual dysfunction has a skeletal component related to the pelvic floor, the process is performed using core muscles. This particularly effective when pain is a contributor to the problem and is the case in FGM. Physical therapy provides treatment that addresses physical activities in daily life including sexual intercourse. Physiotherapy may also offer modifications to improve the experience such as by varying sexual positions (Elneil, 2016).
For women who have birth difficulties due to infibulation, the best intervention is de-infibulation. De-infibulation is a surgical procedure that opens the vaginal introitus of women who underwent infibulation. This procedure should be performed by a qualified health professional. An incision is performed on the midline scar tissue covering the vaginal introitus. The incision is done until the clitoris and external urethral meatus are visible. The cut edges are sutured to allow the introitus to remain open (World Health Organization, 2016). This procedure not only reliefs women from birth complications but also improve the health, well being and allow for intercourse.
In conclusion, FGM is a dangerous practice that is still done to may girls today. Its effects include the risk of infection, depression, sexual disorders and difficulty in delivery. Despite this widely acknowledged effects, there are those who still support the practice. The main problems that victims suffer are female sexual dysfunction and birth complications. These can be alleviated through physiotherapy and de-infibulation.
- Elneil, S. (2016). Female sexual dysfunction in female genital mutilation. Tropical doctor, 46(1), 2-11.
- World Health Organization. (2016). WHO guidelines on the management of health complications from female genital mutilation (No. 9789241549646). World Health Organization.
- Evans, C., Tweheyo, R., McGarry, J., Eldridge, J., McCormick, C., Nkoyo, V., & Higginbottom, G. M. A. (2017). What are the experiences of seeking, receiving and providing FGM-related healthcare? Perspectives of health professionals and women/girls who have undergone FGM: protocol for a systematic review of qualitative evidence. BMJ open, 7(12), e018170.
