Have you ever wondered where the myths about FGM came from? They always sound out of this world! My favorite; the clitoris will grow long enough to be like a third leg! Just imagine ha ha ha ha. Well, it’s not a laughing matter many still believe it or at least they believe in it. I have no doubt back in those days the so-called elite whether in witchcraft, spiritual, or medicine men/women were the key proponents of these myths.
Fast forward to the 21st century in a country called Kenya located in East Africa; a public health doctor has not only gone to court seeking to annul the Prohibition of the FGM Act but also alluded that FGM is a minor surgery that can be done without anesthesia. Someone inform me do public health doctors carry out surgery? She further argues the anti-FGM Act is against the Constitution for limiting women’s right to decide what should happen to their bodies. Literally this ‘doctor’ is telling us an adult woman can decide to take poison because she is an adult and should be allowed to make decisions regarding her life. I have gone through this petition more than 5 times all in vain trying to find out medical justifications tabled by our ‘doctor’. Why is she dwelling on cultural and consent arguments? Your guess is as good as mine. Could this be a good example of a 21st-century myth on FGM?
Why are we sugarcoating FGM? The fact is FGM is harmful and it’s a gross violation of human rights whether done by a medical practitioner, traditional cutter, or an angel. The age at which it happens does not even matter and it’s non issue. This is simply an elite trying to blind us as it happened in those olden days. Let’s not become the laughing stock for future generations. We need to be very careful with what we wish for our women and girls. FGM is simply a disaster bestowed upon women by humanity. It has no medical benefits whatsoever and the suffering it comes with is lifelong. The fact is no informed sane woman in her right frame of mind without being coerced would wish to undergo FGM.
(Join the conversation by Commenting with other 21st-century myths on FGM that you have come across)
Have we ascertained is this woman a bona fide medical Doctor? I doubt it bit she seems to get attention nevertheless.
My first reaction (apart from the cruelty and danger of FGM) is how about the Hippocratic Oath that all Doctors take “to do no harm” ?
Are all the UN bodies wrong who declare FGM as Child abuse? I would add one of the most serious forms of child abuse.
How does she explain all the deaths caused by FGM?
There was a major collaborative study by WHO, RCOG amongst others , in other words the most experienced, knowledgeable, medical and scientific minds in the world who found in their study that many more women were seriously affected by FGM during childbirth , increased caesarian births, deaths and increased risk of stillbirths, compared to women who had not undergone. (Will look for reference ).
I hope she has been thrown out of court!!!
Yes she is a public health officer/doctor