SLeone top female circumcisers abandon trade, burn instruments

[keltic 1]

Tue Aug 1, 5:35 PM ET

FREETOWN (AFP) - Fifteen Sierra Leonean women involved in female genital mutilation (FGM) made a collective public declaration at the weekend "completely" to abandon the practice, a local paper said.

The 15, who were not named by the Sierra News, are widely regarded as highly skilled in female circumcision in Lunsar, in Porto Loko district, 145 kilometres (90 miles) north of the capital, where the government estimates they were responsible for up to a third of the operations.

They pledged at a public ceremony to work now towards "safeguarding the health of women and girls," the state-owned newspaper said.

As a symbolic gesture, the women publicly set ablaze their instruments, at a rally organized by a local non-governmental organisation, the Amazonian Initiative Movement (AIM), championing a campaign against FGM in the West African nation.

The Ministry of Welfare estimates that between 35 and 40 percent of women in the country undergo circumcision, traditionally believed to control female sexuality and make girls more "marriageable".

The practice is still carried out in 28 African countries according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) and often causes infection and sometimes death. The WHO estimates that between 100 million and 140 million girls and women have undergone female genital mutilation worldwide and that a further two million girls are at risk.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060801/hl_af...wN5bnN1YmNhdA--

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

Good. They were probably paid to stop.

[samir_shannon 0]

[pedroh 21]

dude, on girls is not called circumcision.. there's nothing that encircles the #######..

[Ban Hammer 13,337]

dude, on girls is not called circumcision.. there's nothing that encircles the #######..

yes, pedroh, that is what it is called. need a link for it?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Female_genita...on#Infibulation

warning: graphic content

Edited August 2, 2006 by charlesandnessa

[incanada1234 0]

Don't they just cut off the #######? I can't look it up, I'm at work.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Question. The article mentions how FGM can cause infection and/or death. Is that because of non-sterilised medical procedures or will FGM result in that regardless of medical conditions?

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

Question. The article mentions how FGM can cause infection and/or death. Is that because of non-sterilised medical procedures or will FGM result in that regardless of medical conditions?

Ironically the instruments will be the cleanest ever when they were being burned.

[Ban Hammer 13,337]

i wonder if anyone in vj has undergone this procedure?

[mrc 0]

i wonder if anyone in vj has undergone this procedure?

It sounds like it would make a wonderful topic. Go for it!

[almaty 19]

Question. The article mentions how FGM can cause infection and/or death. Is that because of non-sterilised medical procedures or will FGM result in that regardless of medical conditions?

Ironically the instruments will be the cleanest ever when they were being burned.

i agree

[RaspberrySwirl 20]

dude, on girls is not called circumcision.. there's nothing that encircles the #######..

yes, pedroh, that is what it is called. need a link for it?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Female_genita...on#Infibulation

warning: graphic content

As far as I'm concerned, it's not circumcision. It's ###### mutilation.

[Ban Hammer 13,337]

dude, on girls is not called circumcision.. there's nothing that encircles the #######..

yes, pedroh, that is what it is called. need a link for it?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Female_genita...on#Infibulation

warning: graphic content

As far as I'm concerned, it's not circumcision. It's ###### mutilation.

replace mutilaton with sick and you have my vote

[Veiled Princess 1]

As far as I'm concerned, it's not circumcision. It's f***ing mutilation.

replace mutilaton with sick and you have my vote

P.S. sorry RS, I edited the bad language in your post

[wherezdabearz 0]

I hope they are not simply replaced by women who are less 'skilled in genital mutilation'...

Edited August 2, 2006 by wherezdabearz