Harmful Cultural Practices against Women around the World

[Bess.]

its true there is nothing that we can do about....ppl don't like others to intervene in thier cultural practices.....don't u remember what the reaction was when...there was talk of FGM....somali ppl were furious and embrassed ....and am suprised that nobody mentioned this horrendous practice that happens in our OWN country....opps...Word mentioned it and was ignored...

anyways here is some info about it:....THIS IS NOT TO OFFEND BUT TO INFORM....

Physical effects

The effects of genital mutilation can lead to death. At the time the mutilation is carried out, pain, shock, haemorrhage and damage to the organs surrounding the clitoris and labia can occur. Afterwards urine may be retained and serious infection develop. Use of the same instrument on several girls without sterilization can cause the spread of HIV.

 

More commonly, the chronic infections, intermittent bleeding, abscesses and small benign tumours of the nerve which can result from clitoridectomy and excision cause discomfort and extreme pain.

 

Infibulation can have even more serious long-term effects: chronic urinary tract infections, stones in the bladder and urethra, kidney damage, reproductive tract infections resulting from obstructed menstrual flow, pelvic infections, infertility, excessive scar tissue, keloids (raised, irregularly shaped, progressively enlarging scars) and dermoid cysts.

 

First sexual intercourse can only take place after gradual and painful dilation of the opening left after mutilation. In some cases, cutting is necessary before intercourse can take place. In one study carried out in Sudan, 15% of women interviewed reported that cutting was necessary before penetration could be achieved.1 Some new wives are seriously damaged by unskilful cutting carried out by their husbands. A possible additional problem resulting from all types of female genital mutilation is that lasting damage to the genital area can increase the risk of HIV transmission during intercourse.

 

During childbirth, existing scar tissue on excised women may tear. Infibulated women, whose genitals have been tightly closed, have to be cut to allow the baby to emerge. If no attendant is present to do this, perineal tears or obstructed labour can occur. After giving birth, women are often reinfibulated to make them "tight" for their husbands. The constant cutting and restitching of a women's genitals with each birth can result in tough scar tissue in the genital area.

 

The secrecy surrounding FGM, and the protection of those who carry it out, make collecting data about complications resulting from mutilation difficult. When problems do occur these are rarely attributed to the person who performed the mutilation. They are more likely to be blamed on the girl's alleged "promiscuity" or the fact that sacrifices or rituals were not carried out properly by the parents. Most information is collected retrospectively, often a long time after the event. This means that one has to rely on the accuracy of the woman's memory, her own assessment of the severity of any resulting complications, and her perception of whether any health problems were associated with mutilation.

 

Some data on the short and long-term medical effects of FGM, including those associated with pregnancy, have been collected in hospital or clinic-based studies, and this has been useful in acquiring a knowledge of the range of health problems that can result. However, the incidence of these problems, and of deaths as a result of mutilation, cannot be reliably estimated. Supporters of the practice claim that major complications and problems are rare, while opponents of the practice claim that they are frequent.

Control of women's sexuality and reproductive functions

In many societies, an important reason given for FGM is the belief that it reduces a woman's desire for sex, therefore reducing the chance of sex outside marriage. The ability of unmutilated women to be faithful through their own choice is doubted. In many FGM-practising societies, it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, for a woman to marry if she has not undergone mutilation. In the case of infibulation, a woman is "sewn up" and "opened" only for her husband. Societies that practise infibulation are strongly patriarchal. Preventing women from indulging in "illegitimate" sex, and protecting them from unwilling sexual relations, are vital because the honour of the whole family is seen to be dependent on it. Infibulation does not, however, provide a guarantee against "illegitimate" sex, as a woman can be "opened" and "closed" again.

[- Femme -]

....and am suprised that nobody mentioned this horrendous practice that happens in our OWN country....opps...Word mentioned it and was ignored...

I didn't ignore it. I was gonna originally write something abut FGM---but when I looked through the earlier threads---there were countless articles on it. I thought it would be better if there was a universal twist to it---all the ****** traditions that exist to harm women and endanger their mental and physical well-being.

 

Stoic + Besbaaso: Thnx for the contribution guys.

[Wiilo]

FF girl dont get me wrong I know foot binding is a torture and I thank you so much for starting this thread but seriously those who do the foot binding do it for cultural purposes, basically its thier culture to do such ( horrific act ) thing.

 

 

Go figure:..................

[Som@li]

i heard abt Sati,but not foot binding,subxanaalah,aduunyadan wax walba waa ka dhacaan,

 

a woman can be "opened" and "closed" again.

acuudu bilaah,ma ilbaabbaa ? :eek:

[Bess.]

i heard that is what they do in the sudan....a woman is closed everytime her husband goes away on a trip and opened again after he comes back all without the good help of our good friend anesthesia.....imagine the horror.......acuudu bilaah...

[J.Lee]

Besbaaso Word! You make me want to post my Senior project paper on here and school some people how primative our culture (along with many other cultures) really was before the practice of FGM was stopped by series of Protest and ralies especially in Hergeisa where an Imam stood up and condenmed the practice with the help of, I believe, Amnesty International. Mansha'allah.

 

Furthermore, Do you know that a Sudanese man failed to penetrate his wife, who was circumcised, correctly and after continued frantic efforts caused much injury around his wife's sexual organ,eventually creating an open wound. The women expreinced tremendous pain each time they had intercourse and after some time [the women] developed suicidal depression.

 

Also, woman who has being genitally mutilated has a higher chance of being infertile. I find it quite ironic that the practice that is supposed to stop one from having pre-marital sex renders one infertile when they are allowed to engage in sexual acts.

 

Furthermore, way back in Somalia, as told to me by my Ayeeyo, some times Husbands who felt their wife's sexual organs weren't "tigth" or "closed" enough, would often dig a hole outside of their hut to signify how big it was thus shaming their wife in the process and branding her a loose woman which earns her the scorn of her neighbors and making her an outcast despite the tremendous pain she went through in the first place just to snare, er excuse me to have a husband.

[shyhem]

wiilo

 

U hit the nail on the head.I tell u, one has to be frank with this folks.U see i wasn't joking when i called u a somali queen back then and ofcourse i still consider a queen.

 

Fiance

Unfortunately, attitudes like this only perpetuate the ineffectiveness in applying justice for these women.

Thats a lame excuse.If u want to bring social justice to women in this world fine.But don't use me as an scapegoat.I have a suggestation for you.How about u bake some cookies,sell 'em and finally use the money to go to some third world country and start preaching 'em about how primitive their culture is.

 

Accountability kulaaha,What accountability are you talking about and what are we counting here.

 

Guardian n' Protector

but we are not all like that.

I got u'r point.However i never said we are all the same.Nevertheless,i don't see anything wrong with what this pple are doing.Furthermore what is the point of talking about something if the owners are not complaining.I don't think my mission in this world is to change the world,i only wish i could change myself to be a better me.

 

Femme Fatalie

You make it sound as if it was a choice. I wonder if you would be feeling the same if it was YOU it was happening to.

If it was me i will take it like a man,afterall we are talking about my culture right.And definately i wouldn't have allowed foreigners like u to come and preach me about my skills of footbinding.

 

It sounds archaic to you, but if footbinding is my destiny so be it.

 

female genital mutilation is that lasting damage to the genital area can increase the risk of HIV transmission during intercourse.

That must be the most overated assumption i have ever heard!

 

Farxan

a woman can be "opened" and "closed" again.

acuudu bilaah,ma ilbaabbaa ?

U seem suprised here.I hope u are not that naive or uninformed about u'r culture.

[Xoogsade]

For cultural reasons, Some people eat their dead and go naked(in the amazon), drink blood(in a lot of places), swap wives(somewhere in africa) or just show up at someone else's door-step putting up a sign and enter the wife while the husband does nothing if he comes home, some leave their dead up on a tree, others burn them to ashes, you know the ones who worship the live-cow and revere it and so on. To not prolong a comment unnecessarily, I suffice it to say that sometimes people are blind to see the inhumanity, the foolishness, or the sheer folly of what they are practicing as a culture. I watched a whole program about feet-binding a year ago. Women wouldn't be married if they had the natural feet, the smaller the feet, the more chances of finding a rich or well-to-do-man. Kings perpetuated it, social leaders and common folks all enforced it. They all participated in making the practice indespensibly cultural. One of the husbands who was being interviewed actually said he found the unnaturally small feet sexy and that is why he married his wife eighty some years ago. She was glowing happy sitting next to him. People are conditioned by time and accept what would be upnormal as Normal. Because human beings were created with conscience and discernment, when every bad practice starts to show up in their norms, it initially seems bad to many among them and they dither, but with persistence by the advocates of the new wrong acts, and negligence on the part of good people among these societies, the new-bad habits become the norm and the conscience goes to sleep untill it is re-awakened by the message of humanity and clear thinking(religion) again. The prophet was sent to complete the best norms, so in every culture, what is good is left, and what is bad is condemned and taken away If these people elongating women's neck accepted islam and practiced it, they would have understood that beauty is as God gave it to mankind and it should be sufficient for one to have a healthy physique. Anyway, you get the idea here, a cultural practice doesn't mean it is useful to its adherents always or it is something based on solid reasoning. Some of them are obviously wrong.

[- Femme -]

^^^Agree.

 

basically its thier culture to do such ( horrific act ) thing.

And how would this arguement supposed to work? To justify these horrendous acts? Yes its culture...I know that...thats what I headed the thread...whats your point? Your not adding anything that I don't know. What I am asking is....so what if its culture?

 

Shyham + Wiilo: I really don't know what this crap about culture is coming from. When an act is set out to hurt/damage a person for unnecessary reasons, physically and/or mentally---it is wrong! Damn culture to hell.

 

Just because it is a cultural act--it should be tolerated? And I guess you guys would agree to female infanticide and the western culture of abortion? :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

 

Shyham: What are you trying to prove? That you have no heart? No thought of anyone but yourself? Do you want a medal now? Bro...stop sweating..no one asked you to open your wallet and help these women. The thread was to open people's eyes to the reality of the horrors that culture could bring.

 

P.S. Maybe you don't really care because these acts I have presented are against women. If that's the case---then I would understand.

[Xoogsade]

Hi Femme, Our-in-house feminist albeit good one lol.

[Bess.]

sheyhem....if u only care about ur culture what do have to say...about the babarous act of FGM...u seem to focus on only one fact....

female genital mutilation is that lasting damage to the genital area can increase the risk of HIV transmission during intercourse.

...maybe it does or maybe it doesn't.....why single out one statement out of the whole article and say nothing about the practice and its harmful and lasting damage on these women..... or maybe ur

excuse is u r a man and it doesn't affect u.......

If it was me i will take it like a man

....maybe they should take it as men 2 and stop complaining.... :rolleyes:

[Pacifist]

The thread was to open people's eyes to the reality of the horrors that culture could bring.

 

Again this is the reason the thread was Opened. So we can be aware of other cultures!!!!!!

 

Awareness Awareness Awareness Awareness of different cultures.

 

I hope u got it!!!

[Som@li]

it is sad to hear most of these stories, most of those practises like Sati,"widow burning" and foot binding are now banned,and abolished , but the FGM is very common in our country.

 

The only thing we can do now is make sure this does not happen to our kids,and insha alllah one day it will be something in the past.

 

So please STOP whinnig ,and get over it,we too are victims, since we end up a sexless marriage.

[Xoogsade]

LOL@Farxan. Yaab waaye.

[- Femme -]

At least 130 million women have been forced to undergo

female genital cutting

. Another2 million are at risk each year from this degrading and dangerous practice.

 

 

So-called

"honour" killings

take the lives of thousands of young women every year, mainly in Western Asia, North Africa, the Middle East and parts of South Asia.

 

 

At least 60 million girls who would otherwise be expected to be alive are "missing" from various populations as a result of

sex- selective abortions or neglect

.

BRIDE-BURNING---DOWRY DEATHS:

 

bride burning in which a bride's in-laws and/or husband set the bride, usually a young bride from the lower class, on fire. The young bride is burned because her family was unable to provide an adequate dowry i.e. the bride's family wasn't able to give enough money and/or consumer goods such as appliances (toasters, microwave).

 

This act of bride burning stems from the Hindu customs of Kanyadan and Varadaicshina. The custom of Kanyadan is where the father presents his daughter with gifts, most often jewelry and clothes, at the time of her marriage. The custom Varadaicshinais is where the father of the bride presents the groom with gifts and/or cash. These offerings of Varadaicshinais and Kanyadan are often called dowry.

 

Daughters in families on these countries are seen as second class to the sons and are to be given away into an arranged marriage at first chance. After the marriage the daughters are now the property of their in-laws.

 

Besides the cultural beliefs, there are also the economic and governmental reasons contributing to the escalating number of bride burnings occurring. The new economic gains in India are bringing about the increased need for more money and modern conveniences and who is being caught in the middle of this need for modern consumerism? The women are. Greed has fastly become the main culprit in bride burnings. The more propersity experienced the more the husbands want in a dowry. If what they want isn't received a case of bride burning is likely to occur.

Source