Misogyny and Sexism in the News

[Toughy]

Originally Posted by Truly Scrumptious

While female genital mutilation may be decreasing slightly, it is now increasingly being performed in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, the USA and Canada, due to immigration. FORWARD (The Foundation for Women's Health, Research and Development) estimates that as many as 6,500 girls are at risk of FGM within the UK every year.

From the guardian:

"As many as 100,000 women in Britain have undergone female genital mutilations (FGM) with medics in the UK offering to carry out the illegal procedure on girls as young as 10, it has been reported.

Investigators from the Sunday Times said they had secretly filmed a doctor, dentist and alternative medicine practitioner who were allegedly willing to perform FGM or arrange for the operation to be carried out. The doctor and dentist deny any wrongdoing.

The practice, which involves the surgical removal of external genitalia and in some cases the stitching of the vaginal opening, is illegal in Britain and carries up to a 14-year prison sentence. It is also against the law to arrange FGM.

The procedure is widespread across parts of Africa. Victims are rarely given anaesthetic and frequently suffer long-term damage and pain.

Research suggests that every year more than 22,000 girls in the UK and up to 6,000 in London are at risk of the potentially fatal procedure.

The Metropolitan police said that since 2008 it had received 166 reports of people who feared they were at risk of FGM. Across all 43 forces in England and Wales, no one has ever been convicted of the offence, according to the Sunday Times."

more here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/ap...ics?CMP=twt_gu

and if you can stomach it, here is more from FORWARD:
http://www.forwarduk.org.uk/key-issues/fgm

a link to US laws:

http://reproductiverights.org/sites/...fgmlawsusa.pdf

What is interesting to me is that it is legal (under federal law) for a woman over 18 to have this done. This practice is cultural and not religious.

And then there is the other big can of worms about male genital circumcision/mutilation. This originated as a religious practice and became the norm (a non-religious practice) in the US. It is automatically done to all baby boys before they go home.....parents are not asked unless something has changed in hospitals. It is now being justified as necessary for health reasons.