Female circumcision continues in rural Iraq
During a recent fact-finding mission to northern
The practice can be dangerous and can result in serious physical injury, psychological damage or even death. Despite sometimes dire consequences, women interviewed said that they continue the practice in order to preserve tradition, and because of the negative associations that accompany being uncircumcised. “An uncircumcised woman cannot even accept a glass of water,” one woman reported, noting the crippling stigma associated with not undergoing FGM. Even young girls interviewed said that those who remained uncircumcised would be considered dirty.
In spite of its widespread practice, local women’s advocacy groups have questioned the tradition and pointed out the severe effects this custom has on women. A June article in the Kurdish English language newspaper Zhyanawa focused on one FGM related health problem. The article reported that a 5-year-old girl, Choman Azad Mohammed, was taken to the hospital from Takiya sub-district after heavy bleeding from circumcision persisted to the point of endangering her life. Mimka Marjan, the 81-year-old woman that preformed the circumcision, is said to have done the procedure on more than 10,000 girls for a fee of about 75 cents.
Dr. Shama Saed Maroof, the
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