Female circumcision (also referred to as female genital mutilation) Essay

Female circumcision (also referred to as female genital mutilation) - Essay Example In fact, many men in Sudan will refuse to marry a woman who has not undergone the mutilation procedures (Hosken, 2005). This practice is done, also, as a means of exerting male dominance over the female, which is often common in the Muslim communities of Africa and the Middle East. Outside of the physical effects of female genital mutilation, there are significant psychological outcomes of the practice, including diminished self-concept (self-esteem) and unhealthy submissive behaviors leading to poor notions of self-identity and equal rights. In cultures where men or governments actively inflict this harm on women, those who refuse the procedures are either killed or left without a husband who will refuse to marry her. In nations where male financial support is required due to lack of legislation allowing women to work independently, the psychological impact of refusing mutilation is one of abandonment. Some argue that such genital mutilation is done to satisfy strict religious doctrine, however there are other complaints that governments use this to avoid genocide, or the destruction of a countrys citizens in favor of using government food and money to support them. If governments use these mutilation procedures to stop women from having one child after another, it keeps populations under control. This is very much a human rights issue, as it seems that the United Nations, The World Health Organization, and Amnesty International are working very hard at raising awareness of the plight of women across the globe. Progressive and Westernized nations prohibit any form of violence against women, thus they are reinforcing these values to other nations. Kenya recently experienced a significant drop in female genital mutilation activities due to the overwhelming, positive response of these organizations to identify the long-term psychological and physical impact of the procedure to