TEXTO META
INFORMACIÓN SOBRE LA MUTILACIÓN GENITAL FEMENINA
La mutilación genital femenina (MGF) abarca todos los procesos que implican la extirpación total o parcial de los genitales externos de la mujer u otra clase de daño a sus órganos genitales, ya sea por razones culturales u otros motivos no terapéuticos. La edad a la que las niñas son sometidas a la MGF varía enormemente según el grupo étnico que lo practica. Puede ser llevado a cabo cuando las niñas acaban de nacer, durante la infancia, su adolescencia, su matrimonio o durante su primer trabajo de parto. En algunas de las culturas que practican la MGF, las mujeres son reinfibuladas (vueltas a coser) después del parto como una cuestión de rutina.
La OMS (Organización mundial de la salud) estima que entre 100 y 140 millones de niñas y mujeres fueron sometidas a la MGF y que cada año más de dos millones de niñas están en riesgo. La mayoría de estas mujeres y niñas viven en 28 países africanos, unas pocas en Asia y el Medio Oriente, y entre comunidades inmigrantes en Europa, Australia, Nueva Zelanda, Estados Unidos y Canadá. Debido a la sensibilidad del tema y la no priorización del asunto por la comunidad internacional, no se han llevado a cabo encuestas sistemáticas en todas las comunidades que practican el MGF. Se estima que en Inglaterra sobre 100 mil mujeres fueron sometidas al MGF y que aproximadamente 25 mil niñas están en riesgo. No obstante, es importante reconocer la falta de evidencia en su prevalencia y complicaciones a la salud, y que esta carencia de información oculta la verdadera extensión de la MGF. Se necesita más investigación sustancial para establecer la verdadera extensión de la MGF que prevalece en Inglaterra.
¿Cuáles son los tipos de MGF?
Tipo 1: Implica la extracción del prepucio con o sin cortar todo o parte del clítoris.
Tipo 2: Es el corte del clítoris con una incisión total o parcial del labio menor (los tipos 1 y 2 de la MGF constituye el 80% de la mutilación genital femenina realizada alrededor del mundo).
Tipo 3: Es la incisión total o parcial de los genitales externos (el clítoris, los labios menores y los labios mayores) al coser/cortar la abertura vaginal (infibulación). Esta es la forma más extrema de MGF, que implica la extracción de casi dos tercios de los genitales femeninos. Este tipo constituye el 15% de las mutilaciones realizadas en el mundo.
Tipo 4: Sin clasificación: incluye pinchar, perforar, cortar el clítoris y/o los labios; quemar el clítoris y el tejido circundante para cauterizar; raspando el tejido que rodea el orificio vaginal (corte de angurya) o cortando el interior de la vagina (corte de gishiri), la inserción de sustancias corrosivas o hierbas en la vagina para provocar sangrado o estrecharla, y cualquier otro procedimiento que entre bajo la definición de MGF dada más arriba.
¿Cuáles son las justificaciones y razones de la MGF?
Sus orígenes son complejos y variados. De hecho, no ha sido posible determinar cuándo o dónde se originó esta tradición. Los motivos dados por los practicantes son múltiples y reflejan el contexto ideológico e histórico de las sociedades en las que se desarrolla. Generalmente, las razones citan a la tradición, la desigualdad de poder y a la conformidad producida en la mujer por las normas de su comunidad.
Las razones incluyen:
- Costumbre y tradición
- Religión
- Conservación de la virginidad y castidad
- Aceptación social, especialmente para el matrimonio
- Higiene y limpieza
- Aumentar el placer sexual del hombre
- El honor de la familia
- El sentimiento de pertenecer o de temer la exclusión social
- Aumentar la fertilidad
- Muchas mujeres creen que la MGF es necesaria para asegurar la aceptación de su comunidad
¿Cuáles son las complicaciones de la MGF en la salud?
Tradicionalmente, la MGF es realizada por mujeres mayores «especializadas» en esta tarea, las parteras tradicionales, y muy ocasionalmente por barberos (generalmente sin anestesia y con instrumentos toscos como navajas, cuchillos y trozos de vidrio). En algunas comunidades, las familias acaudaladas llevan a sus hijas al personal médico intentando evitar los daños de una operación no cualificada y realizada en condiciones insalubres.
El rango de las complicaciones asociadas a la MGF es amplio y algunas son estrictamente inválidas. Varían según:
- El tipo de procedimiento realizado
- La extensión del corte
- La habilidad de quién lo ejecuta
- Higiene de las herramientas y el entorno
- Condición física de la niña o mujer sometida
Complicaciones de salud a corto plazo:
- Dolor y conmoción severos
- Sangrado
- Infección
- Retención urinaria
- Lesiones al tejido adyacente
- Hemorragia fatal inmediata
- Muerte
Complicaciones de salud a largo plazo:
- Daño extensivo al sistema reproductor externo
- Quistes y tumores
- Infecciones urinarias, vaginales y pélvicas
- Dificultades al orinar y menstruar
- Aumenta el riesgo de llagas en la vejiga o el recto vaginal
- Complicaciones en el embarazo y el parto
- Disfunción sexual
- Daño psicológico
La MGF como asunto de los derechos humanos:
«El éxito en la abolición de la práctica de la MGF requerirá cambios en las actitudes básicas de la sociedad en la manera en que percibe los derechos humanos de las mujeres». (Efua Dorkenoo OBE, 1994).
Varios gobiernos han aprobado leyes y firmado declaraciones de estado que apoyan los derechos de las mujeres y niñas, aun así, en términos reales, se ha hecho muy poco. Los derechos de las mujeres y niñas son consagrados por varias organizaciones universales y regionales, incluyendo la Declaración universal de los derechos humanos, la Convención sobre la eliminación de todas las formas de discriminación contra la mujer, la Convención sobre los derechos del niño, la Carta africana de derechos humanos y de los pueblos, y el Protocolo a la carta africana de derechos humanos y de los pueblos. Todos estos documentos destacan los derechos de las niñas y las mujeres para vivir libres de la discriminación de género y de tortura, para vivir en dignidad y con integridad física.
La organización FORWARD cree que la mutilación genital femenina es una violación directa a los derechos humanos de las niñas y mujeres, por ello, exige que la comunidad internacional actúe para detener esta práctica ahora.
Cuando usen la información de este documento, por favor agradecer a FORWARD, 2005.
What is Female Genital Mutilation?
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) comprises all procedures which involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs whether for cultural or other non-therapeutic reasons. The age at which girls undergo FGM varies enormously according to the ethnic group practising it. The procedure may be carried out when the girl is newborn, during childhood, adolescence, at marriage or during the first labour. In some FGM practising cultures, women are re-infibulated (re-stitched) following childbirth as a matter of routine.
The WHO estimates that between 100 and 140 million girls and women have been subjected to FGM and that each year a further 2 million girls are at risk. Most of these women and girls live in 28 African countries, a few in the Middle East and Asia, and among immigrant communities in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, the United States of America and Canada. Due to the sensitivity of the subject and the non-prioritisation of the issue by the international community, systematic surveys have not been undertaken in all FGM practising communities. In the UK it is estimated that over one hundred thousand women have undergone FGM and that some twenty-five thousand girls are at risk. However, it is important to acknowledge the dearth of evidence on the prevalence and health complications and that this lack of information conceals the true extent of FGM. More substantial research is needed to establish the real extent of the FGM prevalence in the UK.
What are the types of FGM?
Type I: Involves the removal of the prepuce with or without excision of all or part of the clitoris.
Type II: Excision of the clitoris with partial or total excision of the labia minora (FGM types I and II constitute 80% of female genital mutilation performed world-wide).
Type III: Excision of part or all of the external genitalia (the clitoris, labia minora and labia majora) with stitching/narrowing of the vaginal opening (infibulation). This is the most extreme form of FGM, involving removal of almost two thirds of the female genitalia. Type III constitutes 15% of mutilations performed world-wide.
Type IV: Unclassified: includes pricking, piercing, incising of the clitoris and/or labia; cauterization by burning of clitoris and surrounding tissue; scraping of the tissue surrounding the vaginal orifice (angurya cuts) or cutting into the vagina (gishiri cuts), introduction of corrosive substances or herbs into the vagina to cause bleeding or for the purposes of tightening or narrowing it, and any other procedure which falls under the definition of FGM given above.
What are the justifications and reasons behind FGM?
The origins of FGM are complex and numerous. Indeed, it has not been possible to determine when or where the tradition of FGM originated. The justifications given for the practice are multiple and reflect the ideological and historical context of the societies in which it has developed. Reasons cited generally relate to tradition, power inequalities and the ensuing compliance of women to the dictates of their communities.
Reasons include:
What are the Health Complications of FGM?
FGM is traditionally carried out by elderly women ‘specialised’ in this task, traditional birth attendants (TBA), and very occasionally barbers -usually without anaesthetics and with crude instruments such as razor blades, knives and broken shards of glass. In some communities, affluent families take their girls to medical personnel in an attempt to avoid the dangers of unskilled operations performed in unsanitary conditions.
The range of health complications associated with FGM is wide and some are severely disabling. They vary according to the:
Short-term Health Complications:
Long-term health Complications:
FGM as a Human Rights Issue:
‘To succeed in abolishing the practice of FGM will demand fundamental attitudinal shifts in the way that society perceives the human rights of women’. (Efua Dorkenoo OBE, 1994).
Many governments have passed laws and signed declarations stating that they support women and girls’ human rights, however, in real terms very little has been done. The rights of women and girls are enshrined by various universal and regional instruments including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa. All these documents highlight the right for girls and women to live free from gender discrimination, free from torture, to live in dignity and with bodily integrity.
FORWARD believes Female Genital Mutilation is a direct violation of girls and women human rights and demands that the international community act to stop this practice now.
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TEXTO FUENTE
FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION FACT SHEETWhat is Female Genital Mutilation?
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) comprises all procedures which involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs whether for cultural or other non-therapeutic reasons. The age at which girls undergo FGM varies enormously according to the ethnic group practising it. The procedure may be carried out when the girl is newborn, during childhood, adolescence, at marriage or during the first labour. In some FGM practising cultures, women are re-infibulated (re-stitched) following childbirth as a matter of routine.
The WHO estimates that between 100 and 140 million girls and women have been subjected to FGM and that each year a further 2 million girls are at risk. Most of these women and girls live in 28 African countries, a few in the Middle East and Asia, and among immigrant communities in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, the United States of America and Canada. Due to the sensitivity of the subject and the non-prioritisation of the issue by the international community, systematic surveys have not been undertaken in all FGM practising communities. In the UK it is estimated that over one hundred thousand women have undergone FGM and that some twenty-five thousand girls are at risk. However, it is important to acknowledge the dearth of evidence on the prevalence and health complications and that this lack of information conceals the true extent of FGM. More substantial research is needed to establish the real extent of the FGM prevalence in the UK.
What are the types of FGM?
Type I: Involves the removal of the prepuce with or without excision of all or part of the clitoris.
Type II: Excision of the clitoris with partial or total excision of the labia minora (FGM types I and II constitute 80% of female genital mutilation performed world-wide).
Type III: Excision of part or all of the external genitalia (the clitoris, labia minora and labia majora) with stitching/narrowing of the vaginal opening (infibulation). This is the most extreme form of FGM, involving removal of almost two thirds of the female genitalia. Type III constitutes 15% of mutilations performed world-wide.
Type IV: Unclassified: includes pricking, piercing, incising of the clitoris and/or labia; cauterization by burning of clitoris and surrounding tissue; scraping of the tissue surrounding the vaginal orifice (angurya cuts) or cutting into the vagina (gishiri cuts), introduction of corrosive substances or herbs into the vagina to cause bleeding or for the purposes of tightening or narrowing it, and any other procedure which falls under the definition of FGM given above.
What are the justifications and reasons behind FGM?
The origins of FGM are complex and numerous. Indeed, it has not been possible to determine when or where the tradition of FGM originated. The justifications given for the practice are multiple and reflect the ideological and historical context of the societies in which it has developed. Reasons cited generally relate to tradition, power inequalities and the ensuing compliance of women to the dictates of their communities.
Reasons include:
- Custom and tradition
- Religion
- Preservation of virginity/chastity
- Social acceptance, especially for marriage
- Hygiene and cleanliness
- Increasing sexual pleasure for the male
- Family honour
- A sense of belonging or the fear of social exclusion
- Enhancing fertility
- Many women believe that FGM is necessary to ensure acceptance by their community.
What are the Health Complications of FGM?
FGM is traditionally carried out by elderly women ‘specialised’ in this task, traditional birth attendants (TBA), and very occasionally barbers -usually without anaesthetics and with crude instruments such as razor blades, knives and broken shards of glass. In some communities, affluent families take their girls to medical personnel in an attempt to avoid the dangers of unskilled operations performed in unsanitary conditions.
The range of health complications associated with FGM is wide and some are severely disabling. They vary according to the:
- Type of procedure performed
- Extent of cutting
- Skill of the excisor
- Cleanliness of the tools and the environment
- Physical condition of the girl or woman concerned
Short-term Health Complications:
- Severe pain and shock
- Bleeding
- Infection
- Urine retention
- Injury to adjacent tissue
- Immediate fatal haemorrhaging
- Death
Long-term health Complications:
- Extensive damage of the external reproductive system
- Cysts and neuromas
- Uterine, vaginal and pelvic infections
- Difficulties in micturation and menstruation
- Increased risk of vesico vaginal fistula or recto-vaginal fistula
- Complications in pregnancy and child birth
- Sexual dysfunction
- Psychological damage
FGM as a Human Rights Issue:
‘To succeed in abolishing the practice of FGM will demand fundamental attitudinal shifts in the way that society perceives the human rights of women’. (Efua Dorkenoo OBE, 1994).
Many governments have passed laws and signed declarations stating that they support women and girls’ human rights, however, in real terms very little has been done. The rights of women and girls are enshrined by various universal and regional instruments including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa. All these documents highlight the right for girls and women to live free from gender discrimination, free from torture, to live in dignity and with bodily integrity.
FORWARD believes Female Genital Mutilation is a direct violation of girls and women human rights and demands that the international community act to stop this practice now.
When using the information in this document please acknowledge FORWARD, 2005.
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AGRADECIMIENTOS A FORWARD
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