Female Genital Mutilation; a Cultural Right or a Human Right? (Other (Not Listed) Sample)

Female Genital Mutilation
Student Name
University
Course
Professor Name
Date
Female Genital Mutilation; a Cultural Right or a Human Right?
The practice of female circumcision entails a procedural removal of external female genitals (Oba, 2008). According to (Unicef.org, 2017) over 4 million girls and women have gone through female genital mutilation while it is also put into consideration that 200 million girls are subjected to FGM annually. As much as it is a cultural rite, the procedure is an oppression of women's rights and a form of discrimination among women.
This cultural right is a violation of girls and women’s human rights. Cases of oppressions violated include right to freedom as of torture, the right to live, and inhumane treatment. Social pressure inflated by the community with disregard to individual rights is in subjection to women. Victims are deprived of making their own decisions since most girls and women are forced to undergo the process as a pre-requisite for marriage or inheritance. The physical and psychological effects exhibit female genital mutilation as discrimination based on sex due to the power imbalances and gender inequalities (W.H.O. 2008) Therefore, victims are always denied their right to make independent decisions without external influence.
The process of female genital mutilation also subjects the victims to extreme risky diseases such as HIV&AIDS. This process is because most of these operations are conducted in hideouts far from hospitals by quirk doctors. Lack of proper tools used in the procedure may result in the use of one common blade to service a group of young girls. This makes the victims vulnerable to HIV&AIDS and other diseases transmitted through blood interfuse (Ibid). There are other health complications associated with the procedure, which the victims do not understand before being subjected to the procedure. Health complications include difficulty in passing urine and menstruation and are caused by infections that occur on the wound after the cut is getting a dressing. ("Female genital mutilation" 2017). When they undergo the cut, women often lose a lot of blood; this lengthens the process of healing and may result in anemia, a deficiency of red blood cells in the body. Anemia causes dizziness and extreme fatigue which leads to poor immunity and severe weakness.
In some nations performing female genital mutilation, the procedure is executed by a healthcare provider. Generally, one in four victims may be subjected to the cut by health personnel (Ibid). However, medicalization is not a secure practice because it lacks medical rationale. Even though the procedure is executed by a health care practitioner, health dangers still pose a great challenge to humanity. Under these circumstances, the right to health and physical integrity is violated.
Multiple researchers have proof that thousands of years back FGM was a routine practice. During the 19th century Muslims, Jews, Catholics, and non-religious individuals believed that FGM was a religious requirement (Ali, 2012). Various societies consider FGM a channel of passage filled with robust social as well as ancestral roots. FGM’s major objective in the society includes ethnic and gender identity and the assurance of a married spouse. The rite is mostly executed by older women or traditional midwives to preserve culture. Immediate and long-term effects may arise due to a lack of analgesics, antibiotics, and aesthetics to treat the wound. In Mali and Burkina Faso, historical and non-cultural reasons have fuelled the existence of FGM. The West Africans believe that the clitoris is a dangerous organ and is supposed to be detached. They argued that the clitoris makes a man sick when it is in contact with the penis. As a result, FGM is regarded to minimize libido and help a woman to act promiscuously (Williams, 2018).
To eliminate the activity in society to secure a better future, all human rights agencies need to come together and put in ideas to help combat the practice in our modern society. Cultural practices adhere to such inhumane activities as norms while protecting diversity. On the other hand, human rights safeguard individuals from any form of harm. Therefore, scaling global efforts by implementing a procedure that protects women's rights is compulsory in FGM elimination (Ibid).
Education campaigns should get an endorsement to share knowledge on the dangers posed by FGM. Women need to be empowered and given equal opportunities as men in society. Since educated women are less likely to undergo the cut, it is appropriate that they should play a significant role in raising awareness against the activity.
The adoption of clear policies on human rights in the community might help raise awareness of the impacts of female genital mutilation. These policies consist of legal modes and public declarations. For instance, in 1997, Senegal had to adopt a public declaration approach which made communities discard the practice of FGM. As a result, communities in Gambia, Somalia, and Guinea followed suit by engaging in public de