Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Female Circumcision

I was under this delusion that at the onset of 21st Century the condition of women are quite progressive and that we have left behind the barbaric past which subdued women forcing them to follow rituals without any logical explanation, but to my horror I recently discovered the existence of female circumcision widely practised in some parts of the world even today and as per the report of 'WHO', "an estimated 100 to 140 million girls and women worldwide are currently living with the consequences of FGM" (Female Genital Mutilation) carried out on cultural and religious reasons.



I knew about circumcision performed on men where through surgical help the foreskin of a man's sexual organ is removed to stimulate the pleasure of copulation, but that something like 'female circumcision' exists was rankly unknown to me until I read through some books by Jean Sasson based on the lives of Arab women. In few sections of the world, still this barbarization is inflicted on young girls,who have just reached puberty, in the name of religion and tradition. God knows when these people will be enlightened enough to stop exercising such inhuman act on their women. This torturous act entails no medical benefits except an excruciating pain experienced by the victims of this rite. While surfing through the WHO website I came across an information, which also has been reiterated in the book "Daughters of Arabia" by Jean Sasson, regarding FGM.


The procedures to execute circumcision are extremely painful and they are done by mainly non-medical staff, quacks or even barbars with the help of equipments like scissors, needles, knife etc. A special ceremony is organized to celebrate the occasion when varieties of delicacies are prepared to feast upon and then the girl to be circumcised is taken into a room where other women hold her down while the person appointed to carry out the task sets into work  The procedures involved with FGM are of four types:

"1.Clitoridectomy: partial or total removal of the clitoris (a small, sensitive and erectile part of the female genitals) and, in very rare cases, only the prepuce (the fold of skin surrounding the clitoris).


2.Excision: partial or total removal of the clitoris and the labia minora, with or without excision of the labia majora (the labia are "the lips" that surround the vagina).


3.Infibulation: narrowing of the vaginal opening through the creation of a covering seal. The seal is formed by cutting and repositioning the inner, or outer, labia, with or without removal of the clitoris.


4.Other: all other harmful procedures to the female genitalia for non-medical purposes, e.g. pricking, piercing, incising, scraping and cauterizing the genital area. " (credited to http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs241/en/)


The immediate hazard of Female Circumcision involves "severe pain, shock, haemorrhage (bleeding), tetanus or sepsis (bacterial infection), urine retention, open sores in the genital region and injury to nearby genital tissue." as reported by WHO.


Permanent or long-term effect incurred by FGM includes:


  • "recurrent bladder and urinary tract infections;
  • cysts;
  • infertility;
  • an increased risk of childbirth complications and newborn deaths;
  • the need for later surgeries. For example, the FGM procedure that seals or narrows a vaginal opening (type 3 above) needs to be cut open later to allow for sexual intercourse and childbirth. Sometimes it is stitched again several times, including after childbirth, hence the woman goes through repeated opening and closing procedures, further increasing and repeated both immediate and long-term risks." (credited by http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs241/en/)
This beastly rite is quite rampant in some parts of Africa, Middle East, Asia and among some immigrant communities of Europe and North America. Though people are at odds with the necessity of the performance of this act, some fanatical and lunatically obsessed people find it righteous to carry on this tradition. Preventive steps to eradicate such an evil practice infringing on the human rights are underway. For more details, go through the following websites:

















Friday, August 05, 2011

Why women are forbidden to testify in Saudi Court?

While reading Princess by Jean Sasson, I came across an interesting piece of information much to my amusement. So I thought to share it with you. The extract below is copied verbatim from the book itself.



WHY WOMEN ARE FORBIDDEN TO TESTIFY IN CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS IN SAUDI COURT


"There are four reasons given why women's testimony is not valid in Saudi court:

  1. Women are much more emotional than men and will, as a result of their emotions, distort their testimony.
  2. Women do not participate in public life, so they will not be capable of understanding what they observe.
  3. Women are dominated completely by men, who by the grace of God are deemed superior; therefore, women will give testimony according to what the last man told them.
  4. Women are forgetful, and their testimony cannot be considered reliable."
I found the fourth reason the most amusing and the most obnoxious. "Women are forgetful" ???? I have seen women having sharp memories than most of the men. I have seen my father forgetting to lock the door before stepping out of home but my mother? She will NEVER miss that. As for me, I never even forget the things said to me. I can clearly recollect each and every happy and sad moments of my life with a photographic memory. So strange that on such baseless and unjustified ground, a country's law deprives women of their right to testimony !!

Tuesday, August 02, 2011

Debu's B'day 2011

Yesterday was Debu's B'day. Usually every year on his b'day I wish him as soon as the the sound of clock ticking twelve rings in my ear but this year I was so immersed in a novel I am going through currently that I forgot all about his b'day until the next morning when upon opening the facebook page I saw Debsankar's updates on my wall page with wishes of b'day swarming his wall. He was about to leave for office when this happened. Immediately I gave him all my wishes that he must have been waiting to hear since the night before. Last year we celebrated his b'day at a friend's place who invited us for their wedding anniversary. So, alongside their cutting the cake for anniversary, Debu also blew candles and cut cake for his b'day at the same ceremony. But, this year I didnt want him to celebrate this occasion somewhere else other than with me at our home. So I prepared cake, chicken curry, chana masala, vermicelli payesh and luchi for the celebration. Nonetheless, Debu with his busy schedule could make time for home only after 8.30p.m and so we celebrated the last three hours of his b'day together with each other in merriment.