Hello, Family! I have been watching documentaries, listening to podcasts, audios, studying for my health coaching classes, and hanging out with family! I have been having a blast! and I am honored to share with you a documentary I recently watched Called Eve's Apple. I made a post on my instagram giving a short brief description of FGM. If you do not already follow me on instagram, go do so!
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Alright, guys lets get into this now. So like I said before I watch a lot of documentaries and in the last week I came across one called Eve's Apple. Eve's Apple is about FGM. FGM stands for Female Genital Mutilation! It sounds horrible!! Watch this quick video about what is FGM and the many consequences that come with it! 3 minute video:
FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION
WHERE IS FGM PRACTICED?
This practice is happening in many regions of Africa and vary why it is practiced with a mix of sociocultural factors within families and communities. FGM is a social "norm" for majority of these communities, the strong motivation for these practices to become a social norm are because of the social pressures to conform to what others have been doing and the fear of being rejected within the community and one's family. It is considered necessary way for a girl to be prepared for her adulthood and marriage. Some call it "purifying the soul" because with some cultural ideals of femininity and modesty, a girl is clean and beautiful after removal of body part that are considered unclean, unfeminine, and discourages extramarital sexual intercourse. These practices are believed to benefit the male husband knowing the woman will be faithful to him because it causes the women's libido to be reduced so their is marital fidelity. Community leaders, authority leaders, circumcisers, and some medical personnel contribute to to upholding the practice. It is considered a cultural tradition which is often used as an argument for its continuation.
MAP OF FGM PRACTICES
FGM is recognized internationally as a violation of human rights of girls and women! It is extreme inequality between the genders and constitutes as a form of discrimination against women. It is practiced on nearly only young female making it a violation of the rights of children. It even violates a person's rights of security, health, and physical integrity! A woman and male should both have the right to be free from torture and inhuman, degrading treatment with the right to live when the FGM practice is a result for many deaths.
There are many health concerns and consequences after the procedures of FGM. It harms girls and women in many ways involving the removal and damage of health and normal female genital tissue. It interferes with the natural function of women's bodies. It even creates challenging, negative, and depressive factors for a woman's lifestyle. Relationships are difficult when the consequences lead to infertility, insecurities, lack of normal reproductive body functions, Painful symptoms, fear of never having a "normal" life and some immediate health complications include:
- Excessive bleeding
- Genital tissue swelling
- Fevers
- Infections (tetanus or HIV) because the same blade to cut with is not cleaned nor sanitized and is used on other women
- Urinary problems
- Wound healing problems
- Shock
- DEATH
WHAT IS BEING DONE ABOUT THIS?
A global strategy against female genital mutilation (FGM) has been developed. The UN organizations and health-care professional bodies, national governments and NGOs are apart of this global strategy to end this painful, crazy, inhuman tradition. The strategy is intended for a broad audience of policy-makers in governments, parliamentarians, international agencies, professional associations, community leaders, religious leaders, NGOs and other institutions to go on the scene and behind the scene to give light to this tragedy with educating people and kids the importance of their rights, bodily functioning, and the choice that they have to say no and put an end to FGM.
We all need to share this information and pass it on so that the world can be informed about this. We are all connected and in this together, without my sharing of this problem most of you would not have known this. Let's continue to be informed, stand up, and give these women the rights they deserve just like we all deserve to have. There is even an international day of zero tolerance of FGM that recently happened this month on February 6,
Which I wish I would have posted this blog that day but I had not known about it until I was lead to watch the documentary last week. I am glad to have done my research still and am happy to know about it now, It is better to know now than to have never known. I am proud to bring light to this for the benefit of those women who have suffered and others who have died because of this mutilation. May they rest in peace.
If you would like to read more information about this then click the link here: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs241/en/
or go on Netflix and watch the documentary I saw, it is called, Eve's Apple!
https://www.netflix.com/title/80202713
please continue to be aware of other worldly matters and as it may seem that you cannot not do anything about it, that is a lie. the truth is that by you watching and researching and informing yourself about this matter and other global matters actually spreads awareness and as a collective consciousness we can help bring this disaster to an end. Share, upvote, and follow me if you got something out of this! Read my other posts to learn about something, and follow me on my other social media platforms! Thanks again!
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