Female genital mutilation (FGM) is the ritual cutting or removal of some or all of the vulva. The practice is found in some countries of Africa, Asia and the Middle East, and within their respective diasporas. As of 2023, UNICEF estimates that "at least 200 million girls... in 31 countries"—including Indonesia, Iraq, Yemen, and 27 African countries including Egypt—had been subjected to one or more types of FGM.
Foreskin restoration is the process of expanding the skin on the penis to reconstruct an organ similar to the foreskin, which has been removed by circumcision or injury. Foreskin restoration is primarily accomplished by stretching the residual skin of the penis, but surgical methods also exist. Restoration creates a facsimile of the foreskin, but specialized tissues removed during circumcision cannot be reclaimed. Actual regeneration of the foreskin is experimental at this time. Some forms of restoration involve only partial regeneration in instances of a high-cut wherein the circumcisee feels that the circumciser removed too much skin and that there is not enough skin for erections to be comfortable.
Genital modifications are forms of body modifications applied to the human sexual organs, such as piercings, circumcision, or labiaplasty.
In female humans and primates in general, the clitoral hood is a fold of skin that surrounds and protects the glans of the clitoris; it also covers the external clitoral shaft, develops as part of the labia minora and is homologous with the foreskin in the male reproductive system. The clitoral hood is composed of mucocutaneous tissues; these tissues are between the mucous membrane and the skin, and they may have immunological importance because they may be a point of entry of mucosal vaccines.
Genital mutilation can refer to:
Genital reconstructive surgery may refer to:
The labia are the major externally visible portions of the vulva. In humans and other primates, there are two pairs of labia: the labia majora are large and thick folds of skin that cover the vulva's other parts while the labia minora are the inner folds of skin between the outer labia that surround and protect the urethral and vaginal openings.
Foreskin piercing is a piercing that passes through the foreskin of the penis. It is the male equivalent of a clitoral hood piercing in females.
A kynodesmē was a cord or string or sometimes a leather strip that was worn primarily by athletes in Ancient Greece and Etruria to prevent the exposure of the glans penis in public and to restrict untethered movement of the penis during sporting competition. It was tied tightly around the akroposthion, the most distal, tubular portion of the foreskin that extends beyond the glans. As depicted in Ancient Greek art the kynodesme was worn by some athletes, actors, poets, symposiasts and komasts. It was worn temporarily while in public and could be taken off and put back on at will. The remaining length of cord could either be attached to a waist band to pull the penis upward and expose the scrotum, or tied around the base of the penis and scrotum so that the penis appeared to curl upwards.
Clitoral hood reduction, also termed clitoral hoodectomy, clitoral unhooding, clitoridotomy, or (partial) hoodectomy, is a plastic surgery procedure for reducing the size and the area of the clitoral hood in order to further expose the glans of the clitoris.
There is a widespread view among practitioners of female genital mutilation (FGM) that it is a religious requirement, although prevalence rates often vary according to geography and ethnic group. There is an ongoing debate about the extent to which the practice's continuation is influenced by custom, social pressure, lack of health-care information, and the position of women in society. The procedures confer no health benefits and can lead to serious health problems.
In mammals, the vulva consists of the external female genitalia. The human vulva includes the mons pubis, labia majora, labia minora, clitoris, vestibular bulbs, vulval vestibule, urinary meatus, the vaginal opening, hymen, and Bartholin's and Skene's vestibular glands. The urinary meatus is also included as it opens into the vulval vestibule. The vulva includes the entrance to the vagina, which leads to the uterus, and provides a double layer of protection for this by the folds of the outer and inner labia. Pelvic floor muscles support the structures of the vulva. Other muscles of the urogenital triangle also give support.
Female genital mutilation (FGM), also known as female genital cutting (FGC), female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and female circumcision, is practiced in 30 countries in western, eastern, and north-eastern Africa, in parts of the Middle East and Asia, and within some immigrant communities in Europe, North America and Australia. The WHO defines the practice as "all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons."
The campaign against female genital mutilation in colonial Kenya (1929–1932), also known as the female circumcision controversy, was a period within Kenyan historiography known for efforts by British missionaries, particularly from the Church of Scotland, to stop the practice of female genital mutilation in colonial Kenya. The campaign was met with resistance by the Kikuyu, the country's largest tribe. According to American historian Lynn M. Thomas, female genital mutilation became a focal point of the movement campaigning for independence from British rule, and a test of loyalty, either to the Christian churches or to the Kikuyu Central Association, the largest association of the Kikuyu people.
A penile fibula is foremost a ring, attached with a pin through the foreskin to fasten it above the glans penis. It was mainly used by ancient Roman culture, though it may have originated earlier. This ring type of fibula has been described akin to a "large modern safety pin". Its usage may have had several reasons, for example to avoid intercourse, to promote modesty or the belief that it helped preserve a man's voice. Some Jews also utilized fibulas to hide that they were circumcised. The word fibula could also be used in general in Rome to denote any type of covering of the penis for the sake of voice preservation or sexual abstinence, it was often used by masters on their slaves for this purpose. Fibulas were frequent subject of ridicule among satirists in Rome.
Asma Abdel Rahim El Dareer is a Sudanese physician known for her research in the 1980s into female genital mutilation. She was one of the first Arab women and feminist doctors to speak out publicly against the practice.
Female genital mutilation (FGM) is highly prevalent in Sudan. According to a 2014 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS), 86.6 percent of women aged 15–49 in Sudan reported living with FGM, and said that 31.5 percent of their daughters had been cut. The most common FGM procedure in that country is Type III (infibulation); the 2014 survey found that 77 percent of respondents had experienced Type III.
Woman, Why Do You Weep? Circumcision and Its Consequences (1982) is a book by Sudanese physician Asma El Dareer about female genital mutilation in Sudan. Published in London by Zed Press in association with the Babiker Bedri Scientific Association for Women's Studies, the book summarizes research El Dareer conducted on female genital mutilation (FGM) for the medical faculty of the University of Khartoum.
Women's rights in Djibouti are a source of concern for various human rights organizations, both within Djibouti and without. While minority groups are represented at all levels of the government, they effectively have no power to alter legislation, due to the repressive nature of the regime. Despite a legal quota that ensures that women hold at least 25 percent of the seats in the National Assembly, they remain underrepresented in leadership positions. Over 60% of women are illiterate. They face barriers to employment and appropriate health care. Rates of female genital mutilation remain high despite campaigns dating back to the 1980s.
