Female genital mutilation IntroductionPain, shame, lack of ability to reproduce. Marie, who suffers from each of these symptoms, is one of many African women who have undergone female genital mutilation. When Marie was only two years old, her clitoris and labia were cut off. She has since moved to New York, but still suffers from the many consequences of female genital mutilation. Female genital mutilation, also known as FGM, is a very common procedure performed mainly in Africa due to cultural beliefs. There are no known beneficial medical reasons why people should undergo the procedure. FGM became a practice several decades ago by African tribes and is only now being brought to light as people realize that it is not a necessity in life. Once the procedure is done, you have to live with the symptoms for the rest of your life and the situation down there doesn't heal at all. Since the topic is fairly new on newsstands, not many people know how to reach out to women who have been through this and how they can help them from here on out. FGM is spreading around the world quite rapidly because women have finally decided to start speaking up for themselves. Several countries are trying to determine the long-term outcomes of FGM and improve the situation for the foreseeable future. Background An important issue that goes hand in hand with female genital mutilation is health concerns. FGM alters the female genital organs, without medically beneficial results. It is performed because African culture believes that it will keep girls pure because they will appear unattractive to men until marriage. There is no medical justification for a girl to have a clitoris or any other genital organ... middle of paper... the first century is so advanced in everything nowadays, that it would be truly pathetic to be dragged back because of a sin against humanity so old fashioned. We have the power to go out there and show the world, person by person, that human rights violations are not acceptable in any way, shape or form. Cited page of the works "Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)". FORWARD. Np, nd Web. 07 May 2014."Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)." FORWARD. Np, nd Web. May 19, 2014."Female Genital Mutilation: History and Facts." Untitled document. Np, nd Web. May 19, 2014."Female Genital Mutilation." WHO. Np, nd Web. May 07, 2014."Terrible taboo: Female circumcision on the rise in US - NBC News." NBC News. Np, nd Web. May 20, 2014."What is FGM?" RSS of the Desert Flower Foundation. Np, nd Web. May 20 2014.