What actually happens?
The World Health Organisation classifies female genital cutting into four types. Orchid Project believes that FGC has devastating impacts in all of its forms, and that to achieve a global end we must approach every type with equal gravity. Nevertheless, it is useful to clarify the ‘types’.
Type 1: part or all of the clitoris and/or its hood is cut away (clitoridectomy)
Type 2: the clitoris and inner lips/labia are removed
Type 3: the clitoris, inner and outer lips/labia are cut away, and the remaining skin is sewn or sealed together leaving a tiny hole for menstrual blood and urination. This is also called infibulation.
Type 4: A catch-all term for all other harmful procedures to the female genitalia including pricking, piercing, rubbing, scraping and the use of herbs or other substances
These rather sanitised terms hide the reality of what happens when a girl is cut. Some girls are cut as part of a ritual into womanhood, along with other girls, and will be cut by an older woman who is paid for her work and usually much revered for this role.
Usually, a girl who is between 5 and 8 years old (although she may be much younger or older) will be cut. She will usually receive no anaesthetic, and the cutting object will most likely not be sterilised. The cutter will then remove her clitoris, or her labia, or both, with a razor blade, piece of glass, tin can or a knife.
If she is infibulated (type 3), the girl will be sewn up, with thorns or string, and a small hole left. Some girls may have their legs tied together for weeks to enable the wound to heal. Once healed, an infibulated vulva becomes a plug of hard scar tissue.
In some countries, education about the health impacts of FGC has led to medicalisation and girls may be cut by a medical professional, under anaesthetic, with sterile equipment. This is not the norm, and neither should medicalisation be encouraged as a ‘lesser cut’.
