Female Genital mutilation also known as “female circumcision” is an invasive surgical procedure, prefermormed in African cultures on females age 7 days to 15 years old. Though there are four different types of surgery, they all require the complete or partial removal of varies parts of the female genital organs. The surgery can consist of pricking or tampering with the clitoris with a forgeign object
Female genital mutilation (FGM), also known as female genital cutting and female circumcision, is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) 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."[1]
The practice is carried out by some communities who believe it reduces a woman's libido[3] — an official with the top Muslim clerical body of the largest Muslim-majority nation of the world, the Indonesian Ulema Council, said the practice (of FGM) is a religious obligation that should be done to control women’s sexual desires.[4]
The WHO has offered four classifications of FGM. The main three are Type I, removal of the clitoral hood, almost invariably accompanied by removal of the clitoris itself (clitoridectomy); Type II, removal of the clitoris and inner labia; and Type III (infibulation), removal of all or part of the inner and outer labia, and usually the clitoris, and the fusion of the wound, leaving a small hole for the passage of urine and menstrual blood—the fused wound is opened for intercourse and childbirth.[5] Around 85 percent of women who undergo FGM experience Types I and II, and 15 percent Type III, though Type III is the most common procedure in several countries, including Sudan, Somalia, and Djibouti.[6] Several miscellaneous acts are categorized as Type IV. These range from a symbolic pricking or piercing of the clitoris or labia, to cauterization of the clitoris, cutting into the vagina to widen it (gishiri cutting), and introducing corrosive substances to tighten it.[5]
FGM is considered by its practitioners to be an essential part of raising a girl properly—girls are regarded as having been cleansed by the removal of "male" body parts. It ensures pre-marital virginity and inhibits extra-marital sex, because it reduces women's libido. Women fear the pain of re-opening the vagina, and are afraid of being discovered if it is opened illicitly.[1]

Female genital mutilation is practiced in some aspect in almost all African countries, but it is also being performed in parts of Asia, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Persian Gulf, Pakistan, Russia, South America (Peru, Brazil, and Eastern Mexico), and Australia (from Urabunna in the South to the Eastern Shores of the Gulf of Carpentaria).[55] The World Health Organization estimates that 80 million girls and women in more than 30 countries of Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia are circumcised. The practice spans socioeconomic, ethnic, and cultural groups including Christians, Muslims, and followers of indigenous African religions.
Female genital mutilation is not illegal in the United States. Many believe that prohibiting female genital mutilation is culturally imperialistic, while others believe when a circumcised women seeks American health care, she has chosen to receive American medical care.[55]
On October 7, 1993, Congresswoman Patricia Schroeder introduced bill HR 3247, which prohibits genital mutilation of girls within the United States.
The Women’s Health Equity Act (HR 3075, sections 261 through 263) proposes criminal penalties for all medically unnecessary female genital mutilations and for the Secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services to undertake education and outreach activities. Some patients argue that if it becomes illegal for health professionals to perform the procedure, they will turn to unskilled workers who will perform the procedure under unsterile conditions.[55] There are surgeons in the United States today who still perform FGM despite legislation prohibiting it.[56]