THE IMPACT OF CIRCUMCISION TOWARDS WOMEN

Background: The controversy of female circumcision gives impact on banning agitation on female circumcision by International Women Amnesty towards Indonesian government. They consider that female circumcision aggrieved women. The problem of female circumcision is difficult to lose because it is related to culture and belief. Objective: Determining the effects of female circumcision. Methods: This study is a qualitative study with a phenomenological approach. Respondents consisted of 6 people: 4 people who are never circumcised, 1 person is a Paraji and 1 person is a Midwife. From those 4 respondents, 2 of them come are from Yogyakarta and the others are from Palembang . The sampling technique used purposely technique. The data were collected through in-depth interviews to the respondents. Research result: The research result shows 4 themes on female circumcision which includes perception towards female circumcision, time of implementation, factors which influence or encourage the implementation of female circumcision and the impact of female circumcision towards women. Circumcision technique is implemented by scratching a small part of clitoris using an equipment which has been boiled before or by symbolically cutting turmeric above the clitoris. Conclusion: Significant impact is absent in women who implement circumcision in Yogyakarta and Palembang

Rituell omskjæring - religiøse, etiske og medisinske aspekter.

Background: The ethical challenges concerning female and male circumcision have been the subject of heated debates for decades. This student thesis analyses the similarities and differences between male and female circumcision, focusing on the historical, cultural, medical and ethical aspects. We wanted to assess whether or not there is a clear distinction between male and female circumcision, as is commonly presumed in contemporary medical discourse. Method: This is a literature review mainly based on a search done in PubMed. In addition, we used Embase, Journal of the Norwegian Medical Association (Tidsskriftet for legeforeningen), several religious texts and various other sources. Results: Proponents of ritual circumcision in both females and males support circumcision by making use of a variety of arguments spanning from medical benefit to religious requirement. There is generally consensus that female circumcision is harmful and without beneficial consequences, whereas male circumcision is considered by a large part of the medical community to have benefits that outweigh possible medical complications. In recent years this view has been challenged by several in the medical community. Conclusion: The ethical problems that arise are numerous and pose great challenges to the healthcare service. In our view, when comparing historical, cultural, medical and ethical aspects concerning male and female circumcision a clear distinction between the two cannot be said to exist. Our opinion is that circumcision should not be performed on anyone without informed consent, including young children. Hence, we propose a ban on all forms of circumcision on minors for non-medical reasons

Male Circumcision as an HIV Prevention Strategy in Sub-Saharan Africa: Socio-Legal Barriers

UNAIDS and WHO recommend safe, voluntary male circumcision as an additional, important strategy for the prevention of heterosexually-acquired HIV in men in areas with high HIV prevalence and low levels of male circumcision. Comprehensive male circumcision services should include HIV testing and counseling, partner reduction, and male and female condom use. Yet, male circumcision can have deep symbolic meaning that could pose barriers to implementation. In some parts of the world, it is a traditional practice with religious or cultural significance, in others it is a common hygiene intervention, and in yet others it is unfamiliar or foreign. Consequently, the proportion of men who are circumcised varies from \u3c5% to \u3e80%, with an estimated 30-40% of adult men circumcised worldwide. Confirming a number of observational studies, three randomized controlled trials in Africa have shown that circumcision reduces the likelihood of female-to-male HIV transmission by 50-60%, leading WHO/UNAIDS to conclude that the evidence is compelling . Male circumcision is a relatively simple, inexpensive one-time surgical procedure that is cost-effective, but raises a host of ethical, legal, and human rights challenges

Just like couscous: Gender, agency and the politics of female circumcision in Cairo

This dissertation explores how female gender identity is continually created and re-created in Egypt through a number of daily practices, of which female circumcision is central. In order to do so, the study inquires into the lived experiences and social meanings of female circumcision and femininity as narrated by women from lower class neighbourhoods in Cairo. The study seeks to understand how the experiences of femininity and female circumcision are shaped and challenged by the social and political changes that impinge on these women’s lives. Female circumcision has become a global political minefield with ‘Western’ interventions affecting Egyptian politics and social development, not least in the area of democracy and human rights. The global human rights discourse brings about change by portraying female circumcision as mutilation. These discourses and other political and social changes both in Egypt and elsewhere, such as modernization, the aftermath of 9/11 and regional instability have together begun to dis-embed female circumcision from its socio-cultural context. This thesis focuses upon the way in which these women understand and respond to these complex changes and it looks particularly at how different actors, in their construction of female identity, contest, resist, subvert or embrace female circumcision. The study explores how the subject is made through the interplay of global hegemonic structures of power and the most intimate sphere, which has been exposed in the international arena. The need to understand agency as the capacity to act according to the exigencies of the specific sociocultural forms the main premise of this dissertation; the Egyptian context comprises the complex interaction between the local and a variety of wider global forces

Cultural and Religious Practices, the Lack of Educational Resources, and their Role in the Perpetuation of Female Genital Mutilation

Some form of female genital mutilation or circumcision takes place in most countries in Africa. This project aims to show that male dominance, culture, tradition, religion and ignorance of basic human rights play a pivotal role in the perpetuation of female genital mutilation or circumcision. I will endeavor to bring to the forefront the problems government officials face when they try to abolish the practice; I will also discuss the complications and challenges the understaffed, overworked, ill-prepared medical faculties face when dealing with women who have undergone this procedure of female genital mutilation or circumcision

Speaking characters in possessing the secret of joy

This paper is a study of Alice Walker’s Possessing the Secret of Joy in light of Julia Kristeva’s speaking subject. This novel deals with the issue of circumcision and its negative psychological effects on a woman’s mind. Moreover, it criticises female genital mutilation. In this novel, each character expresses his/her feelings, thoughts and emotions about female circumcision. In Julia Kristeva’s view, the speaking subject does not have a fixed identity but is in the process of being. The speaking subject's identity is shaped through using language and interaction with other people. This article applies Kristeva’s notion of the subject in process to Walker’s Possessing the Secret of Joy and primarily indicates Tashi’s opinion of circumcision. The findings of this study demonstrate that, through sisterhood, women can achieve their goal which is to abolish female circumcision. It indicates that although women are oppressed in African patriarchal societies, they can improve their life through sisterhood. It advises future female generations to stand up for their rights and reject the circumcision which hurts women physically and psychologically

"After my husband's circumcision, I know that I am safe from diseases": Women's Attitudes and Risk Perceptions Towards Male Circumcision in Iringa, Tanzania.

While male circumcision reduces the risk of female-to-male HIV transmission and certain sexually transmitted infections (STIs), there is little evidence that circumcision provides women with direct protection against HIV. This study used qualitative methods to assess women's perceptions of male circumcision in Iringa, Tanzania. Women in this study had strong preferences for circumcised men because of the low risk perception of HIV with circumcised men, social norms favoring circumcised men, and perceived increased sexual desirability of circumcised men. The health benefits of male circumcision were generally overstated; many respondents falsely believed that women are also directly protected against HIV and that the risk of all STIs is greatly reduced or eliminated in circumcised men. Efforts to engage women about the risks and limitations of male circumcision, in addition to the benefits, should be expanded so that women can accurately assess their risk of HIV or STIs during sexual intercourse with circumcised men

Integrating Female Condoms into HIV Prevention Programs: A Case Study of Barriers, Facilitators, and Future Opportunities in Kenya

Female condoms are an important option for dual protection from unintended pregnancy and HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, especially when male condoms cannot be used. Incorporating female condoms into other HIV prevention channels is a potential strategy to increase access for women and men in need of dual protection beyond male condoms. Policies recommend incorporating female condoms into two HIV prevention programs that have gained significant momentum and political support -- prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) and voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC). However, there is a lack of clarity on how female condoms are being included at the programmatic level

Male circumcision for HIV prevention in high HIV prevalence settings: what can mathematical modelling contribute to informed decision making?

Experts from UNAIDS, WHO, and the South African Centre for Epidemiological Modelling report their review of mathematical models estimating the impact of male circumcision on HIV incidence in high HIV prevalence settings