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Female genital mutilation rampant in Iraqi Kurdistan
I thought this barbarism was mostly a North African problem. The article prefers the term "circumcision," but "castration" is truly a more appropriate analogue. EFL.[A]ccording to a 2004 survey of women from the Kurdish-controlled Iraqi areas of Erbil, Dohuk and Sulaimaniyah, a staggering 75 per cent of 40,480 respondents were found to be circumcised. The Kurdish method of circumcision involves the removal of a girl's external genital organs. The procedure is usually carried out by women who are not trained in surgery. There is no anaesthetic and little attention to hygiene. As a result, there is a high risk of infection and haemorrhaging. Women with disfigured genitals commonly have problems with urination, intercourse and childbirth. In Iraqi Kurdistan, uncircumcised women are often looked down upon. ... "Our friends told us that if a girl isn't circumcised, the water from her hand is unclean and not fit for drinking and that God is angry with her. So we decided that the three of us should go to Hamdia's, a friend of ours, and circumcise one another." Muslim clerics in northern Sulaimaniyah declared a fatwa on the practice in 2000. Muhammed-Amin Abdul-Hakeem Chamchamali, the head of the Kurdistan Religious Scholars Union, said the "common belief that uncircumcised women are dirty or unsuitable for marriage is unfounded" and they "are not guilty of anything in the religious sense". Do you feel his implacable outrage? No, me neither. Roonak Agha of the Kurdistan Women's Union has launched a campaign to educate mothers against circumcising their daughters, which she says has begun to lower the incidence in some areas. "We held symposiums and seminars, and have made a concerted effort to stop circumcision. We have held talks with religious scholars here so that we can persuade mothers to put an end to this phenomenon." Islam? Thanks to projects like these, circumcision is on the wane in the larger cities of Kurdistan. But in smaller towns and villages, the practice is more difficult to eradicate. C'mon, repeat after me, class: "Take a look at our own culture, first! We condone baggy pants, nipple-piercing, and Britney, and so we're Just As Bad™." Absolutely; American mothers pin their daughters down and force them, under penalty of honor killing, to dress like skanks; it's obvious equivalence. Unbelievable. While some progress is being made in tackling female genital mutilation, many victims of the practice continue to suffer the consequences. Sairan Muhammed said her husband took a second wife because of her sexual frigidity. That sound? Yeah, I need a new monitor ... and a new fist. One consolation for her, she said, is that her four daughters will not have to experience what she went through. I'm not a religious man, but 'Thank God' nonetheless. What unimaginable self-loathing could possibly push Muslim women to such lengths just to accommodate the boundless sexual insecurity of Muslim men? Imagine for a moment restraining your own daughter or younger sister, ignoring her screams, knowing that at best, at best, she's doomed to life as a eunuch ... if she survives. And all so her groom, some bewhiskered old turd, won't feel like he wedded "a whore." Sub-human, soulless fucking barbarians. My inner struggle between "nuke 'em all" and "give them time" tilts yet again. Sorry, Fred, if my comments warrant deleting this. Posted by: Rex Rufus 2005-04-15 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=61499 |