Female Genital MutilationImagine this, a young, innocent girl, between eight and twelve years old, running around, playing and having fun. Then she is taken to a filthy hut, the floor of which is only dirt. Once inside the cabin, the helpless girl is stripped naked and pinned to the dirt floor. Her little legs are spread wide and wide with a tight grip. Shortly after, a midwife, with no training in human anatomy or medicine, entered the cabin and said a prayer. While the girl is held in this most vulnerable position, the midwife takes a handful of sand and rubs it all over the girl's genitals (Walker 106). Without anesthetic and with a jagged stone, which simply has a sharpened edge, the midwife begins to cut the girl's (Rushwan) most sensitive area. The midwife cuts the clitoris and the tissue at the entrance to the vagina. When the midwife has finished cutting and perfecting her excision, she takes a thorn needle and sews from the head of the clitoris to the vaginal opening except for a small place where a piece of drink. The wood is positioned so that when scar tissue forms, a small opening is left for urine and menstrual flow to escape. After the raw edges are sewn, a mixture of butter and herbs is applied to the wound. This is done to stop the blood that is now gushing from this helpless young girl (female genital mutilation). The above is only a brief description of a type of mutilation that millions of girls face every year in Africa. What could push parents to inflict such pain on their little girls? Female genital mutilation is divided into four main types. One type of FGM is very...... middle of paper ......t)Walker, Alice and Pratibha, Parmer. Warrior Marks. New York: Harcourt Brace & Company, 1993. Works consulted “Banjul Declaration on Violence Against Women”. Women's International NetworkNews 24.4 (1998): 27. (Ebsco host) “Mali: Center Djoliba”. Women's International Network News 24.4 (1998): 32. (EbscoHost) "Nigeria: Strategies and tactics for the prevention and eradication of female genital mutilation." » International Women's Network News 24.4 (1998): 30 – 31. (EbscoHost)Hecht, David. “Respond to ancient customs. » Christian Science Monitor 90.131 (1998): 131. (Host Ebsco) Saran, Ama R. “Increasing the Volume of Our Sisters' Voices.” Essence 28.12 (1998): 172 – 173. (Host Ebso) “Symposium for Religious Leaders and Medical Personnel.” » Women's International Network News 24.4 (1998): 27. (Ebso Host)