A violation of right.

Huda, a young Omani woman who is well educated, is terrified of getting married. AoI have no idea if my relationship with my husband will be affected because I am circumcised. I canAAEt discuss it with my mother or sisters because they consider it a dirty subject.Ao

Female circumcision, which is more appropriately called Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) or Female Genital Cutting (FGC), is a procedure of partial or total removal of the external female genitalia. Because of the sensitive nature of the subject, it is not well recorded in many countries where it is practiced. It is also often considered a mainly East African tendency and people are often surprised to find it is widely practiced here in Oman.

Internationally, the practice is considered a violation of human rights, and since it is mostly carried out on minors, it is also considered a violation of the rights of children. The United Nations is clear on the matter: AoThe practice violates a

person's rights to health, security and physical integrity; the right to be free from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and the right to life when the procedure results in death.Ao

What is clear from the limited information available from local government sources and from the public is that most people are extremely under informed or misinformed. A Ministry of Health (MoH) survey noted that in particular Aoyoung men do not have enough knowledge on female circumci-sionAo. Many will demand a girl to be circumcised as a prerequisite for marriage, but because the subject

is not discussed they will not

even know why she should be or its consequences.

In a document addressing fertil-ity, the MoH cited FGM as a possible cause of infertility in women. But this is just the tip of the iceberg. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), FGM removes or destroys healthy and normal

tissue and interferes with the natural functions of femalesAAE bodies. It

cites short-term effects such as Aosevere pain, shock, haemorrhage (bleeding), tetanus or sepsis (bac-terial infection), urine retention, open sores in the genital region

and injury to nearby genital tissueAo. Long-term effects include recurrent bladder and urinary tract infections, infertility, cysts and an increased

risk of childbirth complications

and newborn deaths. This excl-

udes the psychological effects that can ensue.

The health risks caused by FGM far outweigh any benefits, particularly since the perceived benefits are based on hearsay rather than evidence. The main reasons for the practice of FGM are cultural, superstitious and religious, which often intermingle. The religious justification is questionable at best and the social justification (i.e. to prevent improper sexual activity) just denies the fact that these aspects of society occur nonetheless.

Fatima, a university lecturer, said, AoMy mother discovered after I was born that circumcision was Islamic (Sunna) for boys only. She was told by her own mother that it was Sunna for boys and girls, so she circumcised all her daughters thinking she was doing the right thing. Women here tend to believe itAAEs cleaner if a girl is circumcised. However, I personally have no idea whether it is true or not. I will never do that to my own daughter.Ao

It is clear that many young mothers are pressured into having FGM carried out on their baby girls. Manal, another young educated woman, said, AoThere is an old lady who is practically blind but still makes the rounds at the hospital behind the administrationsAAE back, to see if girls need to be circumcised. She carries her AaekitAAE with her in her handbag and goes around interrogating mothers of newborn girls. You have to lie to her if you want to protect your daughter.Ao

What is clearly lacking in the whole process is the consideration of men and how they feel about the issue. Ali, an Omani man working as an engineer, said, AoIAAEm 38 years old, and I only discovered the truth about circumcision when I was an adult. I had no idea it existed in Oman till then. IAAEm 100 per cent against the practice and my daughters will never be circumcised. My friends tell me theyAAEre against it too, but I donAAEt know if theyAAEre brave enough to say AaenoAAE. IAAEm pretty sure their daughters are circumcised. The women do it behind closed doors and we men never hear about it. However, IAAEm

almost 100 per cent sure itAAEs still practiced. People here circumcise their daughters because they believe itAAEs required in Islam. This is completely wrong, but itAAEs hard for them to break out of the habit. TheyAAEre afraid that their daughters will run wild (sexually) if theyAAEre not circumcised.Ao

Abdullah, an Omani man working in the private sector, said, AoI hate the fact that while I was growing up, this matter was kept as a secret from me in terms of the effect it could have on husband-wife relationships. This matter of social ignorance is only kept alive from the lack of openness and dialogue which is affecting the most intimate act of our personal lives.Ao

It is crucial that dialogue is more open on the subject. Young people want to be able to make an informed decision rather than conforming because of cultural pressure. We no longer want to just unquestioningly accept what is told to us by our elders. We are living in the age of information and its hard to excuse people for not making sure they are aware, particularly about something that is making so many suffer.

(Names have been changed to protect the identity of the people interviewed)

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