The barbaric tradition of circumcising girls

“A woman is the biggest threat to a man, an evil spirit that leads him astray. She seduces him with what is between her legs. So you should cut it out. " This is a quote from the "wisdom of life" by Nasser Al-Shaker Shaker, one of the main proponents of legalizing female circumcision in Egypt. The barbaric tradition of circumcision of girls is practiced in many countries of the world: in Egypt, Iraq, Yemen, Africa, South America. According to UNICEF, around 125 million circumcised women live worldwide, and three million girls face this brutal ritual every year. The European capital of girls' circumcision has become ... London. From the report of the parliamentary commission, it follows that 170 thousand circumcised women live in England, and 65 thousand girls under the age of 13 are under the threat of performing the hellish ritual of circumcision. See the photo report from Kenya, where the tradition of circumcision, although prohibited by law, is still practiced today.

18 PHOTOS

1. In theory, circumcision of girls in Kenya is prohibited by law. However, in many of its districts, this tradition is so strong that no law can stop this brutal practice, even if it faces imprisonment.

In countries where female circumcision is practiced en masse, there is a deep-rooted belief that an uncircumcised girl will be slutty and unfaithful, so she will not have the slightest chance of getting married.

In the photo: a girl of the Pokot tribe after the circumcision ritual - she was wrapped in skins and painted with white paint, and now she is being taken home so that she can rest. (Photo: SIEGFRIED MODOLA / REUTERS).

2. All girls of the Pokot tribe must undergo a circumcision ritual. This is part of the initiation ceremony, after which the girl becomes an adult in the eyes of the community. Only after circumcision can she get married.

In the photo: a young Kenyan woman after a barbaric ritual of circumcision. (Photo: SIEGFRIED MODOLA / REUTERS).

3. According to the UN, more than 25 percent of women in Kenya are circumcised. A law outlawing circumcision rituals, which was passed in 2011, is being ignored - especially in poor rural areas.

In the photo: girls of the Pokot tribe run to the place where the circumcision ceremony will take place. (Photo: SIEGFRIED MODOLA / REUTERS).

4. “We have always practiced the circumcision ritual,” says the father of one of the circumcised girls. - Girls are circumcised so that they have the opportunity to get married. This is their entry into adulthood. "

In the photo: a young Kenyan woman after the ritual. (Photo: SIEGFRIED MODOLA / REUTERS).

5. The ritual is usually performed in terrible conditions, using primitive tools - scissors, razors, and even broken glass. (Photo: SIEGFRIED MODOLA / REUTERS).

6. Circumcision is not limited to poor, backward families. Girls from both poor and rich families, daughters, and illiterate and educated people are subjected to the circumcision ritual.

In Egypt, for example, 99 percent of women are circumcised in villages, 95 percent in cities. In Nigeria, most circumcisions are performed in wealthy families.

Although this tradition is often associated with Islam, there is not a single word about it in the Quran. Girls are circumcised in Saudi Arabia, where Islam is considered the most orthodox. In Nigeria, Niger, Kenya, and Tanzania, circumcised girls are the most Christian.

In the photo: the older women of the tribe are trying in every possible way to encourage the girls to leave the hut and go to the place where the ritual will take place. (Photo: SIEGFRIED MODOLA / REUTERS).

7. “The pain will make them stronger,” the mother of one of the girls told a Reuters reporter. “She will show the community that she can withstand the pain. I'm proud of her. "

In the photo: girls of the Pokot tribe are waiting for the beginning of the ritual. (Photo: SIEGFRIED MODOLA / REUTERS).

8. The Kenyan authorities hope that the tribes will change their attitude towards the tradition of female circumcision. Nevertheless, it is feared that this tradition has too deep roots.

“We still have a lot of work to do in this direction,” says prosecutor Christine Nanjala. "Maybe not today, but someday it will end." The Kenyan prosecutor's office is currently conducting about 50 criminal cases related to the illegal ritual of circumcision of girls.

In the photo: the girls are waiting for the beginning of the ritual. (Photo: SIEGFRIED MODOLA / REUTERS).

9. Pokot tribe gathers around the fire, to take part in the ritual circumcision of their girls. (Photo: SIEGFRIED MODOLA / REUTERS).

10. In the photo: a girl cries after undergoing the circumcision ritual. In the words of one woman who herself went through this horror: "This pain cannot be described ... It's like taking a knife and cutting off a piece of someone's body." (Photo: SIEGFRIED MODOLA / REUTERS).

Circumcision is the removal of part of the genitals, usually the clitoris, less often the labia. The consequences of this ritual are dire - girls can die from blood loss or from infection. Circumcised women are more likely to suffer from urinary tract infections, cysts, infertility, they have more complications during childbirth, and they also have no sex drive.

11. Girls of the Pokot tribe after the circumcision ritual. (Photo: SIEGFRIED MODOLA / REUTERS).

12. In the photo: girls are waiting at the hut of a girl who is about to undergo circumcision. (Photo: SIEGFRIED MODOLA / REUTERS).

The barbaric traditions of female genital mutilation are being fought by international organizations and national governments in countries that consider the ritual a violation of human rights. However, it is difficult to fight traditions without raising the general level of education among the local population, although, as practice shows, in Europe, where everything is in order with education, this ritual is practiced as if nothing had happened, despite prohibitions and laws, and more often than not carried out in expensive paid clinics.

13. Girls after circumcision. (Photo: SIEGFRIED MODOLA / REUTERS).

14. After circumcision, according to tradition, the girls of the Pokot tribe are painted with white paint. (Photo: SIEGFRIED MODOLA / REUTERS).

15. A teenage girl has just gone through a terrible circumcision ritual. (Photo: SIEGFRIED MODOLA / REUTERS).

16. Women of the Pokot tribe carry stones on which girls will sit during circumcision. (Photo: SIEGFRIED MODOLA / REUTERS).

17. The ritual of pouring white paint on girls after circumcision. (Photo: SIEGFRIED MODOLA / REUTERS).

18. One minute before the start of the ritual. Fear is drawn on the girls' faces. (Photo: SIEGFRIED MODOLA / REUTERS).

This terrible, barbaric tradition is nothing more than a crime against girls, without any arguments to be justified. Girls are maimed in the name of a tradition that considers women a threat to men, a habitat for evil spirits that lead men astray ... This is an obsession with nudity and sex, and irrational fear of an "unclean" naked female body. Ignorance and belief in outdated laws and customs.