4  Kinds of Circumcision for a Woman

a) Partial clitorectomy, (removal of part of the clitoris), b) complete clitorectomy, c) a plus b, plus the removal of the labia minora, (inner lips) or, d) infibulation, which includes a, b, c, plus the removal of at least part, and sometimes all, of the labia majora, and the sewing of the gaping wound shut, so as to allow a small opening and a scar where the genitals had been. The more nerve endings that are destroyed or cut away, the less pleasure and enjoyment there is for the woman. The scars make the area less resilient, allowing for tearing in childbearing, and often, tetanus or other infection. Sometimes the raw and exposed nerve endings never heal, and cause constant pain.

The questionnaire asks if the woman is able to experience an orgasm, and if so, what percentage of the time, and the frequency of intercourse. By this means, an increasingly more accurate picture is emerging, of the status of women as to circumcision in Africa and around the world. I also ask the question: "Have your circumcised your daughters, if any." On a recent trip to Nigeria, 10 out of 20 women in Ondo State (Akure), said "yes"! In nearby Ekiti State (Ado), 17 out of 18 women said that their daughters had been circumcised. This means that female genital mutilation, or FGM, also known as female circumcision, is common in Nigeria and other African countries, and is increasing in the United States and around the world, up to the present day, in spite of laws, literature, teaching and publicity to the contrary. One man explained that his wife had had their daughters circumcised without getting his permission. An enlightened University Professor confided that when their daughters went to visit the grandparents in the village, that the daughters were circumcised without getting the parent's permission.