International consensus about the classification of the different forms of female genital mutilation has, at this writing, not been reached. Even the terms, such as “mutilation” and “cutting”, used to designate the practice are still the subject of debate. Some sociologists fear that parents may resent the implication that they are “mutilating” their daughters. “Cutting”, they maintain, is less judgmental and corresponds more to the term used in many local languages. UNICEF and other organizations wishing to retain “mutilation” for its presumed dissuasive connotation propose a compromise: “female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C)”.
Four types of FGM are recognized (1) at the present time:
Type I — excision of the prepuce, with or without excision of part or the entire clitoris.
Type II — excision of the clitoris with partial or total excision of the labia minora.
Type III — excision of part or all of the external genitalia and stitching/narrowing of the vaginal opening (infibulation)
Type IV — pricking, piercing or incising of the clitoris and/or labia; stretching of the clitoris and/or labia; cauterization by burning of the clitoris and surrounding tissue; scraping of tissue surrounding the vaginal orifice (angurya cuts) or cutting of the vagina (gishiri cuts); introduction of corrosive substances or herbs into the vagina to cause bleeding or for the purpose of tightening or narrowing it; and any other procedure that falls under the definition given above.
Defibulation or deinfibulation – Cutting open the scar tissue that has formed around the vaginal opening to allow penetration by her husband or for the birth of a child.
Refibulation or reinfibulation or recircumcision – The sewing up of a circumcised woman’s vaginal opening after childbirth or periodically during her life when she feels as though her opening has gotten too big or loose.
Alternative rituals – An alternative to FGM in which the traditional ceremony takes place without the actual cutting. In Kenya, girls go through a week-long program designed as a coming-of-age workshop. This ritual is called “Ntanira Na Mugambo” or “Circumcision Through Words.” Introcision – A form of FGM/C that is practiced by the Pitta-Patta aborigines of Australia where the vaginal orifice is enlarged by tearing it downward with three fingers bound with an opossum string. The procedure is performed by an elderly man when the girl reaches puberty. In other districts, the perineum is split with a stone knife. Compulsory sexual intercourse with a number of young men usually follows the introcision. Mexico, Brazil, and Peru reportedly practice this form of FGM/C. In Peru, among a division of Pano Indians, an elderly woman uses a bamboo knife to cut around the hymen from the vaginal entrance and severs the hymen from the labia, at the same time exposing the clitoris. Medicinal herbs are applied, followed by the insertion of a phallic clay object into the vagina.
Reference:
(1) http://www.who.int/reproductive-health/fgm/terminology.htm
(2) H. L. DIETRICH , http://www.fgmnetwork.org/intro/world.php
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