PUSH FOR AN ANTI FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION LAW CONTINUES
Some tribes still practice Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) it is the worst thing that can happen to any young girl or woman. Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is the partial or total removal of the female external genitalia . External genitals include the clitoris , labia, mons pubis (the fatty tissue over the pubic bone), and the urethral and vaginal openings. It a tradition which is no longer worth up holding should be banned without wasting time. Reasons for supporting FGM include the beliefs that it is a "good tradition", a religious requirement(s), or a necessary rite of passage to womanhood; that it ensures cleanliness or better marriage prospects, prevents promiscuity and excessive clitoral growth, preserves virginity , enhances male sexuality, and facilitates childbirth by widening the birth canal. Uganda doesn’t have a law on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). Every year a number of Young girls aspiring to reach puberty face knife in Kapchorwa.
THE DANGERS OF FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION
1. Complications are common and can lead to death.
2. Intense pain and/or
hemorrhage that can lead to shock during and after the procedure
3. Wound infection, including tetanus.
4. Damage to adjoining organs from the use of blunt instruments by unskilled operators.
5. Urine retention from swelling and/or blockage of the urethra.
6. Risk of
HIV infection.
7. Increased risk of maternal and child
morbidity and
mortality due to obstructed labor. Despite these dangers many girls are still forced to face this cruel treatment.
To put an end to FGM the law and Advocacy for Women in Uganda (LAW-U) has petitioned the Constitutional Court to declare FGM illegal. With on specific law on FGM it is only Non Government Organizations (NGO) which are trying to fighting this practice. This means traditional surgeons and parents who allow the practice to go on cannot be arrested. The various bylaws in Kapchorwa have also failed to stop this practice which is now going under ground.
Uganda is the only country in the East African region which hasn’t enacted anti-FMG laws. If LAW-U succeeds in their petition they would have saved many young girls from this inhuman and cruel treatment.