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It is hard for people living in modern society to imagine that six thousands teenage girls experience genital mutilation each day for the reason of culture and religion. According to the definition of UNICEF， female genital mutilation （FGM） refers to operations of partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or the female genital organs like clitoris or vulva. FGM can be classified into 4 types. Each year， about 2 million girls in the world are forced to receive this cruel operation.
生活在现代社会中，人们很难想象这世界上每天有六千名少女将通过一项仪式被割除或损毁自己的生殖器以服从这些国家的民俗或宗教理念，这项仪式被称作女性割礼。根据联合国儿童基金会的定义，女性割礼或者说女性生殖器割礼，或者说女性生殖器切除，指的是对女性施行的部分或者完全切除外生殖器或者对女性生殖器官造成其他伤害的所有外科手术。
FGM is extremely cruel and usually carried out without anaesthesia. Marielouise Janssen-Jurreit， a female writer， meticulously described the procedure of the operation： “The circumcision is sometimes done by the girl's mother and female relatives. Moreover， the father must stand at the side of the door to protect this work symbolically. The young girl sits on a chair， restrained by other women. Then an old woman opens her lips of vulva， fixes them on two sides with needles to expose the whole clitoris. Then glans clitoridis is cut with a kitchen knife. Then the other parts of the clitoris are cut too. There is also a woman responsible for wiping off the blood unceasingly， and the girl's mother puts her fingers in the incision to pull out the entire organs. When the mother excises the clitoris， she will cut flesh away from the bone， even around the lips of vulva. Then the mother will use her fingers to dig everywhere in the wound. Another woman touches the wound simultaneously to make sure that all organs have been excised cleanly with no part remaining. Afterwards， the girl's mother will also cut away the entire lips of vulva. At this moment， the brutal second part officially starts. After the above steps， the girl will most likely have lost consciousness more than once and the women use medicines to revive the girl. Woman neighbors supervise the mother as she carries out her work. Because some girls are unable to withstand the severe pain， they sometimes try to bite the tongue to commit suicide. Therefore there is a woman to inspect girls' mouths carefully. They scatter pepper on the tongue to let it retract immediately into the mouth. After the surgery is completed， the mother will use locust tree acicular to suture both sides of the remaining genitalia， leaving only a very small aperture to drain urine and menstruation blood. The smaller this hole is， the more highly the girl will be valued.” The procedure is extremely brutal.” 女性的割礼极为残忍，大都在没有任何麻醉之下就对女孩施行这项手术，以下是女作家Marielouise Janssen-Jurreit对此详细的描述：“割礼由女孩的母亲及女性亲戚操刀，父亲则必须站在门外象征性地守护这项工作的进行。少女坐在一张几乎不曾清洁过的椅子上，由多位妇女按住。接着由一位老妇将她的阴唇打开，用针刺固定在一旁，让阴蒂整个露出来。然后用厨房里的菜刀将阴蒂头切掉，并且将剩余的阴蒂纵切开来。期间会有一名妇人不断地擦掉血液，女孩的母亲将手指伸进切开的阴蒂，将组织整个挖出来。此时女孩发出凄厉的惨叫声，但根本没有人理会她是多么痛苦。当母亲切除阴蒂时，会把肉清除到见骨为止，甚至连阴唇周围的部分也不能留下。接着母亲会用手指在流血的伤口中到处挖，同时也让另一名妇女碰触伤口，如此以确保所有组织都已切除干净，没有任何一部分残留。之后，女孩的母亲还会将整个内阴唇切掉，也会切除属于外阴唇的肉和皮肤，此时残酷的第二重头戏才正式开始。经过上述的步骤，此时大部分女孩都已经历过多次昏厥，只是一次次用药粉使其恢复知觉。其余邻居妇女会在一旁观看并且谨慎地督促母亲正在进行的工作。偶尔会有女孩因为无法承受如此剧痛，想要咬舌自尽，因此会有一名妇人仔细观查女孩的嘴巴，不断地在伸出来的舌头上撒上胡椒，让它立刻缩回嘴里。当手术完成后，母亲会用刺槐的针状物将外阴部的两侧缝合起来，只留下一个很小的开口来排泄尿液与经血。这个人工洞口愈小，女孩的价值就愈高。”从这位女作家的描述中，足见割礼的残忍程度。
So far， there is no agreement on when and where FGM first started. Some scholars believe that the cutting has been conducted in Africa for over 4000 years. Archaeologists find that a large number of ancient Egyptian female mummies were circumcised. Some researches show that the practice of genital mutilation was originated from Judaism， as it considers circumcision as a symbolic contract between each human and God. The perpetuation of FGM is clearly a result of ignorance， the low status of women and limited knowledge. Nowadays， circumcisions are for men to check the virginity of women. The closed introituses is a proof of evidence of virginity. At the same time， having a cut is to ensure that women won’t be unfaithful when husbands work outside the house.
Additionally， circumcised women experience tremendous amount of plain during intercourse， because the scar is tore open. The circumcision makes girls asexual， no sexual desire and less likely to experience satisfaction during sex. On this level， FGM is no difference from castration. Even though circumcised women can have sex， sex will only bring pain， not pleasure. This is directly related to the religion’s abstinence stance. It is believed that “women’s filthy part cause men fallen” and “women should not have sexual desire and should remain chastity.”
Ironically， from a physiological perspective， it has been proved by medical experts that circumcised women can more sexual pleasure to men， since their vagina is constantly tight. Like the foot binding in ancient China which strengthened the thigh muscle， it aims to keep the vagina tight.
关于割礼的起源，当今社会学术界并没有统一的说法，有相关学者认为非洲割礼习俗已有4000年的历史。也有考古发现古埃及时期的女性木乃伊曾受过割礼，也有研究认为割礼起源于犹太教，是一种人类与上帝的契约。但可以肯定的是女性割礼的诞生是由于当时人类对世界认知的局限性以及当时社会女性地位相对低下而形成的。在现在，割礼的首要目的是提供给男人可靠的“验贞”方法。他可以通过检查新娘的外阴情形来判断她是否处女。当丈夫外出放牧或务工时，这种割礼功能亦可用于他回家时检验妻子是否忠贞的手段。 另外，因女子的敏感部位被割除，性交时女人伤口被撕裂，然后愈合，然后再撕裂，这样周而复始、苦不堪言。事实上，被施割礼的女子成为了“无性者”。她没有性欲，一生里永不会得到性快感——此层面上，被施割礼的女性与被阉割没有区别，这一点，与原始宗教的禁欲戒律相关，认为“女子两腿之间有肮脏的、致使男人堕落的东西”，认为“女子不应该对性有兴趣，这是恪守贞操的根本”。
极其讽刺的是，尽管说“女子两腿之间有致使男人堕落的东西”，但经一些医学家证明，在生理学意义上，被施割礼的女人可以给男人造成更大的性快感，因为她们的阴道口永远都是很小的。这有些像古代中国男子让女性裹脚的目的之一，正是令她们在行走时必须绷紧大腿根部的肌肉，于是保持了阴道的紧窄。
In Africa， the social pressure is forcing many girls to confine to this vicious culture. “FGM is performed in December. No one can run away from circumcision because the chief of tribe records date of birth of each girl. A female in Sabiny tribe refusing to be cut will forever be accorded the social status of a rebellious girl – forbiddened to marry， speak publicly to circumcised women， or undertake women’s tasks such as milking cows， collecting dung to plaster walls and drawing grain from the communal granary. The whole process is cruel and shameful since your father， brothers， neighbors even granddad are invited to watch the ritual，” mentioned some documents. FGM and foot-binding have similarities. Both are considered by men as a mean of controlling women by harming their body. Although the FGM brings a psychological trauma to female， the physical harm is even greater and direct. In addition to the ache， the FGM has immediate and late complications. FGM is typically carried out by practitioners， without anaesthesia， using unsterilized cutting devices such as knives and scissors， and applying suturing material such as agave or acacia thorns. The whole procedure is extremely painful and a bleeding complication can be fatal. The most common method to stop bleeding is to apply Gum or kelp to the wounded area. With the high risk condition and unsterilized devices， post-surgery inflections are likely to occur. Complications also include the formation of scars and keloids， urinary infection， wound infection， dyspareunia， dysmenorrheal， hepatitis， HIV， genital tract sequelae like the damage to urethra and bladder with infections and incontinence， bladder stones， urinary incontinence， obstructed labor， bleeding during childbirth and increased risk of infection and infertility. After the surgery， 30% of the women suffer from tetanus， closed aciduria and vaginal ulcers， in accordance with the Kenya's Wajir district statistics.
在非洲某些地区，巨大的社会压力致使这里的少女完全无法反抗这项令自己无比痛苦的习俗：“逃得了今天也逃不过明天，部落酋长手里的户口簿上清清楚楚地记载着每个女孩的出生年月，每年的12月都要清理一次，重新进行登记，一个也逃不了。在塞比尼部落，一个未举行过割礼的女子被认为是背叛者，永远不得嫁人，即使幸运地有人娶了她，也被禁止给奶牛挤奶，禁止进入她丈夫的牲口棚，甚至禁止从家庭的玉米地里获得食物，让其一辈子抬不起头来。割礼不仅残酷痛苦，整个过程也非常令人羞愧，因为女孩的父亲、兄弟、邻居，有时甚至公公都会在旁观看手术。”有资料中这样写道。女性割礼与古代中国的裹脚习俗有着相似性，都是通过对女性身体的侵害以强化男性对女性的控制。女性割礼虽然对女性的心灵会造成巨大的创伤，但更直接地是身体上的创伤。除仪式举行时的痛苦外，更为致命的是手术造成的健康隐患。传统的切割工具是铁刀或小刀片，缝合使用的是一般针线，有的地方甚至使用荆棘。用这样落后、原始的器具切割身体的敏感部位，而经常又不使用麻醉剂，肉体上的痛苦是难以言说的。手术过程中，不但疼痛难忍，还经常发生大出血现象。最常使用的止血剂不过是树胶或草灰。简陋的医疗条件，加上器具从不消毒，因而女性手术后经常发生感染，可能发生的疾病包括脓肿、囊肿、伤口组织增生、尿路感染、性交疼痛、感染艾滋病、肝炎和其他血液传染的疾病、生殖系统感染、盆腔炎、不育、痛经、慢性尿路堵塞、膀胱结石、小便失禁，在分娩过程中发生出血和感染的危险性加大等。据肯尼亚的瓦吉尔地区统计，手术后发生破伤风、闭尿症、阴道溃烂者约占30%。 So far， this practice has aroused international concerns. From 1979 onward， many woman organizations in Africa with help from WHO held specialized meetings in East and North Africa like Khartoum and Lusaka， where circumcisions are prevalent， in the hope that the whole Africa eventually abandons this ritual. In Kenya and Somalia， the governments and their parliaments passed laws to ban this practice.
However， this centuries-old ritual， which is already forbidden by many governments， is carried out in many places. It is because of the unequal social status between men and women that women cannot enjoy the same right as man. Under this circumstance， the hope of totally abandoning FGM is hard to become reality. Furthermore， the economic development in many African countries remains far behind other countries. Their labor intensive production model puts women in an unfavourable position in the society owning to their relatively weak physical strength. Therefore， the best way to abolish FGM is to promote the political and economic development and the freedom of information in Africa.
目前，这一习俗已经引起了国际社会的广泛关注。从1979年开始，非洲妇女组织在世界卫生组织的帮助下，先后在喀图穆、卢萨卡等地召开专门会议，通过了从最盛行女子割礼的东非和北非开始，逐步在整个非洲废止这一陋习的决议。肯尼亚、索马里等国的议会，经过激烈辩论，也都通过了立即废止的法令。
但令人遗憾的是，虽然这些国家的政府已经立法废除这项传统仪式，但仍然难以撼动这项流传数千年的传统。究其本源，无疑是当地社会并不认为女性与男性享有相同的权利的观念作祟。这样的意识形态并非主观希望改变就能够实现，很多非洲国家的政治、经济相对落后于其他国家，生产方式还停留在以体力劳动创造价值的阶段，在这样的社会中，体力相对男性处于劣势的女性的社会地位自然会相对低下。想要废除女性割礼，最好的方式无疑是促进非洲地区政治、经济的发展，推动当地社会信息的开放。
生活在现代社会中，人们很难想象这世界上每天有六千名少女将通过一项仪式被割除或损毁自己的生殖器以服从这些国家的民俗或宗教理念，这项仪式被称作女性割礼。根据联合国儿童基金会的定义，女性割礼或者说女性生殖器割礼，或者说女性生殖器切除，指的是对女性施行的部分或者完全切除外生殖器或者对女性生殖器官造成其他伤害的所有外科手术。
FGM is extremely cruel and usually carried out without anaesthesia. Marielouise Janssen-Jurreit， a female writer， meticulously described the procedure of the operation： “The circumcision is sometimes done by the girl's mother and female relatives. Moreover， the father must stand at the side of the door to protect this work symbolically. The young girl sits on a chair， restrained by other women. Then an old woman opens her lips of vulva， fixes them on two sides with needles to expose the whole clitoris. Then glans clitoridis is cut with a kitchen knife. Then the other parts of the clitoris are cut too. There is also a woman responsible for wiping off the blood unceasingly， and the girl's mother puts her fingers in the incision to pull out the entire organs. When the mother excises the clitoris， she will cut flesh away from the bone， even around the lips of vulva. Then the mother will use her fingers to dig everywhere in the wound. Another woman touches the wound simultaneously to make sure that all organs have been excised cleanly with no part remaining. Afterwards， the girl's mother will also cut away the entire lips of vulva. At this moment， the brutal second part officially starts. After the above steps， the girl will most likely have lost consciousness more than once and the women use medicines to revive the girl. Woman neighbors supervise the mother as she carries out her work. Because some girls are unable to withstand the severe pain， they sometimes try to bite the tongue to commit suicide. Therefore there is a woman to inspect girls' mouths carefully. They scatter pepper on the tongue to let it retract immediately into the mouth. After the surgery is completed， the mother will use locust tree acicular to suture both sides of the remaining genitalia， leaving only a very small aperture to drain urine and menstruation blood. The smaller this hole is， the more highly the girl will be valued.” The procedure is extremely brutal.” 女性的割礼极为残忍，大都在没有任何麻醉之下就对女孩施行这项手术，以下是女作家Marielouise Janssen-Jurreit对此详细的描述：“割礼由女孩的母亲及女性亲戚操刀，父亲则必须站在门外象征性地守护这项工作的进行。少女坐在一张几乎不曾清洁过的椅子上，由多位妇女按住。接着由一位老妇将她的阴唇打开，用针刺固定在一旁，让阴蒂整个露出来。然后用厨房里的菜刀将阴蒂头切掉，并且将剩余的阴蒂纵切开来。期间会有一名妇人不断地擦掉血液，女孩的母亲将手指伸进切开的阴蒂，将组织整个挖出来。此时女孩发出凄厉的惨叫声，但根本没有人理会她是多么痛苦。当母亲切除阴蒂时，会把肉清除到见骨为止，甚至连阴唇周围的部分也不能留下。接着母亲会用手指在流血的伤口中到处挖，同时也让另一名妇女碰触伤口，如此以确保所有组织都已切除干净，没有任何一部分残留。之后，女孩的母亲还会将整个内阴唇切掉，也会切除属于外阴唇的肉和皮肤，此时残酷的第二重头戏才正式开始。经过上述的步骤，此时大部分女孩都已经历过多次昏厥，只是一次次用药粉使其恢复知觉。其余邻居妇女会在一旁观看并且谨慎地督促母亲正在进行的工作。偶尔会有女孩因为无法承受如此剧痛，想要咬舌自尽，因此会有一名妇人仔细观查女孩的嘴巴，不断地在伸出来的舌头上撒上胡椒，让它立刻缩回嘴里。当手术完成后，母亲会用刺槐的针状物将外阴部的两侧缝合起来，只留下一个很小的开口来排泄尿液与经血。这个人工洞口愈小，女孩的价值就愈高。”从这位女作家的描述中，足见割礼的残忍程度。
So far， there is no agreement on when and where FGM first started. Some scholars believe that the cutting has been conducted in Africa for over 4000 years. Archaeologists find that a large number of ancient Egyptian female mummies were circumcised. Some researches show that the practice of genital mutilation was originated from Judaism， as it considers circumcision as a symbolic contract between each human and God. The perpetuation of FGM is clearly a result of ignorance， the low status of women and limited knowledge. Nowadays， circumcisions are for men to check the virginity of women. The closed introituses is a proof of evidence of virginity. At the same time， having a cut is to ensure that women won’t be unfaithful when husbands work outside the house.
Additionally， circumcised women experience tremendous amount of plain during intercourse， because the scar is tore open. The circumcision makes girls asexual， no sexual desire and less likely to experience satisfaction during sex. On this level， FGM is no difference from castration. Even though circumcised women can have sex， sex will only bring pain， not pleasure. This is directly related to the religion’s abstinence stance. It is believed that “women’s filthy part cause men fallen” and “women should not have sexual desire and should remain chastity.”
Ironically， from a physiological perspective， it has been proved by medical experts that circumcised women can more sexual pleasure to men， since their vagina is constantly tight. Like the foot binding in ancient China which strengthened the thigh muscle， it aims to keep the vagina tight.
关于割礼的起源，当今社会学术界并没有统一的说法，有相关学者认为非洲割礼习俗已有4000年的历史。也有考古发现古埃及时期的女性木乃伊曾受过割礼，也有研究认为割礼起源于犹太教，是一种人类与上帝的契约。但可以肯定的是女性割礼的诞生是由于当时人类对世界认知的局限性以及当时社会女性地位相对低下而形成的。在现在，割礼的首要目的是提供给男人可靠的“验贞”方法。他可以通过检查新娘的外阴情形来判断她是否处女。当丈夫外出放牧或务工时，这种割礼功能亦可用于他回家时检验妻子是否忠贞的手段。 另外，因女子的敏感部位被割除，性交时女人伤口被撕裂，然后愈合，然后再撕裂，这样周而复始、苦不堪言。事实上，被施割礼的女子成为了“无性者”。她没有性欲，一生里永不会得到性快感——此层面上，被施割礼的女性与被阉割没有区别，这一点，与原始宗教的禁欲戒律相关，认为“女子两腿之间有肮脏的、致使男人堕落的东西”，认为“女子不应该对性有兴趣，这是恪守贞操的根本”。
极其讽刺的是，尽管说“女子两腿之间有致使男人堕落的东西”，但经一些医学家证明，在生理学意义上，被施割礼的女人可以给男人造成更大的性快感，因为她们的阴道口永远都是很小的。这有些像古代中国男子让女性裹脚的目的之一，正是令她们在行走时必须绷紧大腿根部的肌肉，于是保持了阴道的紧窄。
In Africa， the social pressure is forcing many girls to confine to this vicious culture. “FGM is performed in December. No one can run away from circumcision because the chief of tribe records date of birth of each girl. A female in Sabiny tribe refusing to be cut will forever be accorded the social status of a rebellious girl – forbiddened to marry， speak publicly to circumcised women， or undertake women’s tasks such as milking cows， collecting dung to plaster walls and drawing grain from the communal granary. The whole process is cruel and shameful since your father， brothers， neighbors even granddad are invited to watch the ritual，” mentioned some documents. FGM and foot-binding have similarities. Both are considered by men as a mean of controlling women by harming their body. Although the FGM brings a psychological trauma to female， the physical harm is even greater and direct. In addition to the ache， the FGM has immediate and late complications. FGM is typically carried out by practitioners， without anaesthesia， using unsterilized cutting devices such as knives and scissors， and applying suturing material such as agave or acacia thorns. The whole procedure is extremely painful and a bleeding complication can be fatal. The most common method to stop bleeding is to apply Gum or kelp to the wounded area. With the high risk condition and unsterilized devices， post-surgery inflections are likely to occur. Complications also include the formation of scars and keloids， urinary infection， wound infection， dyspareunia， dysmenorrheal， hepatitis， HIV， genital tract sequelae like the damage to urethra and bladder with infections and incontinence， bladder stones， urinary incontinence， obstructed labor， bleeding during childbirth and increased risk of infection and infertility. After the surgery， 30% of the women suffer from tetanus， closed aciduria and vaginal ulcers， in accordance with the Kenya's Wajir district statistics.
在非洲某些地区，巨大的社会压力致使这里的少女完全无法反抗这项令自己无比痛苦的习俗：“逃得了今天也逃不过明天，部落酋长手里的户口簿上清清楚楚地记载着每个女孩的出生年月，每年的12月都要清理一次，重新进行登记，一个也逃不了。在塞比尼部落，一个未举行过割礼的女子被认为是背叛者，永远不得嫁人，即使幸运地有人娶了她，也被禁止给奶牛挤奶，禁止进入她丈夫的牲口棚，甚至禁止从家庭的玉米地里获得食物，让其一辈子抬不起头来。割礼不仅残酷痛苦，整个过程也非常令人羞愧，因为女孩的父亲、兄弟、邻居，有时甚至公公都会在旁观看手术。”有资料中这样写道。女性割礼与古代中国的裹脚习俗有着相似性，都是通过对女性身体的侵害以强化男性对女性的控制。女性割礼虽然对女性的心灵会造成巨大的创伤，但更直接地是身体上的创伤。除仪式举行时的痛苦外，更为致命的是手术造成的健康隐患。传统的切割工具是铁刀或小刀片，缝合使用的是一般针线，有的地方甚至使用荆棘。用这样落后、原始的器具切割身体的敏感部位，而经常又不使用麻醉剂，肉体上的痛苦是难以言说的。手术过程中，不但疼痛难忍，还经常发生大出血现象。最常使用的止血剂不过是树胶或草灰。简陋的医疗条件，加上器具从不消毒，因而女性手术后经常发生感染，可能发生的疾病包括脓肿、囊肿、伤口组织增生、尿路感染、性交疼痛、感染艾滋病、肝炎和其他血液传染的疾病、生殖系统感染、盆腔炎、不育、痛经、慢性尿路堵塞、膀胱结石、小便失禁，在分娩过程中发生出血和感染的危险性加大等。据肯尼亚的瓦吉尔地区统计，手术后发生破伤风、闭尿症、阴道溃烂者约占30%。 So far， this practice has aroused international concerns. From 1979 onward， many woman organizations in Africa with help from WHO held specialized meetings in East and North Africa like Khartoum and Lusaka， where circumcisions are prevalent， in the hope that the whole Africa eventually abandons this ritual. In Kenya and Somalia， the governments and their parliaments passed laws to ban this practice.
However， this centuries-old ritual， which is already forbidden by many governments， is carried out in many places. It is because of the unequal social status between men and women that women cannot enjoy the same right as man. Under this circumstance， the hope of totally abandoning FGM is hard to become reality. Furthermore， the economic development in many African countries remains far behind other countries. Their labor intensive production model puts women in an unfavourable position in the society owning to their relatively weak physical strength. Therefore， the best way to abolish FGM is to promote the political and economic development and the freedom of information in Africa.
目前，这一习俗已经引起了国际社会的广泛关注。从1979年开始，非洲妇女组织在世界卫生组织的帮助下，先后在喀图穆、卢萨卡等地召开专门会议，通过了从最盛行女子割礼的东非和北非开始，逐步在整个非洲废止这一陋习的决议。肯尼亚、索马里等国的议会，经过激烈辩论，也都通过了立即废止的法令。
但令人遗憾的是，虽然这些国家的政府已经立法废除这项传统仪式，但仍然难以撼动这项流传数千年的传统。究其本源，无疑是当地社会并不认为女性与男性享有相同的权利的观念作祟。这样的意识形态并非主观希望改变就能够实现，很多非洲国家的政治、经济相对落后于其他国家，生产方式还停留在以体力劳动创造价值的阶段，在这样的社会中，体力相对男性处于劣势的女性的社会地位自然会相对低下。想要废除女性割礼，最好的方式无疑是促进非洲地区政治、经济的发展，推动当地社会信息的开放。