Four Values in Filipino Drama and Film

In some African countries, female circumcision is a widely practiced tradition.

Female genital mutilation (FGM), also known as female genital cutting(FGC) and female circumcision (FC), is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as "all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons."[1] It is practiced mainly in 28 countries in western, eastern, and north-eastern Africa, particularly Egypt and Ethiopia, and in parts of Asia and the Middle East.[3] The WHO estimates that 140 million women and girls around the world have experienced it, including 101 million in Africa.[1]

FGM is typically carried out between four years old and puberty, although it may be conducted on younger infants and adults.[4] It may take place in a hospital, but is usually performed without anaesthesia by a traditional circumciser using a knife, razor or scissors.[5] The practice is rooted in gender inequality, cultural identity, ideas about purity, modesty, aesthetics, status and honor, and attempts to control women's sexuality by reducing their sexual desire, thereby promoting chastity and fidelity. In communities that practice it, it is typically supported by both women and men.[6]

The WHO offers four classifications of FGM.[7] Type I usually refers to removal of the clitoris (clitoridectomy) and clitoral hood.[8] Type II (excision) is removal of the clitoris and inner labia.[9] Type III (infibulation) involves the removal of all or part of the inner and outer labia, and usually the clitoris, and the fusion of the wound; a small hole is left for the passage of urine and menstrual blood, and the wound is opened for intercourse and childbirth.[10] Around 85 percent of women who undergo FGM experience Types I and II. Type III is the most common procedure in Djibouti, Somalia and Sudan, and in parts of Eritrea, Ethiopia and Mali.[11] Type IV refers to miscellaneous procedures such as...