Fgm & Female Infanticide

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The main issue in this piece is violence against women and women’s rights referring to female infanticide and female genital mutilation also known as FGM. Female infanticide is defined as the act of killing an infant simply because it is a female or aborting the fetus because it is a female, and FGM is the circumcision of the female genital intended to inhibit a woman’s sexual feelings (WHO 2014.) Although these are two separate issues with different trajectories they still lead to a violation of human rights (Saad 2014). These two issues are important topics because they will help in understanding and addressing violence against women in developing countries. Female infanticide is most common in India where the people believe that females are much of a burden, and according to who FGM happens in about “28 countries in Africa and in a few countries in Asia and the Middle East” (WHO, 2014). There are two perspectives people have on women’s rights, the first being “patriarchal and oppressive – both FGM and infanticide are a reflection of how women are perceived. The second perspective on women’s rights is human rights and gender equality” (Legare, 2014). The perspective that believes in human rights and gender quality see FGM/female infanticide as violation of human rights (Althaus, 1997). This perspective is most common in westernized and developed countries. They believe that these acts should be considered abuse and a violation of human rights because FGM can expose these young girls and women to many diseases and post traumatic disorders (ENDFGM). The people who live in a country with patriarchal and oppressive views see FGM as a rite of passage and female infanticide as a necessity. FGM is performed because they believe women are unclean if they have not gone through the procedure and that a women’s virginity before marriage is a must and thus by having women
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