It is a difficult subject. Most people, when they first hear about Female Genital Mutilation, react with immediate, visceral horror. They ask, "How could a parent do that to their child?" It feels like an impossible contradiction. You have a mother who loves her daughter, yet she brings her to a practitioner to undergo a procedure that causes lifelong physical and psychological pain. To understand why do they do FGM, you have to step away from the gut reaction and look at the intricate, often suffocating web of social pressure, tradition, and misinterpreted faith that keeps this practice alive in over 30 countries.
It isn't about hate. That’s the first thing most experts, like those at the World Health Organization (WHO) or UNICEF, will tell you. In the communities where this happens, it is actually seen as an act of love and protection.
That sounds backwards, right? But in a social ecosystem where a girl’s entire future—her ability to marry, her status in the village, her very inheritance—depends on being "cut," a parent who refuses to do it is essentially ensuring their daughter becomes a social pariah.
The Social Pressure Cooker
The biggest driver is social convention. In many parts of Egypt, Ethiopia, or Indonesia, FGM is a rite of passage. It marks the transition from childhood to womanhood. If a girl doesn't go through it, she’s often considered "unclean" or "immature." Imagine living in a small village where every single woman you know, from your grandmother to your best friend, has undergone this. You've been told your whole life that this is what makes you a woman.
Social conformity is a powerful drug.
The fear of stigma is real. In some cultures, an "uncut" woman cannot prepare food for the elders because she is seen as impure. She might be barred from community meetings. Most importantly, she might be considered unmarriageable. In societies where women have little to no economic independence outside of marriage, FGM becomes a brutal form of "dowry insurance." Parents do it because they want their daughters to have a husband and a life. They see it as a necessary sacrifice for a girl's long-term security.
The Virginity and Fidelity Myth
A huge part of the "why" involves the control of female sexuality. There is a persistent, deeply ingrained belief that FGM reduces a woman's libido and ensures she stays "pure" until marriage and faithful afterward. By removing or sewing up parts of the genitalia, the community believes they are protecting the girl from "temptation."
It’s about "modesty" taken to a violent extreme.
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Dr. Nafissatou Diop, a long-time advocate and researcher, has often pointed out that these beliefs are tied to patriarchal structures where a woman's value is placed entirely on her perceived chastity. In some types of FGM, specifically Type III (infibulation), the vaginal opening is narrowed. The idea is that this physical barrier guarantees virginity. It is a physical manifestation of a "chastity belt," enforced by the community to protect family "honor."
Religious Misconceptions and the "Sunna" Debate
If you ask some practitioners why do they do FGM, they will tell you it's a religious requirement. This is one of the most persistent myths surrounding the practice.
Here is the reality: No major religion—not Islam, not Christianity, not Judaism—actually mandates FGM.
In many Muslim-majority countries, people refer to certain types of cutting as "Sunna" (the path or tradition of the Prophet). However, top Islamic scholars and institutions, like Al-Azhar University in Cairo, have issued fatwas stating that FGM is not an Islamic requirement and is, in fact, harmful and contrary to the principles of Islam. Despite this, the local "folk religion" often overrides official scripture. People believe it’s a religious duty because their local imam or village leader told them so, and that’s a hard cycle to break.
It's also worth noting that FGM predates both Christianity and Islam. It has been found in mummies from ancient Egypt. It is a cultural practice that has "latched on" to religious identities over thousands of years, making it even harder to uproot because people feel that by challenging FGM, they are challenging their faith.
The Cleanliness and Aesthetic Factor
In some communities, there’s a bizarre belief that female genitalia are naturally "ugly" or "masculine" if the clitoris isn't removed. They use words like "cleansing" or "purifying." There are myths that the clitoris will grow to the size of a penis if not cut, or that it will kill a baby during childbirth if the head touches it.
None of this is true. Obviously.
But if you are raised in an environment where these "facts" are passed down as gospel truth, you don't question them. You see the procedure as a way to make a girl more "feminine" and "dainty." It’s an aesthetic standard enforced through surgery, not much different in concept (though vastly different in severity) from the extreme beauty standards seen elsewhere in the world.
Why Is It So Hard to Stop?
You’d think that with all the international pressure and the laws passed against it, FGM would have disappeared by now. But it’s sticky. It’s ingrained in the fabric of the community.
- The Role of the Cutters: The women who perform these procedures (often called "circumcisers" or "excisors") hold a high status in their villages. It’s a job. They get paid in money, food, or gifts. When you try to ban FGM, you are taking away the livelihood and the social standing of these influential older women.
- Medicalization: This is a terrifying new trend. In countries like Egypt and Sudan, more and more parents are taking their daughters to actual doctors and nurses to have FGM performed. They think that because it’s done in a clinic with anesthesia and sterile tools, it’s "safe." But the medical community is clear: FGM has no medical benefits, and medicalizing it only "legitimizes" a human rights violation.
- The "Secret" Nature: Because it’s often illegal now, it’s gone underground. It happens in the middle of the night. It happens across borders. This makes it incredibly difficult for NGOs to track and prevent.
Honestly, the "why" is a moving target. In one village, it's about marriage. In the next, it's about a specific tribal identity. It’s not a monolith.
What Really Happens to the Body?
To truly grasp the gravity of why the global health community is so focused on this, we have to look at the consequences. We aren't just talking about a "nick."
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The WHO classifies FGM into four types. Type I is the partial or total removal of the clitoral glans. Type II involves removing the labia minora. Type III, the most severe, involves narrowing the vaginal opening by creating a covering seal. Type IV includes all other harmful procedures like pricking, piercing, or scraping.
The immediate risks are obvious: severe pain, shock, hemorrhage, and infection. Because it’s often done with unsterile blades or even pieces of glass, tetanus and sepsis are common.
Long-term? It’s a nightmare. Women suffer from chronic urinary tract infections. They have kidney stones. They deal with painful menstruation because the blood can't escape easily. Then there’s childbirth. For a woman who has been infibulated, giving birth is incredibly dangerous. The scar tissue doesn't stretch. It tears. This leads to obstructed labor, which can kill both the mother and the baby, or lead to obstetric fistula—a condition where a hole is created between the birth canal and the bladder or rectum, leaving the woman incontinent and often abandoned by her family.
The Path Toward Change
Ending FGM isn't about shouting at people or calling them "barbaric." That just makes communities defensive. Real change happens through "Community-Led Total Abandonment."
Groups like Tostan, an NGO working in West Africa, have had massive success. They don't start by talking about FGM. They start by talking about human rights, health, and hygiene. They facilitate long-term discussions where the entire village—men, women, imams, and elders—decides together to stop the practice.
When the whole village agrees at once, the "social pressure" vanishes. No one is worried about their daughter being unmarriageable if none of the girls in the village are being cut.
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Actionable Steps for Awareness and Support
If you want to move beyond just understanding why do they do FGM and actually help, here is how you can practically engage with the issue:
- Support Local, Not Just Global: Look for grassroots organizations like The Orchid Project or Tostan. These groups empower local leaders to change their own cultures from within, which is far more effective than outside "lecturing."
- Educate Without Shaming: If you're discussing this, focus on the health outcomes and the fact that it isn't a religious requirement. Shaming a culture usually results in that culture clinging more tightly to its traditions as a form of "defense."
- Support Survivors: Many women in the West are survivors of FGM and face unique medical and psychological challenges. Support organizations that provide reconstructive surgery and specialized counseling, such as Desert Flower Foundation.
- Advocate for Policy: Ensure that your local and national governments treat FGM as a form of gender-based violence and provide adequate protection for girls seeking asylum to escape the procedure.
The practice is declining. In many countries, the percentage of girls undergoing FGM is significantly lower than it was thirty years ago. The "why" is losing its power as education spreads and as women begin to reclaim their right to bodily autonomy. It's a slow, painful crawl toward progress, but it is happening. The more we understand the social mechanics behind it, the better we can support the people working to end it once and for all.
Practical Resource Checklist:
- UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme: The largest global effort to accelerate the abandonment of FGM.
- 28 Too Many: Provides excellent, country-specific research and data for 28 African countries where FGM is practiced.
- Forward UK: A leading African-led organization working to end violence against women and girls.