It is a topic that makes most people flinch. Honestly, just hearing the words can trigger a visceral reaction. But if we want to understand the "why" behind it, we have to move past the initial shock. We have to look at the ground-level reality for millions of women.
So, why is female circumcision performed?
It isn't just one thing. It’s a massive, tangled web of tradition, misunderstood biology, and intense social pressure. In many communities across Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, this isn't seen as a "crime" or "mutilation" by those doing it. They see it as a necessary step toward adulthood. It’s a rite of passage. If you don't do it, you're out. You're an outcast.
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The World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF have spent decades trying to untangle these motivations. They’ve found that the reasons are rarely about malice. Usually, it's about a misguided sense of love and protection.
The weight of social acceptance
Imagine living in a village where your entire future depends on marriage. In these places, if a girl isn't "cut," she is considered "unclean" or "promiscuous." No one will marry her. Her family loses their standing.
Basically, the community enforces a "marriageability" standard that is absolute.
Anthropologists like Gerry Mackie have compared this to foot-binding in China. It’s a self-enforcing convention. Even parents who hate the idea of hurting their daughters often feel they have no choice. If they don't follow through, their daughter will never have a family of her own. She will be a pariah. That fear is a powerful engine. It keeps the practice alive even when people know it causes pain.
Purity, modesty, and the control of desire
There is a persistent myth in many regions that female genitalia are somehow "dangerous" or "uncontrollable."
You’ll often hear the argument that why is female circumcision performed is to "calm" a woman. The idea is to reduce her libido to ensure she stays faithful to her husband. It is a tool for the control of female sexuality. By removing parts of the clitoris or the labia, the goal is to eliminate the possibility of sexual pleasure, which is seen as a threat to the moral fabric of the family.
It's about honor.
In some cultures, particularly where Type III FGM (infibulation) is practiced, the vaginal opening is narrowed. This is done to "guarantee" virginity until marriage. It’s a physical seal. For the men in these societies, this is often a prerequisite for a dowry or a legal union. It is a devastatingly physical way of tracking "purity."
Religion vs. Tradition: The great mix-up
Here is something that surprises a lot of people: No major religion actually requires this.
Neither the Bible nor the Quran mandates female circumcision. Yet, many people who practice it firmly believe it is a religious obligation. It’s a classic case of local tradition being "grandfathered" into religious identity over centuries.
In parts of Egypt or Ethiopia, you’ll find both Christians and Muslims practicing it. They use religious language to justify it, but if you talk to high-ranking scholars—like those at Al-Azhar University in Cairo—they will tell you clearly that it has no basis in Islamic law. In fact, many have issued fatwas against it. But the message doesn't always reach the remote villages. Local imams or priests might still support it because it's what they've always known.
Culture is sticky. It’s harder to change than a law or a theological stance.
Hygiene and aesthetics: The "unclean" myth
Some reasons are purely about what people find "beautiful" or "clean."
In certain parts of West Africa, there’s a belief that the clitoris will grow to the size of a penis if it isn't trimmed. Others think it’s unsanitary. They call the natural female body "ghalfa" (uncircumcised/unclean).
It's weirdly similar to how some Western cultures view body hair or plastic surgery, except the stakes are infinitely higher and the physical damage is permanent. There is a deep-seated belief that the "natural" state is somehow wrong or unfinished. Cutting is seen as "polishing" the woman, making her a proper female.
The medicalization trap
Recently, a new trend has emerged that is deeply worrying to health experts: medicalization.
Instead of a traditional "cutter" using a razor blade under a tree, parents are taking their daughters to actual doctors or nurses. They think that if a professional does it in a sterile environment with anesthesia, it makes it okay.
But it’s not okay.
The International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) has come out strongly against this. Even if you take away the risk of infection or immediate hemorrhage, you are still removing healthy, functional tissue. You are still causing long-term psychological trauma. You are still reinforcing the idea that a woman’s body needs to be "fixed" through violence.
Medicalization actually makes the practice harder to stop. It gives it a "veneer" of legitimacy. It tells the community, "Hey, a doctor did this, so it must be healthy." It’s a dangerous distraction from the human rights issue at the core.
The physical and psychological toll
We can't talk about why it's performed without talking about what happens afterward.
The immediate risks are obvious: severe pain, shock, bleeding, and sometimes death. But the long-term stuff is what really grinds a person down. We’re talking about chronic infections, cysts, and excruciating pain during menstruation because the blood can't escape properly.
Then there’s childbirth.
Women who have undergone infibulation often face life-threatening complications during labor. The scar tissue doesn't stretch. It tears. Or it blocks the baby entirely. According to a landmark WHO study involving nearly 30,000 women, those who had undergone FGM were significantly more likely to require a C-section or suffer from postpartum hemorrhage.
And the minds of these girls? They don't just "get over it." Many suffer from PTSD, anxiety, and a profound sense of betrayal by the very people—their mothers and grandmothers—who were supposed to protect them.
Shifting the needle: What actually works?
So, how do you stop something that is so deeply baked into the culture?
You don't do it by shouting from the outside. That usually just makes people defensive. The most successful programs are "community-led."
- Public Declarations: In countries like Senegal, organizations like Tostan have seen massive success with "collective abandonment." Entire villages get together and publicly vow to stop the practice so that no one family is penalized for having an "uncut" daughter.
- Alternative Rites of Passage: Some groups have kept the "celebration" and the "teaching" of being a woman but replaced the cutting with symbolic gifts or educational workshops.
- Engaging Men: Since the "why" is often tied to marriage, getting men to publicly state they prefer to marry uncircumcised women is a game-changer.
It's a slow process. It’s about changing the heart of a community, one conversation at a time.
Moving forward with clarity
Understanding why is female circumcision performed is the first step toward ending it. It’s not about "barbaric" people wanting to hurt children. It’s about families trying to survive in a social system that demands this sacrifice for the sake of "honor" and "acceptance."
If you want to help or learn more, look into the work of The Orchid Project or Forward UK. These organizations work on the ground to empower communities to make the change themselves.
The goal isn't just to pass laws—it's to reach a point where every mother looks at her daughter and knows that her "purity" isn't something that can be carved out with a knife. It’s about realizing that a woman is already whole exactly as she is born.
Actionable steps for awareness and change
- Educate yourself on the types: Recognize that FGM ranges from partial removal to total closure (infibulation). Knowing the difference helps in understanding the specific health risks involved.
- Support grassroots movements: Change rarely comes from top-down government mandates alone. Donate to or volunteer with organizations that facilitate community dialogues in high-prevalence areas.
- Challenge the "Religious Requirement" myth: If you are in a position to influence or discuss this within a community, use the factual evidence that no major religious text mandates the practice.
- Prioritize the survivors: For those working in healthcare or social work, prioritize trauma-informed care for women who have already undergone the procedure, focusing on both physical reconstructive options and psychological support.