Female genital mutilation has been shown to have significant …show more content…
In Judaism and Islam, circumcision holds a deep spiritual significance (Harbinson, 2015). Circumcision is also practiced in most Muslim, Jewish and Middle-Eastern countries, as well in the United States. Circumcision is practiced in the United States also for religious rituals (Aydogmus et al., 2016). Boys have been circumcised before it was a ritual for Jews and Muslims. To begin with, boys were circumcised in America and Britain with an attempt to prevent boys from masturbating, which was not successful. Circumcision was also practiced after 1870 because physicians believed that not being circumcised was linked to diseases such as epilepsy, insanity, homosexuality, and deafness (Svoboda, Adler & Howe, …show more content…
These practices go on because the village people believe it will make the girls pure. The practice of female genital mutilation/ circumcision originated in the birth of Islam. Although this has been brought on by the birth of Islam, not all Muslims use this practice on their young girls and women. If a girl is not circumcised then the girls’ friends and family say that the girl will be possessed by devils, fall into vice and perdition, and become whores. In Somalia and other countries, when there is a circumcision it will always be justified by Islam and no Imams ever discourage the practice of circumcision given their beliefs that it will keep the girls pure. Women encourage their girls and granddaughters to go through with the procedure, saying it is necessary and gives them the dignity of purification (Ratliff & Hill,