Female genital mutilation
FGM is a politically charged and highly negative term that is short for Female Genital Mutilation. It refers to the Islamic and African practices of female circumcision, clitoral removal, and female infibulation. Major campaigns are being waged around the world to stop the practice outright which is non-consensually forced on young girls — though there are many people (largely women who have had the procedure themselves) who feel it is culturally important to protect.
Performing FGM (which can include procedures such as hood splitting and labial removal, and under some definitions even female genital piercing) in many Western countries carries with it jail time of up to 40 years and authorities actively prosecuting these cases. Before involving oneself in any such act, even between consenting adults, you would be highly advised to speak with a lawyer.
Warning, the following is very graphic
- "The child, completely naked, is made to sit on a low stool. Several women take hold of her and open her legs wide. After separating her outer and inner lips, the operator, usually a woman experienced in this procedure, sits down facing the child. With her kitchen knife the operator first pierces and slices open the hood of the clitoris. Then she begins to cut it out. While another woman wipes off the blood with a rag, the operator digs with her sharp fingernail a hole the length of the clitoris to detach and pull out the organ. The little girl, held down by the women helpers, screams in extreme pain; but no one pays the slightest attention.The operator finishes this job by entirely pulling out the clitoris, cutting it to the bone with her knife. Her helpers again wipe off the spurting blood with a rag. The operator then removes the remaining flesh, digging with her finger to remove any remnant of the clitoris among the flowing blood. The neighbor women are then invited to plunge their fingers into the bloody hole to verify that every piece of the clitoris is removed."
- -Excerpt from Hosken Report, Somalia Genital and Sexual Mutilation of Females, Fourth Revised Edition, 1993 (Women’s International Network News)"
In some contexts FGM may stand for female genital modification, but to avoid confusion that term seems to have dropped out of fashion.