Scarred for life

Photo essay: Female circumcision in Kurdistan

by Amit R. Paley
20-Jan-2009
 

Originally featured in Washington Post, "For Kurdish Girls, a Painful Ancient Ritual". Photographer Andrea Bruce and special correspondents Nian Ahmed and Dlovan Brwari contributed to this report: Sheelan Anwar Omer, a shy 7-year-old Kurdish girl, bounded into her neighbor's house with an ear-to-ear smile, looking for the party her mother had promised. There was no celebration. Instead, a local woman quickly locked a rusty red door behind Sheelan, who looked bewildered when her mother ordered the girl to remove her underpants. Sheelan began to whimper, then tremble, while the women pushed apart her legs and a midwife raised a stainless-steel razor blade in the air. "I do this in the name of Allah!" she intoned. Kurdistan is the only known part of Iraq --and one of the few places in the world--where female circumcision is widespread. More than 60 percent of women in Kurdish areas of northern Iraq have been circumcised, according to a study conducted this year. In at least one Kurdish territory, 95 percent of women have undergone the practice, which human rights groups call female genital mutilation>>>Full text

شيلان دختر هفت ساله كرد در حاليكه لحظه اي لبخند و تبسم از چهره اش محو نميشود ,در خانه همسايه با دختران همسن و سال خود به انتظار پارتي كه مادرش به او قول داده است نشسته است. اما واقعيت اين است كه پارتي اي در كار نيست و او و5 دختر خردسال ديگر همسايگي تا دقايقي ديگر ختنه خواهند شد. ختنه دختران عملي است كه قرنها در كردستان عراق انجام ميشود. كاتيب پيرزن 91 ساله اي كه از اين عمل حمايت ميكند ميگويد: ختنه براي پاك شدن روح زن از مسائل جنسي واجب است چرا كه با اين عمل روح زن پاك ميشود و ميتوان از دست او غذا خورد. او در حاليكه با انگشتش نشان ميدهد ميگويد "قسمت بسيار كوچكي از آلت زنانه را قطع ميكنند و به آن صورت هم دردي ندارد .او همچنين گفت من هم خودم و هم تمام دخترانم را ختنه كرده ام." From sozheh.blogfa.com

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May be not

by Alborzi (not verified) on

This is actually the correct argument, once a Jewish professor demonstrated there is no nerve in foreskin, by pinching a baby hard in foreskin. However just like appendicitis and tonsils, the practice of removing a piece of the body that no function can be found for is frowned upon. There has to be a compelling reason to remove it. Now removing it may be a Jewish religious issue, but certainly the Christians and Moslems are doing it like idiots.


Darius Kadivar

circumcision or L'excision ?

by Darius Kadivar on

Not sure about your title. What you are refering too is known as "L'excision" in French not sure of the english word. It has nothing to do with circumcision as practiced on males ( which is not mutilation in this case).

L'excision on the otherhand consists of a mutilation of the sexual organ which results to the lack of sexual desires. It is mostly common in African countries and seeing it practiced in our country is truly shocking.

//fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Excision

 


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Why not?!

by Anonymousgholi (not verified) on

جماعت ایرانی

حالا که همه چیز را گردن انگلیس و امریکا و روسیه و ...میندازیم این یکی را هم گردن اونها بندازیم


Jaleho

F.Fateh might say Iranian Muslim girls

by Jaleho on

get this "Islamic Treatment" even if every Iranian women here said that in their family they never heard of such things. After all, since he has been raised in a racist family himself where his backward family have been hating Jews (and most probably were proud to be ARYAN), he thinks all Iranian are backward like his family.

I can't bring myself to look at those pictures. The front page picture is very disturbing already. I thought it is being done in some African countries, primarily Sudan. Kurds?!!

PS to Zion: For some strong supporter of Israel, whose entire country has been created based on Jews claiming that Jewish God (HaShem) promised the land of others to Jews in exchange for a piece of penis of all Israelite, your comment sounds rather funny!


sanazi

zion

by sanazi on

what u are saying is true too. In parts of Africa, if a girl is not circumcised she is considered worthless. Uncircumsised girls have no value in certain africain socieities. This is part of their culture and custom. And these societies in africa are not necessarily muslim, many of them are christians and they are practicising circumcision on their girls. But i guess for me and many others on this site, these images of the little girls are very difficult to look at.


choghok

Circumvention

by choghok on

There is no doubt that we have many experts here on iranian.com.

We have experts who know that Female circumcision is Islamic or Arabic practice, We have experts coming with the fact that It is a British invention and also that also experts stating that male and female circumcision is actually the same thing.

And we also have some people who read stuff on the internet and use that as fact.

Good that we have so many experts in the field of circumcision and its history. Irans future seems suddenly so bright.

/Bidar bash ke ma bekhabim


Jahanshah Javid

Religious non-sense

by Jahanshah Javid on

Circumcision is cruel and unnecessary -- for boys or girls.


Zion

Déjà vu?

by Zion on

The reactions in the comments are quite interesting. Imagine an actual supporter of female genitalia circumcision coming here and reading them. His reaction? So much hate mongering, one-sided extremism, counter productive in bringing him around, shameful demonization of a peaceful people and their own customs ... .

;-)


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Just to add, this is a

by Anony-mouse (not verified) on

Just to add, this is a horrible custom that needs to be abolished. I don't mean to shoot the messenger-- but like pictures you saw from the Rwandan and Bosnian massacres, the photographer here reminds me of a predator.


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Not only is female

by Anony-mouse (not verified) on

Not only is female circumcision not common in Iran... but does not happen in Iran (it would be just as common as Germany, it's just not in the culture), nor is it a religious custom. Nor is male circumcisions

So much stupid in one post. *forehead*


Maral

همش زیر سر انگلیساست

Maral


Is there anything you people do not blame the British for?

I used to laugh and still do when people blame the British for everything happening in Iran or the Middle East, including Queen Soraya not getting pregnant because زیر سر انگلیساست

Enough is enough! Stop this blaming game.

It is not funny anymore esp. when we are talking about painful subjects like this.

 


Azarin Sadegh

To informer

by Azarin Sadegh on

I think you are the misinformed here...I am no doctor, but I know how to google..:-) 

//www.circumcision.org/

Now, you can enjoy learning about the circumcision from the specialists...

Azarin


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Why act against nature at all?

by Sera (not verified) on

Isn't nature intelligent enough in design of human body? why remove anything at all? in boys or girls!

BTW this terrible act seems to have its roots in Africa and spread from there to middle east and rest of Asia. As a person who has read Quran cover to cover, while not believing in any religion whatsoever, I should say that it has nothing to do with Islam. It is just a cruel tradition with its own ignorant justification. However religions did not challenge this awful tradition as most religions have the tendency to subdue women and their sexuality. As horrible as it is, if we just remember that as recent as hundred years ago people who had mental illnesses would be burnt, tortured, chained and killed as haunted and posses by evil spirits, we will see that depth of human ignorance is far painful than demonstrated in this video. Just to share my 2 cents I should add that the part in girls body that is circumcised is actually very sensitive as it is end of so many nerves. The process of removing it would be very painful. The ignorance is in not knowing the fact that removing that part does not reduce woman's sexual desires. Sexual desires, in men and women, originate in brain and through hormones and not their sexual organs. Ignorance is the root of every evil.


Setareh Sabety

barbaric misogynists

by Setareh Sabety on

I could not look. Horrible, shows us how backwards we are despite the incredible arrogance of those who claim we are a superior Aryan race with a glorious past. It does not matter if this is Iraq or Iran, shiite or sunni. It is sick. Female circumcision is mutilation while male circumcision is not! How off can people be?
jahanshah joon to ham marizi haa. what a way to put a damper on the obama inauguration euphoria. as if we did not have enough pics of horrors in Gaza? give our poor eyes a break! rvery time I want to check out how many people have commented on my article I have to pass a pic of a girl in excruciating pain. I cannot get her off of my head. women are the 'niggers' in that part of the world!


Multiple Personality Disorder

Take the evolutionary route

by Multiple Personality Disorder on

It took nature billions of years to come up with a device for perpetuation of species but it takes two seconds for ignorant man to remove it, and then they say we’re better than animals!


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what is this ?

by hajiagha on

//hajiagha-cartoons.blogspot.com/

خدنه زن دیگر چه صیغه ای توضیح داده شود این وحشی گری ها چیه


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what is a next on Iranian

by hajiagha on

//hajiagha-cartoons.blogspot.com/
JJ what you doing?

if you like I can send pic from my D.... hamer....to show on Iranian

 


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How misinformed can you be!!!!

by Informer (not verified) on

Ms. Azarin Sadegh,

Male circumcision is cutting of extra skin off of a male's penis. Removing it does NOT reduce sexual pleasure. Female genital mutilation is removal of the clitoris which is a very necessary means for female orgasms.

This practice is limited to Islamic countries and usually not done in Iran with the exception of some remote villages of Kurdistan as well as Khorasan and Baluchestan.


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Shame on you people for oppressing your own kind

by astonished (not verified) on

No wonder some nations never get passed oppression. They do it to their own kind. Parents damaging their own kids. As long as they buy into false beliefs they will always be left behind by civilization.

These kids will be traumatized by the mutilation and will grow up thinking they need to do the same to their own kids.

The ridiculous myth that female mutilation makes the victim’s soul pure, reminds me of the AIDS myths believed in south Africa. For example, South African men rape babies as 'cure' for AIDS. Another backwards nation for you. We are all in the same league.


Azarin Sadegh

Male or female...both is the same.

by Azarin Sadegh on

I didn't look at all the pictures...the one on the first page was bad enough. Simply disgusting!

I don't know why there are so many people expressing their outrage...don't we still do the same thing to our boys? And please don't tell me that newborns don't feel pain, or it is just a matter of hygiene...

The main reason for circumcision is to reduce the sexual pleasure which is seen as a major sin by most of the religions...that's why I didn't mutilate my boys and I hope one day they would thank me for that......:-)

 


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It has nothing to do with religion

by Alborzi (not verified) on

Just like the guy who thinks thinks circumcision helps HIV (not true) any religious coincidence is purely that. Its like the guys who say these groups are more in jail, there fore they have a genetic tendency to violence. Hitler tried some of these (obvious but false) properties and they were not able to find the super race. its a stupid coincidence and those who propagate it either know it and want to continue the stereo type or playing the role of amateur sociologist, in fact they are stupid. Repeat: any such coincidence is purely accidental.


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ختنه دختران

simin khanum (not verified)


i have seen this before. this has happened in iraq(kordistan. fortunately it does not happen in iran very often.


Ostaad

Damn the traditions.

by Ostaad on

Please read the article about the subject with more details. 

//iranian.com/main/news/2009/01/04


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Where Are The "Humanists"....

by Anonymousessss (not verified) on

you know...Niloufar Parsi, Jaleho with her ten pages of bold and underlined nonsense (linked to her previous nonsense comments), Iranian Reader, Mola Nasrodin, Ajam, Setareh Sabety, smhb, Fariba Amini,....etc.?

Oh, I forgot...they're in Gaza helping with the reconstruction and easing the pain of the population....oh, wait...forgot again...they all live in Europe and the States...and their hearts bleed long distance!!!!


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NOT COMMON IN IRAN AND Photos not taken in Iran

by Anonymous Doctor (not verified) on

SEARCH (Google) FOR YOURSELF AND DO NOT TAKE MY WORD FOR IT:
FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION IS NOT COMMON IN IRAN.

For the record, the images of the female genital mutIlation, which are included above are from a website (sozheh.blogfa.com), mentioned above.

Upon visiting this website, it becomes evident that THE IMAGES WERE NOT TAKEN ON IRANIAN SOIL. This sick practice is not common in Iran.

For the sake of accuracy and fairness to Iranians, please GOOGLE "FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION" and see for your self that this practice is NOT COMMON IN IRAN. The UN World Health Organization has data and statistics regarding this practice. The WHO data do not include Iran as a country which female circumcision is practiced. If it is practiced on Iranian soil, it would be near border communities.


Multiple Personality Disorder

Re. hendooneh's lol comment:

by Multiple Personality Disorder on

Yes, I did a Google search and copy and pasted, because unlike you I never claimed to be a physician.  I take your words for it, you are a physician.  So, you as a physician say a child cannot give informed consent so you go ahead and cut off part of his organ, instead of letting the child grow up and decide for himself.  That's just amazing!  Was the child sick when you cut of part of his organ?  Is it to prevent sickness?  So, why don't we start cutting off noses to prevent skin cancer of the nose? 


Faramarz_Fateh

Name one non Muslim country that does this

by Faramarz_Fateh on

For those IRI loving Israel hating posters, name one NON Muslim country that does this to its women and young girls.

100% of countries whose citizens engage in this pratice are Islamic nations; in Africa, Middle East and rest of Asia.

 

 


hendooneh

lol

by hendooneh on

its easy to do a google search and cut/paste tiny phrases and use them out of context

i especially like the BMA snippet....every surgical procedure has potential risk, that is why we as physicians obtain informed conset from someone who has the mentally capacity to give consent. (N.B. a child cannot give informed conset)

 

 


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Shame on the father's of these children

by Normandi, Amir (not verified) on

Shame on the leaders of this land
shame on the teaching that brings about this savagery on our children of our homeland
Amir Normandi


MRX1

sick

by MRX1 on

totaly sick. don't need to say more.