It’ll come as no surprise to anyone, but one particular AFTA has been tweeting about how FGM is “cissexist”.
They’ve then joked about it.
Yep, in a conversation where they’ve minimised the fact that FGM is about violence inflicted on girls and women they’ve decided it’s funny that people are upset.
They want FGM to be called “clitoral amputation”, which is
a) not accurate
b) minimises that the mutilation happens because the victims are female
By arguing for the removal of the word “female” they are arguing for the erasure of the reason behind FGM.
Also “clitoral amputation” suggests a medical procedure, and let’s not kid ourselves, FGM isn’t medical it’s torture. It is performed mostly without anaesthetic and by people with no medical training. It is not performed for any medical reasons, it is performed because women are seen as needing to be controlled.
FGM isn’t about the clitorus. And anyone who thinks it is has closed their eyes to the real horror of it.
FGM is about punishing girls preemptively just for the fact they will grow up to be women.
FGM is about keeping women under the control of men.
FGM is about causing harm to girls and women just because they are seen as lesser than men.
You cannot stop calling it FGM. You cannot remove sex from the equation.
Anyone who places their discomfort with terms that reference biological sex above the serious harm of children is a narcissistic and misogynistic individual. And should maybe be forced to listen to the screams of the girls undergoing this procedure, and then think about why it’s not just about body parts.
Bella Solanum 