USAID Policy on Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C): Annex
Effective Date: 09/01/2000
Annex to USAID Policy on Female
Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C): Explanation of Terminology
Female Circumcision (FC), Female
Genital Mutilation (FGM), Female Genital Cutting (FGC),
Female Genital Surgeries (FGS) are all terms that
have been used to refer to the tradition of altering
female genitalia. Under current policy, USAID uses
the neutral term, female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C). This
decision has been prompted by the rejection of the
term FGM by many practicing communities and activists
who consider it judgmental, pejorative and not conducive
to discussion and collaboration. Those who link activism
against FGM/C to the colonial period consider the term
FGM to be evidence of cultural imperialism.
Issues of identity, culture and
other social norms are interwoven in the practice.
Naming the tradition after its physical effects ignores
the cultural underpinnings of FGM/C. Further, the practicing
societies regard circumcision as a beautification
process while the campaigns against FGM/C seek to convince
those who practice FGM/C that it is "mutilation."
Calling a woman 'mutilated' insults her and may lead
to psychological trauma, particularly for young girls
and women living in non-practicing societies.
For those who practice FGM/C, it is
considered a beneficial act. FGM/C renders a girl marriageable
in societies where a woman's quality of life depends
on her status as a wife and a mother, and a respectable
woman who qualifies for a good status in her community
even if she does not get married. The term "female
genital mutilation" stigmatizes the practice
to the detriment of the programs trying to change
it.
USAID Policy on Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) [PDF, 19KB]
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