New African Film Confronts Forced Female Circumcision

A new African film, Cutting Silence, has been chosen for competition in the Pan African Film Festival in New York next month, in an effort to bring more awareness of the brutal practice of forced female circumcision. Written and directed by Reina-Marie Loader and produced by Kit Reynolds (of International Radio Pictures), the half-hour drama depicts the primitive procedure of forced female circumcision which has been damaging young girls for thousands of years. Shot in South Africa, "Cutting Silence" is partly funded by the Austrian Department of Women's Affairs.

What is Forced Female Circumcision?

Also called "female genital mutilation" (FGM) by opponents, it's performed upon young women to curb a young girl's desire for sex , and supposidly increase her odds for marriage. Although FGM isn't noted anywhere in the Koran, it's an ancient Muslim ritual. However, the custom actually comes before the onset of Islamism, having believed to be pre-Judaic.

Millions of Young Girls Suffer for Life

In an effort to control their women, millions of Muslim women worldwide have been forced to undergo FGM, although it results in excruciating pain, as well as continued suffering throughout their lives.

In fact, forced female circumcision has been practiced in Egypt for centuries, the reason given for purity, to keep young girls from pursuing men. The reasons given for clitoridectomies in Egypt are cleanliness and purity, so that girls will not run after men.

Performed in 28 out of 53 African countries, FGM is also done in eastern Muslim countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia, as well as countries in the Middle East. It's estimated more than 130 million young girls have had the procedure performed.

Often female relatives (such as mothers, aunts, and grandmother) hold down their young girls as the barbaric procedure is done. It's common for young girls undergoing forced female circumcision to die from hemorrhaging and shock, as well as have permanent damage done to their female organs. Huge scarrings can result in girls not being able to walk for the rest of their lives. Other serious complications include urination problems, as well as chronic pelvic infections.

What's Being Done to Stop FGM

Although the film Cutting Silence is a positive step, much more needs to be done to help these young girls. Some progress is being made, however, such as billboards, posters, and TV ads prompting Egyptians to stop the brutal tradition. However, the real problem is converting the thinking of Muslim men, believes UNICEF Representative, Erma Manoncourt, who points out that fathers fear their daughters' chances of marrying are hurt if they're not circumcised.

Egyptian Parliament in November

When the Egyptian Parliament convenes in November, a law to reinforce penalties against FGM will be presented. This was prompted after a teenage girl during doing an illegal operation to mutilate her genitalia.

Pray for Change

Most of all lift up in prayer the young girls in danger of having FGM performed on them. After all, it's through prayer that real change happens.