Female genital mutilation

Female genital mutilation (FGM), also known as female genital cutting and female circumcision, is the ritual removal of some or all of the external female genitalia. Typically carried out by a traditional circumciser using a blade, with or without anaesthesia, FGM is concentrated in 27 African countries, Indonesia, Yemen and Iraqi Kurdistan, and found elsewhere in Asia, the Middle East and among diaspora communities around the world. It is conducted from days after birth to puberty and beyond. In half the countries for which national figures are available, most girls are cut before the age of five.

The procedures differ according to the ethnic group. They include removal of the clitoral hood and clitoral glans, removal of the inner labia, and in the most severe form (known as infibulation) removal of the inner and outer labia and closure of the vulva. In this last procedure, a small hole is left for the passage of urine and menstrual fluid; the vagina is opened for intercourse and opened further for childbirth. Health effects depend on the procedure, but can include recurrent infections, chronic pain, cysts, an inability to get pregnant, complications during childbirth, and fatal bleeding. There are no known health benefits.

Genital modification and mutilation

The terms genital modification and genital mutilation can refer to permanent or temporary changes to human sex organs. Some forms of genital alteration are performed at the behest of an adult, with their informed consent. Other forms are performed on people who do not give informed consent, including infants or children. Any of these procedures may be considered modifications or mutilations by different groups of people.

Body modification

Many types of genital modification are performed at the behest of the individual, for personal, sexual, aesthetic or cultural reasons. Penile subincision, or splitting of the underside of the penis, is widespread in the traditional cultures of Indigenous Australians. This procedure has taken root in Western body modification culture. Meatotomy is a form that involves splitting of the glans penis alone, while genital bisection is a more extreme form that splits the penis entirely in half.

Genital piercings and genital tattooing may be performed for aesthetic reasons, but piercings have the benefit of increasing sexual pleasure for the pierced individual or their sex partners. Similarly, Pearling involves surgical insertion of small, inert spheres under the skin along the shaft of the penis for the purpose of providing sexual stimulation to the walls of the vagina.

Female reproductive system

The female reproductive system (or female genital system) contains two main parts: the uterus, which hosts the developing fetus, produces vaginal and uterine secretions, and can pass sperm through to the Fallopian tubes; and the ovaries, which produce the female's egg cells. These parts are internal; the vagina meets the external organs at the vulva, which includes the labia, clitoris and urinary meatus. The vagina is attached to the uterus through the cervix, while the uterus is attached to the ovaries via the Fallopian tubes. At certain intervals, the ovaries release an ovum, which passes through the Fallopian tube into the uterus. If, in this transit, it meets with sperm, a single sperm can enter and merge with the egg, fertilizing it. Corresponding equivalent among males is the male reproductive system.

During the reproductive process, the egg is not a passive recipient, but rather an active participant in the fertilization process. It releases certain molecules that are essential to guiding the sperm which allow the surface of the egg to attach to the sperm's surface. The egg can then absorb the sperm and fertilization begins. The fertilization usually occurs in the oviducts, but can happen in the uterus itself. A zygote will then divide over enough generations of cells to form a blastocyst, which implants itself in the wall of the uterus, where it begins the processes of embryogenesis and morphogenesis. When developed enough to survive outside the womb, the cervix dilates and contractions of the uterus propel the fetus through the birth canal, which is the vagina.

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The Guardian

The Guardian is a British national daily newspaper. Founded in 1821 as a local paper replacing the radical Manchester Observer, it was known as The Manchester Guardian until 1959. It has grown into a national paper, and forms part of a media group with international and online offshoots. Its sister papers include The Observer (a British Sunday paper) and The Guardian Weekly (an international roundup of articles from various papers). In addition to its UK online edition theguardian.com, the paper has two international web sites, Guardian Australia and Guardian US. The Guardian is influential in the design and publishing arena, sponsoring many awards in these areas. Other media projects include GuardianFilm. The Guardian was edited by Alan Rusbridger from 1995 to 2015, when Katharine Viner succeeded him.

The Guardian is a part of the Guardian Media Group, owned by The Scott Trust Limited. The Trust was created in 1936 "to secure the financial and editorial independence of the Guardian in perpetuity and to safeguard the journalistic freedom and liberal values of the Guardian free from commercial or political interference." The Scott Trust became a limited company in 2008, with a constitution containing the same protections for the Guardian. Profits are reinvested in journalism rather than to the benefit an owner or shareholders.