Muhammad (SAW) Was The First To Fight FGM

Syahiera Atika (Center) and her friends

The rise of activism and advocacy in the world which started in the  20^th century and has attained its apogee in the 21^st century has brought about an ever expanding meaning of violence against women. 

One of these acts of violence is what has been recognized as female genital mutilation (FGM). 

Records show that there have been campaigns against FGM in Somalia since the 1970s. It was only in 1997 that WHO issued a joint statement against FGM together with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

In 2012, the UN General Assembly designated February 6th as the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation, the period has become one of the sweet times for Islam-bashing. 

According to UNICEF, 200 million women and girls have had some procedure performed on their private parts. What links Islam to this topic is the statement, ‘Islam Supports Female Genital mutilation’. Let’s go on to dissect this.

A question needs to be asked. 
Who was the first person to fight against FGM? 

History shows that Muhammad (SAW) was the first to ever speak against Female Genital Mutilation.

What the World Knows

Some Muslim get territorial at the mention of the topic, FGM, this often creates a barrier to a proper understanding of the entire issue. Muslims must accept that FGM exists, what Muslims must also try to do is understand whether or not Islam supports it.

Female Genital Mutilation has been described as “the ritual cutting or removal of some or all of the external female genitalia”. 

The clitoris is a highly sensitive part of the female genitalia responsible for giving pleasure during intercourse. Typically, cultures have practices FGM to ‘curtail promiscuity’ among women. FGM has also been said to course complications in child birth because it cause scaring around the vagina making the skin lose its ability to stretch like other parts of the body.

Advocates have grouped Female Genital Mutilation in four categories, here is a brief breakdown of what the world knows as FGM. 

Type 1 FGM: Partial or total removal of the clitoris and/or the prepuce.

Type 2 FGM: Complete or partial removal of the inner labia, with or without removal of the clitoral glands and outer labia.

Type 3 FGM: It is called infibulation or pharaonic circumcision. It involves the removal of the external genitalia and fusion of the wound. It also called the "sewn closed" category.

Type 4 FGM: It includes nicking of the clitoris (symbolic circumcision), burning or scarring the genitals, and introducing substances into the vagina to tighten it.

What Islam Approves

The Arabic word for female circumcision which is invariably the Islamic term is ‘khafz’. Khafz has been described as the trimming of the clitoris. Note the use of ‘trimming’ and not ‘cutting’ or ‘shaving’. Khafz also involves cutting off part of the fore skin just like in male circumcision. 

When the clitoris is trimmed, it regenerates as the female grows unlike when it is cut off entirely. 

From examination, khafz is partially what westerners call ‘Type 1 FGM’. However, Islam has never endorsed the cutting off of the clitoris as we shall see.

Just like male circumcision (khitan or khatna), khafz was not mentioned in the Qur’an. However, unlike khitan, khafz is not mandatory in Islam. 

A number of narrations from Muhammad (SAW) confirm the legality of khafz.

Abu Musa al Ash’ari asked Aisha bint Abu Bakr, “What makes a bath obligatory for a person?” She replied: You have come across one well informed! The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said: “When anyone sits amidst four parts (of the woman) and the circumcised parts touch each other a bath becomes obligatory.”

‘The circumcised parts’ mentioned in this Hadith refers to the male genitalia and the female genitalia confirming the legality of circumcision for both genders.

In another Hadith which is clearer cut, the Prophet (SAW) said: "Circumcision is a law for men and a preservation of honour for women." Ahmad Ibn Hanbal 5:75; Abu Dawud, Adab 167.

This Hadith confirms that khafz is not compulsory for women, it is only recommended.

One Hadith lays the allegation of FGM against Islam to rest and confirms that Muhammad (SAW) was the champion of the fight against Female Genital Mutilation.

In Madinah, there was a woman who circumcised women and the Prophet (SAW) said to her: “Do not go to the extreme in cutting; that is better for the woman and more liked by the husband.” Abu Dawud (5271)

This particular Hadith shows that khafz does not come with the complications that arise from the procedures in other cultures. 

The 'Type 1', 'Type 2', 'Type 3' and 'Type 4' FGMs do not take place in khafz. Muhammad (SAW) clearly states, “Do not go to the extreme in cutting”.

It the battle of Uhud, the commander of the Muslim army, Hamza ibn Abdul-Muttalib, insulted a pagan, Siba bin Abd Al-Uzza, by calling him 'Son of the clitoris cutter' because his mother was one of the matrons of the practice. This shows that the Muslims despised the mutilation of the female genitalia which was very common in that era.

Muslim Women Support Khafz

Westerners often try to create the impression that Muslim women are forced to undergo the procedure, this is far from the truth. 

A female scholar, chartered accountant and member of Dawoodi Bohra Women for Religious Freedom, Arwa Sohangpurwala, made headlines around Isamophobic circles in September 2018 when the group released a video asserting the Islamic legality of khafz. 

She said in the video, “My daughters have also undergone khafz, and they're growing up as perfectly as other children of their age. As a mother, I can never do anything to harm them.”

In August 2019, the women’s wing of the Indonesian organization, Wahdah Islamiyya, offered free khafz services; there were hundreds of beneficiaries.

A 19 year old Malaysian girl, Syahiera Atika, was interview by Vice Magazine in February 2015 on khafz and the young and educated girl said, "I'm circumcised because it is required by Islam. I don't think the way we do it here is harmful. It protects young girls from premarital sex as it is supposed to lower their sex drive. But I am not sure it always works."

The statement 'required by Islam' might not be entirely true though, khafz is generally optional.

The female gynecologist, Sitt al-Banaat Khaalid said in an article entitled Khitaan al-Banaat Ru’yah Sihhiyyah (Female circumcision from a health point of view)

• It prevents unpleasant odours which result from foul secretions beneath the prepuce.
• It reduces the incidence of urinary tract infections.
• It reduces the incidence of infections of the reproductive system.

Thousands of Muslim women voluntarily solicit khafz every year. The practice of khafz is so greatly embraced in a lot of Asian and African countries that numerous centers supervised by Professional health personnel have been opened for the delivery of the service.

Occasionally, some women have relatively large clitorises, as a result of this, their cloths/garments frequently rubs the clitoris causing frequent sexual stimulation even when no man is present. This they fear could lead to fornication/adultery or in some cases; frequent masturbation. Escaping this dilemma, they find solace in khafz.

Some other women are married to men who spend long periods of time away from home due to the nature of their jobs. These husbands could be members of the armed forces who get sent on missions spanning months at a time, oil workers who spend months offshore, miners and some transport workers. To cope with the absence of their husbands and drastically reduce the chances of immorality; these women find their escape in khafz.

Opponents of khafz often resort to emotional black mail by flashing images of the pain that is experienced during khafz. This is vacuous considering the fact that the pain of khafz is nothing compared to the pain of khitan (male circumcision) yet, male circumcision is legal even in the west.

We could proceed to draw up another topic here.

5 Differences between FGM and Khafz

S/N	Female Genital Mutilation	Khafz
1	It seeks to eliminate sexual urge entirely	It seeks to control sexual urge
2	Shape of the vagina is altered	Shape of vagina always remains intact
3	Causes child birth complications	No complications caused
4	Heavy bleeding is common	Bleeding is minimal
5	The female stops having a clitoris	The female always has a clitoris

Logical Refutation

It should be noted that there are several things in Islam that the West castigates, from polygyny to facial hair to hijab. Islam and Muslims however do not seek validation from people of little understanding. 

Comparing khafz to FGM is like comparing male circumcision to castration, it just does not add up.

The world did not know that male circumcision had any benefits until in the present century when it was confirmed to improve immunity against HIV. 

In a publication by World Health Organisation (WHO), it stated, "There is compelling evidence that male circumcision reduces the risk of heterosexually acquired HIV infection in men by approximately 60%."

In 2011, the government of Tanzania adopted voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) as an important component of its national HIV prevention strategy and scaled up VMMC in eight regions nationwide, with the goal of reaching 2.8 million uncircumcised men by 2015.

A study released by John Hopkins University in March 2009 confirmed that "circumcised men have a 25% lower risk of genital herpes and a 35% lower risk of HPV, the virus that causes genital warts and cancers".

Research leader, Aaron A.R. Tobian, MD, PhD, and his colleagues stated, "These findings indicate that circumcision should now be accepted as an efficacious intervention for reducing heterosexually acquired infections with HSV-2, HPV, and HIV in adolescent boys and men".

In another study released by the University in January 2011, it was found that male circumcision reduced the chances of cervical cancer in women. 

Top researcher on the study, Aaron A.R. Tobian, MD, PhD, told WebMD, “It is now clear that male circumcision can reduce HPV in females and possibly prevent cervical cancer in settings where HPV vaccines are not available".

Who knows what ugly picture these non Muslims painted of khitan before they realized its benefits.

It should be noted that despite the proven fecundity of khitan, a lot of countries and entities still consider it 'barbaric' and an act of 'violence against child/minors'.

The same way the world is gradually coming to terms with the copious benefits of khitan despite the pain that comes with it, the benefits of khafz will also gradually be acknowledged.

Casualties

The was some noise on 31st January after a girl said to be either 12 or 14 dies during a circumcision session at a hospital, it is not known what procedure was being carried. Whatever be the case, Westerners tried to use it to their advantage. 

This still will not work because the are approximately 299 male infant deaths in America every year due to male circumcision yet, male circumcision has remained legal in the country.

Mistakes sometimes happen but they are not enough grounds to criminalize a practice that is bringing solace to so many other individuals.

Is Labiaplasty FGM?

Labiaplasty is the medical procedure whereby the labia of a woman's vagina is surgically reduced. Western women go for labiaplasty when they feel their labias have become too large due to child birth. 

Labiaplasty is legal in the UK and virtually every Western country, it costs between two thousand to four thousands pounds in the UK. 

It should be asked, is labiaplasty a form of female genital mutilation? 

Is labiaplasty legal because women voluntarily solicit it? 

If yes, then, no illegality should be seen in khafz since a lot of Muslim women voluntarily solicit it too.

Conclusion

We see that with knowledge of what khafz is about, there would not be anything wrong with Muslims joining the campaign against Female Genital Mutilation as it is totally different from khafz and Muhammad (SAW) was the first campaigner against Female Genital Mutilation.

It is ergo an apparent misconception to say 'Islam supports Female Genital Mutilation'.