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Female genital mutilation is a terrible injustice that happens to innocent women everyday. "Female genital mutilation is the cutting, or partial or total removal, of the external female genitalia for cultural, religious, or other non-medical reasons. It is usually performed on girls between the ages of four and ten." However, it can occur at birth, at the time of puberty, when the female marries, or at the time of pregnancy. It is also known as female circumcision, which is the surgical elimination of most of the labia minora and the reduction of the labia majora which produces a "raw surface". Infibulation is another term used and it is when the skin and tissue that surrounds the vagina is closed, by sewing it shut and only a tiny hole is left for urine and menstrual blood to flow out of. Another term, for female genital mutilation is clitoridectomy, which is the removal of the clitoris. Clitoridectomy is the most common form of female genital mutilation. Some cultures believe that the clitoris is deadly and that if the clitoris "touches a man's penis he will die. Others believe that if the baby's head touches the clitoris during childbirth, the baby will die." It has been reported in other cultures that the removal of the clitoris can remedy women of "illnesses such as hysteria and excessive masturbation." There are many reasons that female genital mutilation is performed on women. One reason is that it is a custom or tradition in certain cultures. Many cultures think that this is common and that there is nothing wrong with this procedure. In fact, there are societies, women included, that cannot understand women that do not undergo the mutilation.
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