Female genital mutilation: Addressing the knowledge gap

Some visitors look away, others leave the room when Dr. Dan mon O'Dey plays the video of a clitoris and vulva reconstruction he performed. He also shows photos that clearly show how genital mutilation changes the female genitalia. For one and a half hours on Friday morning, the plastic surgeon will speak via video link about the medical care of women who have experienced FGM/C.

The second network meeting “Stop FGM/C” will take place in the Autonomous Women’s Center Potsdam. FGM/C stands for Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting. Which term is more appropriate remains controversial. You have to keep the patients’ situation in mind and treat them sensitively, explains O’Dey. In cases where they may not know anything different, it might make sense to talk about circumcision. Nevertheless, it is a case of mutilation.

“I call it mutilation,” says Fatuma Musa Afrah, human rights activist and founder of the NGO “United Action,” who invited people to the event. The goal: to network actors from healthcare, administration, migration, education and civil society.

For decades, O'Dey has been reconstructing women's clitoris and vulvas, not only after FGM/C, but also after tumor removal or birth injuries. He is currently looking for a hospital to pass on his knowledge. This is still missing among medical professionals. “It’s not part of the curriculum,” he says. It's not just a lack of detailed knowledge. Fatuma Musa Afrah reports that at a clinic where she wanted to network, they didn't even know what she was talking about.

Events like the network meeting are intended to change that - and at the same time promote the conversation about female genital organs. There are four types of FGM/C. O’Dey gets annoyed when colleagues dismiss type one as “not that bad” or “just a little cut out”. “It’s crazy,” he says, it’s not about emphasizing the injuries.

Even type one is a “massive impairment”. This involves the amputation of the clitoral glans. What is happening here is what O’Dey calls the “loss of a physical ability.” Type two involves removal of the vulval lips. In type three, the wound is stitched up; type four adds further injury.

There is no consensus, no medical indication, says O’Dey. The consequences are pain when urinating, during menstruation and during sex. Added to this is the mental pain. The aim is to give patients back a bit of normality. He gets a lot of applause.

“I learned a lot,” a woman says to Fatuma Musa Afrah as she passes by and thanks her. The networking, the passing on of knowledge – it seems to be working. Fatuma Musa Afrah continues.