Who is Afraid of the Vagina?
All societies must be dynamic and evolve constantly. Traditions that dehumanize and infringe on the basic human rights of an individual should undergo an urgent change.
The onus is upon "we, the people" to
effect these changes.- Ngozichi Omekara
I have found the courage and so have many women in recent times to utter the word in public, on national television, in national newspapers, and for all who care to listen.
With the release of the book "Vagina" by Naomi Wolf, there are many Vagina monologues and dialogues taking place. An international conversation has begun.
It is a word which before now, we have only said in whispers and barely audible tones.
Who forbade us you might ask. There are no written laws but the unwritten rules of a Patriarchal society.
As the female body is something to be ashamed of except when being ogled by men.
For centuries, everyone but us has made decisions for our treasured cherry well, the honey pot of all goodness. Even these nicknames were mostly created by men.
Men who secretly think they own it. Yes, you heard right, the men believe they own our bodies, every inch of it.
As I write they determine how our bodies should look, a little too thin, a little less flesh, or a little more here and there. A little more breasts, a little more buttocks.
And women who have small breasts get implants and the ones with small buttocks get their bottoms enhanced.
Most female fashion trends are started by male designers.
It's all about what the men want.
My grouse is with Female Genital mutilation (FGM) in many parts of Africa, a scourge all progressive minds urgently want to see end immediately.
The gatekeepers of tradition, call it Female circumcision, we call it Female Genital Mutilation.
It continues to happen in 28 countries in Western, Eastern, and North-Eastern Africa, parts of the Middle East, and some immigrant communities in Europe, North America, and Australasia.
Looking back to my home country,- Nigeria, I know some parts of the Southeastern, Delta region of my country are part of these damning statistics. It was seen as a way to curb the sexuality of women. Some ancient folklore says it is a way to ward off certain diseases in women.
It is also
believed that women who are not circumcised make love to spirits in
their sleep who in turn, cause an unhealthy appetite for sexual
intercourse.
And such women give birth to Ogbanje. That in my opinion is a whole load of cow dung! (Ogbanje- means a child that is born, dies and is reborn).
The reality is because of poor medical care, infant mortality rates were high and the poor child is branded an Ogbanje!
Here is what I think really happened, back in the day centuries ago, the people lived off the land and subsistence farming was the source of livelihood for most families.
Men married many wives, and had many children to help with the farm work, if you have read Chinua Achebe's "Things Fall Apart" a book set in 1957, you will get the picture.
And such women give birth to Ogbanje. That in my opinion is a whole load of cow dung! (Ogbanje- means a child that is born, dies and is reborn).
The reality is because of poor medical care, infant mortality rates were high and the poor child is branded an Ogbanje!
Here is what I think really happened, back in the day centuries ago, the people lived off the land and subsistence farming was the source of livelihood for most families.
Men married many wives, and had many children to help with the farm work, if you have read Chinua Achebe's "Things Fall Apart" a book set in 1957, you will get the picture.
These men were unable to fulfill their role as lovers in the bedroom to their many wives. So one fine day, as they were exchanging stories on how wife #5, has perhaps had a sexual romp with the young strapping village palm wine tapper.
One of the men came up with the idea, to find a way to curb the sexual urges of the wives. To make sex less pleasurable.
"Let's remove from the vagina what makes women enjoy sex". He suggested and all the men agreed.
That was the beginning of Female circumcision.
There are three basic types of female genital mutilation and if you read Ayaan Hirsi Ali's books "The Caged Virgin" and "Infidel" you will get an insight into the type practiced in Somalia her home country.
The WHO has offered four classifications of FGM. The main three are Type I, removal of the clitoral hood, almost invariably accompanied by removal of the clitoris itself (clitoridectomy); Type II, removal of the clitoris and inner labia; and Type III (infibulation ), removal of all or part of the inner and outer labia, and usually the clitoris, and the fusion of the wound, leaving a small hole for the passage of urine and menstrual blood—the fused wound is opened for intercourse and childbirth.
This in my opinion is the worst kind of violence against women in modern society. A situation where girls as young as a few days to puberty are cut without their consent and irreversible damage done. And they carry the physical and emotional scar for the rest of their lives.
One of the men came up with the idea, to find a way to curb the sexual urges of the wives. To make sex less pleasurable.
"Let's remove from the vagina what makes women enjoy sex". He suggested and all the men agreed.
That was the beginning of Female circumcision.
There are three basic types of female genital mutilation and if you read Ayaan Hirsi Ali's books "The Caged Virgin" and "Infidel" you will get an insight into the type practiced in Somalia her home country.
The WHO has offered four classifications of FGM. The main three are Type I, removal of the clitoral hood, almost invariably accompanied by removal of the clitoris itself (clitoridectomy); Type II, removal of the clitoris and inner labia; and Type III (infibulation ), removal of all or part of the inner and outer labia, and usually the clitoris, and the fusion of the wound, leaving a small hole for the passage of urine and menstrual blood—the fused wound is opened for intercourse and childbirth.
This in my opinion is the worst kind of violence against women in modern society. A situation where girls as young as a few days to puberty are cut without their consent and irreversible damage done. And they carry the physical and emotional scar for the rest of their lives.
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