Denouncing German decision to keep Male Genital Mutilation of children legal, Clitoraid asks U.N. to ban childhood Genital Mutilation worldwide for both genders

كانون الأول 14 2012, تصنيف: بيانات صحفية
“Bodily harm is against the fundamental rights of all children, and we can’t understand when a so-called civilized country such as Germany would allow its male babies to be so readily mutilated legally!" said Nadine Gary, spokesperson for Clitoraid. She was referring to male circumcision, typically performed on male infants who have no say in the matter.

Clitoraid (clitoraid.org) is the international, non-profit organization founded by Rael, spiritual leader of the Raelian Movement (rael.org), to end Female Genital Mutilation by offering free clitoral repair surgery to victims of this barbaric act. Now the organization is urging a worldwide end to genital mutilation of male children as well.

“On Nov. 28, the United Nations passed a resolution that condemns all cultural and religious arguments in favor of FGM because the act constitutes a gross violates of children rights,” Gary said. “But how can the U.N. ban Female Genital Mutilation and not denounce Male Genital Mutilation as well? Is it exempting certain religions from respecting the fundamental right of baby boys?”

Gary said that according to the World Health Organization, 30 percent of males worldwide are circumcised.

“This means billions of people have been mutilated without their consent,” Gary said.

Brigitte Boisselier, Ph.D., head of Clitoraid, affirmed that mutilation of any baby or child in the name of a god is unacceptable.

“It’s been done for centuries under the pretense that a god requested it, but no religion should be allowed to harm infants or children who can’t give informed consent,” she said. “We’re setting up a hospital in Africa that’s due to open next year, where female victims can go to have genital repair surgery for free. “And, thanks to Clitoraid, thousands more can find relief at several clinics in North America. But we’ve also been getting e-mail from hundreds of circumcised men who want to have their own mutilation undone. They need help too! So, as Rael has repeatedly stated, it’s urgent to have all the old scriptures reviewed by an independent committee on human rights so that all religious group practices are in agreement with the Declaration of Human Rights.”

Exceptional 24th/25th November fundraising Pro-Clitoraid in Italy

كانون الأول 05 2012, تصنيف: Clitoraid NEWS
By Marinella, Clitoraid coordinator in Italy

"It was the weekend of the 24th-25th of November, in occasion of the worldwide awareness day of violence against women, where Pino, Vittorio, Clitoraid volunteers here in iTaly, and I set up a fundraising stand in Voghera (Milano) in a shopping center.

We arranged a nice table with t-shirts, clitboxes, flowers, flyers, panels and a Clitoraid banner.

The fundraising was very good because we collected 735 euros!

A special thanks to Pino and Vittorio for their commitment to the goal of building the Clit-Hospital."

Clitoraid’s head surgeon restores clitoris for 4 victims of female genital mutilation

كانون الأول 02 2012, تصنيف: بيانات صحفية
On Nov. 29, at the San Mateo Surgery Center in California, Dr. Marci Bowers, M.D., head surgeon for Clitoraid, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping victims of the brutal tradition of female genital mutilation (FGM), restored the clitoris of four victims, one of whom came all the way from West Africa to have the surgery.

Nadine Gary, Clitoraid’s head of operations, said the other three women who had the procedure performed by Bowers are African immigrants who live in the United States.

“Each of these four women was desperately seeking to recover her womanhood, and was able to do so thanks to the clitoral repair surgery offered by Clitoraid through the generous services of Dr. Bowers and other volunteer surgeons,” Gary said.

She explained that the barbaric act of FGM, also know euphemistically as “female circumcision,” destroys much or all of the exposed clitoris and surrounding tissue but leaves some of the root structure intact, thus making surgical restoration possible for those fortunate enough to undergo the procedure.

“Since 2008, Clitoraid has operated on close to 50 FGM patients,” Gary said. “Our volunteer surgeons use the technique of Dr. Pierre Foldes of France, who pioneered this restorative procedure.”

Gary pointed out that in the United States alone, 300,000 women currently suffer from FGM effects, according to the World Health Organization.

“Worldwide, there are more than 150 million victims who were forcibly deprived in childhood of their sense of pleasure,” she said. “In fact, it’s estimated that somewhere in the world, one little girl is being genitally mutilated every six minutes under the most atrocious conditions imaginable. And about 10 percent of these victims will die from the bleeding or subsequent infections.”

Gary said the four women who came to San Francisco for last week’s procedure were lucky enough to survive FGM.

“Nevertheless, each was deeply affected by traumatic childhood memories of that excruciatingly painful and frightening experience,” she said. “One of these patients, a lovely 30-year-old woman who has never even dated, burst into tears when Dr. Bowers lifted the paper sheet that covered her bare legs during a gynecological exam. She had dreaded that OBGYN appointment because she was that ashamed to show a doctor a body part she perceived as repulsive.”

According to Gary, one of Clitoraid’s primary missions is to help FGM victims by building a hospital in Burkina Faso, West Africa, exclusively for the performance of the restorative procedure.

“It’s set to open its doors in 2013,” Gary said. “The facility will offer free surgical treatment to all FGM victims who want the procedure performed, and we can do this thanks to the volunteer services of doctors from around the world.”

She said the four patients in San Francisco are doing well post-surgically.

“They are gently recuperating from the procedure, and changes can already be seen,”
Gary said. The woman who had a strong emotional outburst in Dr. Bowers’ clinic was elated by the results of the surgery. Her voice now expresses such great joy, as if a 24-year curse has been lifted from her body and mind. She feels she can love herself now and also begin to forgive her mother, who ordered her circumcision.”

Gary said self-hatred and deep anger are two common emotions among FGM victims and that the restorative surgery greatly helps dissipate both.

“It helps them finally turn the page into greater health and consciousness,” she said."And Clitoraid is helping more and more victims do just that. In the United States, new surgeries will take place in San Mateo, California, and in Oswego, New York, in January thanks to the generosity of Dr. Bowers and Dr. Harold Henning. And late next year, both surgeons will travel to West Africa for the inauguration of our hospital, where over 400 FGM victims are patiently awaiting a new beginning in their lives as women.”

United Nations Calls For Global Ban On Female Genital Mutilation

تشرين الثاني 27 2012, تصنيف: International NEWS
Source: UNITED NATIONS

Campaigners against female circumcision scored a major victory Monday with the approval by a key U.N. committee of a resolution calling for a global ban on female genital mutilation.
The resolution, adopted by consensus by the U.N. General Assembly's human rights committee, calls the practice harmful and a serious threat to the psychological, sexual and reproductive health of women and girls.

It calls on the U.N.'s 193 member states to condemn the practice, known as FGM, and launch education campaigns for girls and boys, women and men, to eliminate it. It also urges all countries to enact and enforce legislation to prohibit FGM, to protect women and girls "from this form of violence," and to end impunity for violators.

With 110 sponsors, the resolution is virtually certain to be approved by the full General Assembly, which is expected to take it up in the second half of December. Although not legally binding, assembly resolutions reflect international concerns and carry moral and political weight.

Italy's U.N. Ambassador Cesare Maria Ragaglini, who has been working with African partners for a ban, called the resolution "a breakthrough in the international campaign to end the harmful practice of FGM."

"I think that together we can change the fate of many young girls around the world, and today this goal appears closer than ever," he said. "The resolution, in condemning the practice and promoting social and educational programs, is ... the beginning of a new journey."

The centuries-old practice stems from beliefs that FGM controls women's sexuality, enhances fertility, or is required by religious belief – although both Muslim and Christian leaders have spoken out against it.

The procedure involves the removal of a girl's clitoris and sometimes also other genital parts, usually in childhood or early adolescence. Critics say it can lead to painful sexual intercourse, complications in childbirth, and eliminates any pleasure for women during sex.

The U.N. said in 2010 that about 70 million girls and women had undergone the procedure, and the World Health Organization said about 6,000 girls were circumcised every day.
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