Clitoridotomy
"Clitoridotomy" (which is also called "hoodectomy" as a slang term) involves the removal or splitting of the clitoral hood. The United Nations Population Fund states that this is comparable to male circumcision.[1] In the United States and other Western countries, clitoridotomy is usually performed on adult women rather than on children. It is also known as Sunna circumcision (named after the Arabic word for anything approved by Islamic law and centred in Islamic tradition). However some Muslim clergy oppose all forms of FGC. [2]
Sami A. Aldeeb Abu-Sahlieh, author of 'To Mutilate in the Name of Jehovah or Allah: Legitimization of Male and Female Circumcision' states that: "The most often mentioned narration reports a debate between Prophet Mohammed and Um Habibah (or Um 'Atiyyah). This woman, known as an exciser of female slaves, was one of a group of women who had immigrated with Mohammed. Having seen her, Prophet Mohammed asked her if she kept practicing her profession. She answered affirmatively adding: 'unless it is forbidden and you order me to stop doing it'. Prophet Mohammed replied: 'Yes, it is allowed. Come closer so I can teach you: if you cut, do not overdo it (la tanhaki), because it brings more radiance to the face (ashraq) and it is more pleasant (ahza) for the husband'. According to others, he said: 'Cut slightly and do not overdo it (ashimmi wa-la tanhaki), because it is more pleasant (ahza) for the woman and better (ahab, from other sources abha) for the husband'."
Type I circumcision is defined by the World Health Organisation as clitoridotomy and perhaps excision of part or all of the clitoris (clitoridectomy; see following section). However, some authors (e.g.., Cohen) define type I as at least partial removal of the clitoris.
From the late 19th century until the 1950s, it and other more invasive procedures, including excision of the clitoris and infibulation were practiced in Western countries to control female sexuality, and were advocated in the United States by groups like the Orificial Surgery Society until 1925. Doctors advocating or performing these procedures claimed that girls of all ages would otherwise engage in more masturbation and be "polluted" by the activity, which was referred to as "self-abuse" [3].
Through the 1950s, some doctors continued to advocate clitoridotomy for hygienic reasons or to reduce masturbation. For example, C.F. McDonald wrote in a 1958 paper titled Circumcision of the Female [4],[5], "If the male needs circumcision for cleanliness and hygiene, why not the female? I have operated on perhaps 40 patients who needed this attention." The author describes symptoms as "irritation, scratching, irritability, masturbation, frequency and urgency," and in adults, smegmaliths causing "dyspareunia and frigidity." The author then reported that a two-year old was no longer masturbating so frequently after the procedure. Of adult women, the author stated that "for the first time in their lives, sex ambition became normally satisfied." In the U.S., the last documented clitoridotomy to reduce sexual activity occurred in 1958. The procedure was performed on a 5-year-old girl, reportedly to stop her from masturbating. Justification of the procedure on hygienic grounds, or to reduce masturbation, has since declined. The view that masturbation is a cause of mental and physical illness has dissipated since the mid-20th century [6].
A few doctors and others advocate clitoridotomy of adults, promoting it as a way of increasing sexual sensitivity and sexual pleasure. One claim is that a large clitoral hood may make stimulation of the clitoris difficult. Websites promoting the practice Circlist, bmezine and The Clitoral Hood Removal Information Page contain testimonials and two of them provide summaries of medical studies, including several finding that the majority of women reported improved sensation following the procedure (for example, 87.5% in Rathmann's 1959 study, and 75% in Knowles', as quoted in the summary of studies mentioned previously). However, this improved sensation does not last as the clitoris grows hard and less sensitive, much like when a male is circumcised.
