Female circumcision is a horrifying procedure that can be defined as the removal of the clitoris on the body of a female. The surgery is often accompanied by ceremonies intended to honor and welcome the girls into their communities. It can be observed in parts of Northern Africa and Southern Arabia where many girls undergo ritual surgery involving removal of parts of their external genitalia. About eighty million living women have had this surgery, and an additional four or five million girls undergo it each year (Kouba and Muasher). This tradition is prevalent and deeply embedded in many countries, including Ethiopia, the Sudan, Somalia, Sierra Leone, Kenya, Tanzania, Central African Republic, Chad, Gambia, Liberia, Mali, Senegal, Eritrea, Ivory Coast, Upper Volta, Mauritania, Nigeria, Mozambique, Botswana, Lesotho, and Egypt (Abdalla). It is usually performed between infancy and puberty. From a Western point of view, it may seem unnecessary and vulgar. However, these......

Join Now to view the rest of this term paper!
Members: Login to view this research paper.

Title: African Traditions
Approximate Word Count: 1863
Approximate Pages: 8 (250 words per double-spaced page)

With the Term Papers Lab Membership Pass, you get instant access to every essay on this site, including this essay on African Traditions, for as long as you remain a member.

Other essays sites charge almost $100 for a single term paper. At Term Papers Lab, you can get instant access to over 100,000 research papers for as little as $29.95!