Cultural beliefs, human rights violations, and female genital cutting: Complication at the crossroad of progress

Female genital cutting (FGC) or as it is sometimes erroneously called, female circumcision, has been performed on over 173 million girls worldwide. Yearly, there are at least 2-3 million girls who experience this procedure. The physical, psychological and long-term health-care effects are only recently being recognized. Health care practitioners and social workers need to understand and address the complex and multi-dynamic cultural issues as well as the healthcare dilemmas for these women. Community networking, education, assistance in accessing the medical system, and reducing language barriers are interventions that should be delivered with cultural sensitivity and an understanding of the long term outcomes on health.