female genital mutilation (FGM)

never refer to FGM as "female circumcision." This "procedure," which the World Health Organization says has been undergone by more than 200 million women in 30 countries (mainly in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, although FGM is also practiced within immigrant communities in the U.S. and Europe), differs radically from male circumcision: It is always a sexual mutilation; it is often performed without anesthesia by nonprofessionals (usually village healers and elderly female relatives), most often with unsterilized razor blades; it often leads to infection, life-threatening blood loss, painful intercourse, infertility, difficult childbirth, and death. This mutilation of the external female genital organs (specifically, clitoridectomy, excision, and infibulation) is a centuries-old rite of passage, intended to ensure that young women become desirable wives. It is not mandated by any particular religion but is practiced by people of many faiths.