Female Genital1 Cutting

 

Broadcast: Feb 24, 2003
By Jill Moss¹

This is the VOA Special English Development Report.
Activists² for the rights of women have declared a yearly observance to oppose the cutting of female sex organs. This tradition is followed mostly in Africa.

February sixth is to be observed as what organizers call an International Day of Zero Tolerance³ of Female Genital Mutilation. Delegates at a conference in Ethiopia marked the first observance this month. They condemned⁴ the cutting as a form of torture. The wives of the presidents of Burkina Faso, Guinea, Nigeria and Mali took part in the conference.

The World Health Organization estimates that one-hundred-thirty-million girls and women have experienced some form of cutting. The cutting involves removing part or all of the female genitals.

The United Nations Children's Fund called on world leaders to end this tradition by two-thousand-ten. UNICEF chief Carol Bellamy said that each year an estimated two-million girls are at risk of cutting. She said laws against it need to be put in place and enforced.

About half the fifty-three countries in Africa have banned the tradition. But it continues. The cutting is usually done without any medicine for the pain. Infections can result from the use of dirty cutting tools. Severe bleeding can lead to shock and death.

Cutting can also interfere⁵ with pregnancy⁶ and birth. And medical experts say it can affect the mental health of women by interfering2 with normal sexual desire.

The age at which the cutting is performed differs from culture to culture. It is usually done between the ages of four and twelve. The reasons for doing it also differ from place to place. Some cultures see it as a normal process based on love and a wish to protect. Other cultures see it as part of the path to becoming a woman.

Africa is not the only place where female genital cutting takes place. The tradition is also common in some Middle Eastern countries. Some Muslim groups in Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan and India also do it.

Efforts to end cutting face resistance from women who see no harm in this tradition. They defend its cultural value.

No matter where it happens, though, activists say it violates the human rights of girls and women. They say it is important in the campaign against cutting to educate not only females but also boys and men about this issue.

This VOA Special English Development Report was written by Jill Moss.
1. genital [5dVenItl] n. 生殖器
2. interfere [7IntE5fIE] vi. 干涉, 干预, 妨碍, 打扰

1 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。

2 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 tolerance   

n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差

参考例句：

• Tolerance is one of his strengths.宽容是他的一个优点。
• Human beings have limited tolerance of noise.人类对噪音的忍耐力有限。

4 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

5 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

6 pregnancy   

n.怀孕，怀孕期

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕早期常有恶心的现象。
• Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage.怀孕期吸烟会增加流产的危险。