Citation

Davis G, Ellis J, Hibbert M, Perez RP, Zimbelman E. Mil. Med. 1999; 164(1): 11-16.

Affiliation

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Madigan Army Medical Center, Tacoma, WA 98431, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1999, Association of Military Surgeons of the United States)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

9922637

Abstract

This paper evaluates the current practice of female circumcision in Eritrea. The study, in particular, examined the extent of the practice, its immediate and long-term complications, and attitudes towards the practice among women in Eritrea. The sample population comprised 436 Eritrean women from rural and urban environments. About 88% had undergone some form of female circumcision, while 63% were circumcised during infancy or early childhood. Although 73% of the women believed that female circumcision should be abandoned, 79% preferred to have their daughters circumcised. Those women who favored the continuation of female circumcision were primarily rural dwellers with little formal education. The immediate complications of this practice were hemorrhage, infection, trauma, and shock, while the long-term complications include psychological, hematocolpos, keloid formation, obstructed labor injury complex, pelvic contractures, infertility, and fistula formation. The consequences of this practice were considerable and as complex as the social, religious, and traditional factors behind its preservation.

Language: en