Montgomery County Police Department

This organization has members who receive considerations to act for Opus Dei numeraries and supernumeraries in a para-military role. They claim to act internationally as kidnappers and enforcers for Opus Dei as its secret enforcement proletariat.
Wilfully or unwittingly this quasi law-enforcement entity stands on guard to protect the right of religious fanatics in Washington DC Village of Chevy Chase and Bethesda to slice and dice their daughters genitals to prevent masturbation and "sexual temptation". They also enforce the neo-con cultists edict that females are for breeding more "Soldiers of God" and that God forbids woman to enjoy sexual activity. The Chevy Chase/Bethesda arm of the Montgomery County enforcement infrastructure is infected, infiltrated by Opus Day and is riddled with hidden agendas and child abusers. Icky.
A police department that protects a ring of Josef-Mengele-like 'mutilators' who operate a secret ring of anti-feminine-sexuality butchers who with the secretive help of Opus Dei insiders within the FDA and Walter Reed Memorial Hospital and elsewhere, mutilate the daughters of Opus Dei cult members. This is a stalwart 'club' of religious right extremists willing to enforce the edicts of the wealthy religious-right neo-con cultists who pay them.BannedOutlawed (and enforced by "smash and grab" bedroom invasions throughout the day and night) are:-
Black nail polish and five-pointed stars. -
Privacy! It's one of the leading causes of masturbation and therefore not allowed. -
"ROCK" MUSIC! If a daughter has rebelled against God far enough to listen to the Devil's music, then he or she has almost certainly rebelled enough to try masturbation. In which case she'll discover she has been mutilated. They must stop her. -
Liberal or otherwise idealistic political opinions? The weakness of mind brought on by self-abuse often leads to left-wing sympathies. -
ALL indecent art is enforcedly banned. This includes paintings, sculptures, photographs and of course the Victoria's Secret catalogue. Simple, modest underwear will minimize ungodly temptations. Pretty underwear like that which my Opus-Dei-mother sliced up with scissors and razors is outlawed and she brought in Montgomery County Police officers to bash me around and enforce that edict. Isn't America beautiful? -
Montgomery County Police support the rich, Chevy Chase Stepford-wife breeding Opus Dei thugs who require that all sausages, cucumbers and carrots be sold pre-sliced, to make it much easier for their daughters to resist the temptation to masturbate. (Ownership of "Personal Massagers" such as certain vegetables is cause for a Mo Co Po "take down".) -
BF's are not allowed. OMG If you have a Jewish boyfriend you are hated and locked in a room! It happened to me! Date a Muslim and you are dead meat.

Behind this sinister sign below (United States Army, Walter Reed Army Medical Center) is a group of infiltrated contributing medical practitioners who belong to the extreme religious right. People like Dr. Pinney a Psychiatrist one day and an MD the next claim to be expert in dealing with the psychological issues of service personnel's children. If you are a girl child brought in for "special treatment" it's likely because you have been cut and are a little screwed up over it. Maybe you tried masturbation or took a boyfriend or something. In any case, the follow-up support for the daughters who have been mutilated must include psychological support and in most cases, especially if you complain about the lousy butchery job done on you, is a pronouncement that you are deranged, deluded and depressed.

Kathleen Mary Sheridan

Above: This is a place at the Chevy Chase Center (5400 block on Wisconsin Ave.) where on my way home from work at the Wisconsin Ave. Starbucks after stopping to make a phone call I was assaulted by
In the events of July 20/21 2007 I lost a night's sleep; got a broken finger; lacerations and bruises on my upper body and a passionate desire to flee from the prison these bastards had me locked in.
It was bad enough that I had to go and work at Starbucks and give
*all my pay checks and tip money to Opus Dei (my supernumerary parents) but making phone calls was forbidden.
*In all my life my pay cheques
were taken from me each week. As soon as I was 14, old enough to work
under a special child work permit (required for children under 16),
I was put out to work and all my money was taken. I never had a bank
account or bank card nor did I have an identity. I had no way to cash a
cheque, nor did I ever have one as each was taken from me.
Pay Phones at Chevy Chase Center

I noticed while on the pay phone that my two older brothers, constant bullies and thugs as they are, were sneaking around the corner watching me on the phone.
I expected a beating but actually they were telephoning my
doctor father on a cell phone to rat me out that I was using a telephone.
They believed I was talking to an investigator and people who
might do med. exams on me like planned parenthood and such. I did phone
State Police and did phone and visit other organizations that might listen
to me making a complaint. I was calling institutions and authorities all
over the USA and they were so far doing nothing but people outside the
country and a nice woman's distress center in California but nobody local. I
kept trying by bus, metro and pay phone to get me some help. I had a secret
stash of quarters. Many quarters from tips at the Starbucks I worked at.
I had already said that at 16 years of age I was not going to accept their order that I never use a phone nor computer.
So, my father lied to police and said I was
a mentally ill person running away from home with stolen items.
Five aggressive, bully cops showed up that day. I was
terrified. When they first started to swarm on me, one was saying if you
don't hang that phone up right now I am going to rip it from you and hang it
up for you. I was shaking. It was hotter than hell but I was shaking. They
badgered me to tell them who I was talking to. They were making fun of me
because I was shaking and it was extremely hot. I went into shock. My teeth
were chattering. I had not been allowed to eat at home for weeks and I was
down to 92 pounds. They thought that was the funniest thing in the world.
(It was a PMS day and I was a mess.) I said I was having a bad day and the
laughing and ridicule got worse. They ridiculed me and bullied me for an
hour. It was a nightmare. After about an hour and a half of them badgering
me asking me questions I refused to answer (I told them my name and
address), four cops went over to talk to my father. One stayed and
guarded me. He started making small talk like 'hey, pretty girl, 'whatsup' ...'how;'s
school'. Too many hours had gone by. I was now in trouble. PMS had
rolled into the event itself. A sticky blood dripped down the inside of my thigh as things got
worse. I needed a bathroom, not eight male goons swarming me.
The four cops talked to my doctor-mengele father who stood
there with his arms folded. Some would come back and ask me questions and
then go back. I could not talk; I could not stand, I went and sat on a
nearby ledge where some flowers had been planted near the three pay phones.
My doctor-mengele father was some distance from me. I could not hear what
they were staying. I think the cops realized they were duped but my father
has a lot of clout and one of their bosses, a sergent works for my father
on the side.
The whole take-down lasted two hours at the end of which the police told my
father to take me home and 'leave her alone for the night'.

Police told my father to take me home. I asked if I could
walk the 4 minute walk home but they forced me into the car.
We drove down
Western Avenue to Kirkside and turned left to go to Center Street.
We
started to turn left on Center Street and as I sat there in the back seat pressed between the
two Opus Dei soldiers who were born as my big brothers, the silver Toyota
mini-van started to lurch and tip and the wheels were squealing.
Street lights were
flashing across the windscreen as my father grunted and screamed the engine.
He had this horrible angry strained look on his face as he spun the van around a couple of times
in a circle and starting driving at a crazy speed north
on Center street, still lurching side to side a little, instead of south to where I live.
I was terrified.
My father does not ever like to be wrong. He especially will
not stand for being told he is wrong by a woman. That was my mistake. I
asked where we were going and suggested that police had ordered him to take
me home and leave me alone. He went postal and I am lucky to be alive.

Thus began a night of terror which ended with me being dragged through the window of a car and beat up by my father and brothers in the parking lot of Walter Reed Hospital.
The transgression of making a telephone call from a pay phone on the way
home from work that day caused me a night and day of anguish. I did not get
to sleep until the enxt day. The Doctor Robert J. Pinney I finally saw at
the hospital spent a few minutes with me and a half hour with my parents. He
told me he suspected a dysfunctional family in need of counselling.
This same Doctor Robert J. Pinney was later quoted by the police dude who
works for my father as diagnosing me deranged, deluded and depressed and
having an addiction to evil and the internet (I wasn't allowed to use a
computer nor did I own a computer). Apparently, according to Montgomery
County Police this diagnosis said that I was in need of Psychiatric
examination at any given time to see if I understood any situation at hand.
These same police or whatever they are, named Colbourne and Collins, working
on the side for a fee my father paid them as bounty hunters, later tried to
kidnap me in Canada and were sent packing by Canadian police.

A week after the July 20th ordeal I showed someone my broken finger, lacerations and bruises on
my arms and shoulders, and the self defense nicks on my wrists and forearms.

The next time I met Montgomery County Police I called them myself in
August 27, 2007.
I was at home and it was 27 August 2007.
I was being roughed up by my brothers
under my father's orders. (Sometimes a boy would beat the living hell out of
the girls leaving them bloody and scarred.)
It was always that way. He never
did much physical violence. He would have a soldier beat you up.
I tried to flee out the front door. I was forcibly dragged down.
Running to the phone, I almost got the whole 911 dialed when the phone was
ripped away from me and I was thrown to the ground.
I was terrified.
Now 6 people were yelling and screaming at me and I was hurt and scared. I
was also getting panicky. I had to get outside and get some air as I had
been locked in for too long. Nobody knew this but I had another meeting that
day with my emancipation lawyer and I had to get out.
In all my 17 years I had never felt this badly.
I fought my brother Patrick off and we both went ass over tea kettle but I
got up first and grabbed the phone and called police.
I dialed 911 and it was answered immediately. I said on the phone "there's
domestic violence. I need help." I got the address out but the phone was
again taken away. My mother started yelling obscenities. While my brothers
screamed obscenities at me she said I was a skank and a slut and how dare I
call the cops. My father coached my brothers to restrain me. He always did
that so he could not be charged. My mother said that every one in the family
hates me. She always said that she hated me so that was nothing new. Then
she started telling everyone to make nice and make it look like I was crazy.
The girls were told to go outside and start skipping and playing. My father
went outside to the curb with my brothers to meet police and get to them
before I did.
Police entered the house after speaking to my father and brothers for some
time. I could never hear what others were saying to police.
Police asked me what's going on.
I said I am being forcibly confined in this house and I am being physically
abused and verbally abused. I am being locked in a room and hurt.
They said that because I am under 18 my parents can do that and that I
do not have any rights.
I asked if I could leave the house when I was being beaten up.
They said
only if my parents give me permission.
I asked why I was not allowed to call police on the phone and they said that
its because its my parents phone.
I was aghast.
They said that it's too bad that I don't like how things are, I am under 18
and my parents can do what they want to me.
The cops kept going back and forth between me and my father before they
would answer me. Before they left, the police talked to my parents who I
later learned told Timmerman and Vallejo stories that my father was a doctor
and that Walter Reed was saying that I am an insane person and deluded,
deranged and depressed and that I had to be locked up for that reason.
This James Timmerman (9941) was laughing at me when I asked, "Can't I leave
the house and seek safety when I am being abused". I was told that I am not
allowed to leave the house unless I have permission.
I asked if I would be allowed to leave my house to see my lawyer because my
lawyer and I had already started examining emancipation proceedings
but the cops said no I could not leave for that reason and they advised me
not to try and get emancipated.
They even joked that if I tried to get emancipated I would be 18 before that
even happened. (My parents' lawyer was already talking to my lawyer who was
already dealing with my emancipation.)
Officer Vallejo (9928) seemed to be a friend of my father and was not
talking to me much, just making fun of me while talking to my mother and
father on the other side of the living room.
My brothers during this time were taunting me and arguing with what i would
say.
Lesson learned: If you are a young female beaten up by males in a right-wing
religious area, don't call the police. They are likely right-wing religious
neo-cons too and agree with your getting beaten up.
About all you can do is escape and hide behind a big, strong, oak tree.
In the aftermath i made some notes in many different places. Here's a new one I recently found in mid 2008.
(I think I need to call Child Protective Services Again.)
Parents claim that witholding of freedoms such as freedom of religion, my right to retain counsel (Jefferey Lewis is my Washington DC lawyer),
forcible confinement in a room of the house, denial of food and refusal to negotiate further arrangements like rights, food (I had no food from them for months and was living on leftovers from the coffee shop I worked fulltime at)
room and board for all the money I paid them, (every dime I ever made for years of sull time and part time work was taken from me.) meals etc .... my mother and father shrieked at me that their cruelty and actions are justified becasue of my calling the police.

When I left home I left my sisters
behind. Please help them.

Additional Reading On Abuse Against Females and Children:
Bancroft, Lundy.
When dad hurts mom : helping your children heal the wounds of witnessing
abuse / by Lundy Bancroft.
New York : G.P. Putnam's Sons, c2004.
HV6626.2 .B254 2004
Barnett, Ola W.
Family violence across the lifespan : an introduction / Ola Barnett, Cindy
L. Miller-Perrin, and Robin D.
Perrin.
Thousand Oaks : Sage Publications, Inc., c2005.
HV6626 .B315 2005
Berns, Nancy.
Framing the victim : domestic violence, media, and social problems / Nancy
Berns.
Hawthorne, N.Y. : Aldine de Gruyter, c2004.
HN59.2 .B468 2004
Bragg, H. Lien.
Child protection in families experiencing domestic violence / H. Lien Bragg.
[Washington, D.C.] : U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, Administration
for Children and Families,
Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Children's Bureau, Office on
Child Abuse and Neglect,
2003.
HV6626.5 .B73 2003
Flannery, Daniel J., 1962-
Violence and mental health in everyday life : prevention and intervention
strategies for children and
adolescents / Daniel J. Flannery.
Lanham, MD : AltaMira Press, c2006.
RJ506.V56 F55 2006
Gamache, Kyle.
Domestic violence blame attributions in the state of Rhode Island/ Kyle
Gamache.
2006.
HONORS Gamache 2006 c.2
Hamel, John.
Gender-inclusive treatment of intimate partner abuse : a comprehensive
approach / John Hamel.
New York : Springer Pub., c2005.
RC569.5.F3 H35 2005
Jasper, Margaret C.
The law of violence against women / by Margaret C. Jasper.
New York : Oceana, c2007.
REF KF9304.J37 2007
Kelly, Kristin A. (Kristin Anne)
Domestic violence and the politics of privacy / Kristin A. Kelly.
Ithaca : Cornell University Press, 2003.
HV6626.2 .K45 2003
Miller, Susan L.
Victims as offenders : the paradox of women's violence in relationships /
Susan L. Miller.
New Brunswick, N.J. : Rutgers University Press, c2005.
HV6626 .M543 2005
Mills, Linda G.
Insult to injury : rethinking our responses to intimate abuse / Linda G.
Mills.
Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press, c2003.
HV6626 .M55 2003
Morewitz, Stephen John, 1954-
Domestic violence and maternal and child health : new patterns of trauma,
treatment, and criminal justice
responses / Stephen J. Morewitz.
New York : Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, c2004.
HV6626.2 .M67 2004
United States.
Keeping Children and Families Safe Act of 2003.
[Washington, D.C. : U.S. G.P.O. : For sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S.
G.P.O., 2003]
GOV PUB AE 2.110:108-36 or view online at
http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS35982
United States.
Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005
technical amendments.
[Washington, D.C. : U.S. G.P.O. : Supt. of Docs., U.S. G.P.O., distributor,
2006]
GOV PUB AE 2.110:109-271 or view online at
http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS73836
United States. Congress (108th, 1st session : 2003)
Keeping Children and Families Safe Act of 2003 : conference report (to
accompany S. 342)
[Washington, D.C. : U.S. G.P.O., 2003]
GOV PUB Y 1.1/8:108-150 or view online at
http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS33490
United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and
Pensions.
Violence against women in the workplace : the extent of the problem and what
government and business
are doing about it : a hearing before the Committee on Health, Education,
Labor, and Pensions, United
States Senate, One Hundred Seventh Congress, second session, on examining
violence against women in
the workplace, focusing on coordinated community response partnerships with
employers, to educate them
about dangers of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking, and assist
them in establishing effective
policies and programs, July 25, 2002.
Washington : U.S. G.P.O. : For sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. G.P.O.,
2003.
Y 4.L 11/4:S.HRG.107-591 or view online at
http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS30254
United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Indian Affairs (1993- )
Amending the Indian Child Protection and Family Violence Prevention Act to
provide for the reporting and
reduction of child abuse and family violence incidences on Indian
reservations, and for other purposes :
report (to accompany S. 1601)
[Washington, D.C. : U.S. G.P.O., 2004]
Y 1.1/5:108-228 or view online at http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS47096
United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Indian Affairs (1993- )
Child Protection and Family Violence Prevention Act : hearing before the
Committee on Indian Affairs,
United States Senate, One Hundred Eighth Congress, first session, on S.
1601, to amend the Indian Child
Protection and Family Violence Prevention Act to provide for the reporting
and reduction of child abuse
and family violence incidences on Indian reservations, September 24, 2003,
Washington, DC.
Washington : U.S. G.P.O. : For sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. G.P.O.,
2004.
Y 4.IN 2/11:S.HRG.108-341 or view online at
http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS48471
United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Indian Affairs (1993- )
Amending the Indian Child Protection and Family Violence Prevention Act to
identify and remove barriers
to reducing child abuse, to provide for examinations of certain children,
and for other purposes : report (to
accompany S. 1899)
[Washington, D.C. : U.S. G.P.O., 2006]
Y 1.1/5:109-255 or view online at http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS70802
United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Indian Affairs (1993- )
Indian Child Protection and Family Violence Prevention Act amendments :
hearing before the Committee
on Indian Affairs, United States Senate, One Hundred Ninth Congress, second
session, on S. 1899, to
amend the Indian Child Protection and Family Violence Prevention Act to
identify and remove barriers to
reducing child abuse, to provide for examinations of certain children, March
15, 2006, Washington, DC.
Washington : U.S. G.P.O. : For sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. G.P.O.,
2006.
Y 4.IN 2/11:S.HRG.109-478 or view online at
http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS72738
United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on the Judiciary. Subcommittee on
Crime and Drugs.
Leading the fight : the Violence against Women Office : hearing before the
Subcommittee on Crime and
Drugs of the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, One Hundred
Seventh Congress, second
session, April 16, 2002.
Washington : U.S. G.P.O. : For sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. G.P.O, 2003.
Y 4.J 89/2:S.HRG.107-886
Battered women and their families : intervention strategies and treatment
programs / Albert R. Roberts,
editor ; Barbara W. White, foreword.
New York : Springer Pub., c2007.
HV699.B37 2007
Children exposed to violence / edited by Margaret M. Feerick and Gerald B.
Silverman.
Baltimore : Paul H. Brookes Pub., c2006.
HV6626.5.C558 2006
Family interventions in domestic violence : a handbook of gender-inclusive
theory and treatment / John
Hamel, Tonia L. Nicholls, editors.
New York : Springer Pub., c2007.
HV6626.2 .F345 2007
Family violence in primary care / edited by Stephen Amiel and Iona Heath.
Oxford [England] ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2003.
RA1122 .F35 2003
International perspectives on family violence and abuse : a cognitive
ecological approach / edited by
Kathleen Malley- Morrison
Mahwah, N.J. : Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, c2004.
HV6626 .I58 2004
Parenting by men who batter : new directions for assessment and intervention
/ edited by Jeffrey L.
Edleson, Oliver J. Williams.
Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2007.
HV6626.P365 2007
Protecting children from domestic violence : strategies for community
intervention / edited by Peter G.
Jaffe, Linda L. Baker, Alison J. Cunningham.
New York : Guilford Press, c2004.
HV6626.2 .P76 2004
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FGM - Female Genital Mutilation Female Genital MutilationKathleen Mary Sheridan Female Genital Mutilation in all forms, in all communities, in all countries, for all reasons, MUST be stopped!
This term we have recently been frightened with, FGM (Female Genital Mutilation) is primarily practiced in 28 countries on the continent of Africa, butalsopracticed in so-called 'sophisticated', 'rich' countries such as the United States, New Zealand, Europe, Australia and Canada.
Our informational blogseeks topromote awareness of this horrific form of abuse towards females including babies, children and women.
Female Genital Mutilation is a collective name to describe procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to female genital organs whether for cultural or other non-medical reasons.
FGM is a violation of the human rights of girls and women; and it is a grave threat to their health. It enters human rights discourse primarily on the basis of three issues: informed consent, patriarchal oppression, and violence against women. The issue of informed consent mirrors the debate about male circumcision though with far more intensity. African feminists generally reject the imported women's rights discourse that universally adopts an assumption of male dominance, and prefer instead to realize their gender roles on their own terms. FGM is a blatant act of violence against women. It is mutilatrion and has horrible consequences.
The World Health Organization has divided Female Genital Mutilation into four types:
- Type I: clitoridectomy (circumcision) consisting in removal of the prepuce with or without excision of part or the entire clitoris.
- Type II: excision, <consisting in >removal of the prepuce and the clitoris along with partial or total excision of the labia minora.
- Type III: infibulation,the form of FGM common in the countries of the Horn of Africa, consisting of the partial or total removal of the external genitalia. The two sides of the vulva are then sewn with a suture or thorns, reducing the size of the vuval opening and leaving only a small hole for the passage of urine and menses.
- Type IV: includes various practices of manipulation of the female genital organs - piercing or incision of the clitoris and/or labia; cauterization by burning of the clitoris and surrounding tissue; scraping of the vaginal opening (angurya) or cutting of the vagina (gishiri); introduction of corrosive substances in the vagina to cause bleeding or introduction of herbs with the aims of narrowing the vagina.
The age at which girls undergo FGM varies enormously according to the ethnic group practising it. The procedure may be carried out when the girl is a newborn, during childhood, adolescence, at the time of marriage or during the first pregnancy.
Consequences Of Fgm: The consequence of FGM depends on the type of operation performed (infibulation clearly has more serious consequences), the ability and experience of the one performing the operation, the hygienic conditions under which it is performed, and the girl's health at the time of the operation.
Immediate Consequences
- Shock: due not only to the severe pain caused by an operation performed without anesthesia but also to the loss of blood which can continue for several days even when moderate, or to sepsis.
- Hemorrhage: the most common and almost inevitable consequence, given that amputation of the clitoris can also involve resection of the dorsal artery. Moreover, even amputation of the labia can cause damage to veins and arteries. Prolonged hemorrhage can cause a girl's death or lead to long term anemia.
- Infections: due to unsanitary conditions, use of unsterilized instruments and the fact that urination and defecation take place over the wound in girls that are bound. In the case of infibulation, an internal explosion of the infection can occur that can affect organs such as the uterus, the fallopian tube and the ovaries, causing chronic pelvic infections and infertility.
- Urinary retention lasting eight to ten days: These girls find urination extremely painful due to inflammation of the wound on the vulva. This complication can cause infections of the urinary tract.
- Lesions of adjoining tissue such as the urethra, vagina, and perineum: This is also due to the use of unsterilized instruments, the lack of proper illumination during the operation, the lack of anatomic knowledge in the practitioners and the struggling of the patient. More frequent are lesions of the anal and rectal opening with cutting of the anal sphincter and residual incontinence.
- Tetanus can be contracted through use of unsterilized equipment.
- HIV/AIDS, the HIV/AIDS virus can be transmitted by using the same instruments for many operations.
Long-Term Consequences
- Loss of blood: can take place when the procedure is carried out on an infected wound, for example in the case of repeated infibulations and of re-infibulation after childbirth.
- Difficulty urinating: due to obstruction of the urinary opening and damage to the urinary tube. Urination can be painful and lead to urinary retention, frequent urge to urinate, incontinence and infections of the urinary tract.
- Frequent infections of the urinary tract: often due to damage to the lower urinary tract produced by mutilation. Frequent infections of this type are common, especially in infibulated women.
- Incontinence: can be caused by damage to the urethra during the operation. Incontinence cause lead to a woman's being segregated from society.
- Chronic pelvic infections: common to infibulated women: The FGM and partial occlusion of the vagina and the urethra increase the probably of infection.
- Infertility: due to the infections that can cause irreparable damage to the reproductive organs.
- Keloids: thickened, fibrous skin tissue resulting from chronic inflammatory stimulation. These formations often diminish the size of the vaginal opening with serious consequences.
- Dermoid cysts: cysts caused by inclusion of a fragment of skin that can develop into a tumor.
Consequences To Overall Health - Neuroma: can develop when the dorsal nerve of the clitoris is cut. The entire genital area becomes hypersensitive and cause intense, permanent pain.
- Stones: may occur due to residue of the menstrual flow or by urinary deposits in the vagina and the space behind the tissue created by infibulation.
- Fistulae: perforations or lesions between the vagina and the bladder due to damage from FGM or the repetition of defibulation or reinfibulation, sexual relations or difficulty in childbirth. The continuous loss of urine and feces caused by the fistulae can torment these women's lives and lead to their being rejected by society.
- Sexual dysfunction: the most common consequences are pain during intercourse and reduction of sensitivity following the clitoridectomy, but especially as a result of infibulation. Penetration is difficult, if not impossible and in some cases, a second cut is necessary.
- Menstrual problems: these often occur due to the partial or total occlusion of the vaginal opening. This can lead to dismenorrhea. Hematocolpus cam result due to menstrual blood stagnating in the vagina for many months. In these cases, swelling of the abdomen caused by the accumulation of menstrual blood, along with the apparent lack of menstruation can lead to suspicion of pregnancy creating many social problems for the girl.
- Problems during pregnancy and childbirth: very common in women who have undergone FGM. The resistant scar tissue can prevent dilation of the birth channel and cause an obstructed labor. The woman's exhaustion during expulsion an lead to urinary inertia and loss of blood which can cause the baby's death. In addition, the child can suffer from brain damage.
- Infibulation can lead to other problems. It is, for instance, almost impossible to conduct a pelvic examination. As a result, it is very difficult if not impossible to evaluate a dangerous pregnancy or diagnose illness. If the opening left after infibulation is very tight, it is also impossible to prevent inflections to the reproductive apparatus. Nor is a pap test possible, meaning that it is impossible to diagnose some tumors.
Sexual And Psychological Problems Studies on the psycho-sexual effects of the practice are few. The literature however points to the following complications: - frigidity
- lack of orgasm due to amputation of the clitoris
- difficulty of penetration due to stiffening of the vagina tissue
- behavior disturbances
- psychosomatic illness
- anxiety
- depression
- nightmares
- psychosis
Origins Of Fgm The origins of the practice are unclear. It predates the rise of Christianity and Islam. There is mention made of Egyptian mummies that display characteristics of FGM/FGC. Historians such as Herodotus claim that in the fifth century BC the Phoenicians, the Hittites and the Ethiopians practised circumcision. It is also reported that circumcision rites were practised in tropical zones of Africa, in the Philippines, by certain tribes in the Upper Amazon, and in Australia by women of the Arunta tribe. It also occurred among the early Romans and Arabs. As recent as the 1950s, clitoridectomy was practised in Western Europe and the United States to treat 'ailments' in women as diverse as hysteria, epilepsy, mental disorders, masturbation, nymphomania, melancholia and lesbianism. In other words, the practice of FGM/FGC has been followed by many different peoples and societies across the ages and the continents.
Excuses Given for Female Genital Mutilation The given reasons for the practice of FGM (primarily in the 28 African countries, and a few countries in the Middle East and Asia) is the set of beliefs, values, cultural and social behaviour patterns that govern the lives of people in society. The various reasons can be categorized into five headings as follows:
Psychosexual Excuses FGM/FGC is carried out as a means to control women's sexuality (which is argued to be insatiable if parts of the genitalia, especially the clitoris, are not removed). It is thought to ensure virginity before and fidelity after marriage and/or to increase male sexual pleasure.
Sociological And Cultural Excuses FGM/FGC is seen as part of a girl's initiation into womanhood and as an intrinsic part of a community's cultural heritage/tradition. Various myths exist about female genitalia (e.g. that if uncut the clitoris will grow to the size of a penis; FGM/FGC would enhance fertility or promote child survival, etc.) and these serve to perpetuate the practice.
Hygiene And Aesthetic Excuses In some communities, the external female genitalia are considered dirty and ugly and are removed ostensibly to promote hygiene and aesthetic appeal.
Religious Excuses Although FGM/FGC is not sanctioned by either Islam nor by Christianity, supposed religious prescripts (e.g. the mention of 'Sunna" in the Koran) are often used to justify the practice. Another example is Opus Dei which seeks to prevent femalemembers and their offsprings from 'enjoying' masturbation or partner-intimacy.
Socio-Economic Excuses In some communities, FGM/FGC is evena prerequisite for marriage. Where women are largely dependent on men, economic necessity can be a major determinant to undergo the procedure. FGM/FGC sometimes is a prerequisite for the right to inherit. FGM/FGC may also be a major income source for circumcisers.
Conclusion The "medicalization" of FGM which is willful damage to healthy organs for non-therapeutic reasons is unethical and has been consistently condemned by WHO. (World Health Organization as well as outlawed in Canada(1992) and the United States (1995).
Hillary Clinton, then first lady, stated in 1995 at the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China that "it is a violation of human rights when young girls are brutalized by the painful and degrading practice of genital mutilation". The Report of the Fourth World Conference on Women (1995) makes ten mentions of female genital mutilation in a call to "prohibit" FGM, "enact and enforce legislation" and "give priority to educational programmes that emphasize the elimination of harmful attitudes and practices, including female genital mutilation and recognizing that some of these practices can be violations of human rights and ethical medical principles". By legitimizing FGM as a human rights violation, the United States passed 22 U.S.C. 262k-2 [22] [23] in 1997, a broadly worded law that effectively outlaws "female genital mutilation" all over the world by threatening the denial of loans and aid from the eight largest international banks.
Some countries in the area of practice have also prohibited FGM but the practice goes on in secret.
Religious extremismfuels this physical mutilation and emotionally-damaging (even deadly) practice.
FGM is present in North America for a few reasons, one being immigration and the other being domestic fanatic religious zealots.
The latter we shall not discuss in detail for the moment due to a current investigation.
Religious groups include (but are by no means limited to) members of the Catholic cult Opus Dei. The Catholic church is vehemently, radically and zealously opposed to fornication, masturbation, homosexuality, birth control...etceteras.
Opus Dei, as a cult of the Catholic church, shares the views of the Catholic church on sexuality. Opus Dei is very secretive of its ways and practices. Some practices of Opus Dei were exposed in the book The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. FGM is sometimes practiced by Catholic/Opus Dei religious zealots in the US and Canada! FGM is performed at varying ages on girls in order to eliminate sexual pleasure and satisfaction.
In scalping thetip of the clitoris (as in 'excision') or removing completley the clitoris, the result is the lack of the ability to have a clitoral orgasm or sexual tension release. The woman has lost part of her body and her sexuality. Masturbation by stimulation of the clitoris is futile although many girls struggle alone at night with this for hours as there is no clitoris after FGM has been performed.
Opus Dei views women as chattles and their sole purpose is to produce children and raise them to be Opus Dei members ("soldiers for God"). Sexual intercourse is solely for procreation and only males should derive pleasure from the action. This is a seriously skewed and harmful view towards women. FGM is practiced widely in Africa and while it is reassuring that awareness is slowly spreading to Western societies, few are aware that FGM is practiced within cults such as Opus Dei. These religious zealots and fanatics need to be exposed and their cruel Dr. Mengala-esque practices must be stopped.
It is no wonder there is so much spousal abuse, child abuse and domestic violence in these cults. When women are mistreated and abused it is damaging to all. Abuse fuels more abuse, the abused become the abusers...The seemingly endless chain of abuse needs to be broken with the cesation of brutalizing and mutilating women.
Female Genital Mutilation in all forms, in all communities, in all countries, for all reasons, MUST be stopped!
When I left home on September 1st 2007, I left my sisters behind.
Please help them.
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