Aslan Shand
Sabine Hellfaier-Fuhrke is walking 300km to raise money for restorative surgeries for victims of female genital mutilation (FGM) in Kenya. Sabine is president of the charity Clitoraid Australasia, an international charity that provides restorative surgeries for victims of FGM around the world.
Female genital mutilation, also known as female circumcision, female genital cutting and infibulation, is the ritual removal of some or all of a girl’s or woman’s genitalia. The vulva may then be stitched together to prevent sexual intercourse prior to marriage.
There are no health benefits and both the short- and long-term effects are severe.
The shared use of instruments such as razors to cut multiple girls increases the risk of transmission of blood-borne disease such as hepatitis and HIV. FGM also places pregnant women and the foetus at increased risk due to complications during pregnancy and birth.
Clitoraid was inspired by the Raelian movement and began their work in 2006. They have trained several doctors in providing clitoral repair surgery.
‘The Raelians believe that planet Earth was created and is still governed by extra-terrestrials who will one day return to judge humanity. They believe in UFOs and that our purpose on Earth is the pursuit of pleasure,’ according to a BBC report.
‘Clitoraid is indeed a charity inspired by the Raelian philosophy embracing positive, healthy, unrepressed, guilt-free values concerning women’s sexuality and sexual pleasure,’ said a representative of Clitoraid.
Sexual identity
‘Many charities conduct anti-FGM campaigns as we do, but none address the recovery of women’s sexual identity and pleasure with the restoring of the clitoris – the main organ mutilated during FGM. What matters at Clitoraid is not the patient or the volunteer worker’s faith; it is our unique, uninhibited ability to help heal women around the world in their sexuality, whether it be in their flesh or in their mind. Healing women’s sexuality empowers them and helps heal humanity.’
Sabine begins her journey in Leon, Spain, and will walk The Camino over two weeks in May, finishing in Santiago.
‘We have the opportunity to fund 40 surgeries in Kenya this May,’ said Sabine. ‘The total cost is $4,000; that’s $100 for each woman for theatre fees. I will be walking from Leon to the end of The Camino to raise this money.’
Dr Bowers, who will be conducting the surgery, volunteers her time and skill and Clitoraid and Garana co-sponsor surgical costs. However, there are still Kenyan women who are waiting for enough funding to be raised so that they can receive surgery in the next two weeks.
To highlight the need for the awareness of this surgery Clitoraid has declared May as Clitoris Awareness Month.
‘Because the clitoris, exclusively used for sexual pleasure, is still associated with much taboo, speaking about it creates unease even among anti-FGM women’s organisations,’ said the Clitoraid representative.
Donations can be made to Clitoraid Australasia, BSB 082-330, account 857442684.
What a load of … !
Male genital Mutilation is not only tolerated but encouraged !
Yes these people are evil but now we have multicultural get used to it
While ever we allow circumcision ,how can we criticise this barbaric practice ?
G”)
Please read “the hospital by the river”, a book written by Dr Catherine Hamilton who since years with her husband, both Australian surgeons, who have saved a lot of women in Ethiopia, giving them back their physical and moral health in repairing fistulas, one of the mutilation consequences, and their dignity in their own society. More, their organization trains special medical staff and it opens small efficient hospitals in the countryside, reaching those who could not even have any hope for a normal simple life.
One of the efficient solutions is to help more such an environment well settled charity organization so to have intelligent, humble and scientific solutions for the most miserable silent women between the World most miserable women all over Africa, a continent where any trained surgeon or nurse is a treasure for Humanity at large for its development far from any dependence. Then any encouragement for an Education program against the female sexual mutilations, run by local people ( they exist) and adapted to local means would be the essential way to stop this specific horror which is still imposed to too many countries little girls and women under the false excuse of a so called ancestral civilization where females survived but had no right to live.
Thankyou Aslan for reporting on this despicable practice and for bringing it out in to the open.
It is indeed a horrific practice, often done with rusty old razors to multiple victims or even having the clitoris cut or smashed with stones and with no aneasthetic. Can you imagine the fear and pain young women go through?
By the way a reader commented on circumcision. That is also a barbaric practice especially if it is performed against a person’s will (ie) to a small child who has not agreed to it and this should be banned unless it is absolutely necessary for health reasons.
Congratulations to Sabine also.
Thank you very much!! FGM is a revolting horrible barbaric crime and it is so refreshing to see people who are effectively helping the victims. Tears of joy and compassion, love and hopes for Humanity.
Congratulations and thanks to all at Clitoraid for this sterling and essential work.
I am sure you will be relieved to learn that in fact you are not the only – though certainly a very important – organisation to promote surgery and psychological support for women who have undergone FGM.
Amongst those who first introduced this service is Dr Pierre Foldes of Paris (France) who has trained many other surgeons – including I believe Dr Bowers – and who stresses very much also how important psychological support is. You can read more about him here: https://femalemutilationworldwide.com/?s=foldes
Likewise, Angela Peabody of Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation in Washington DC is now providing similar services.
I am also pleased to tell you that we in the UK have created a not-for-profit with the same objective. The Clitoris Restoration and Fistula Repair Fund (CRFRF) seeks to provide services to affected women as well as, critically, working to ensure that education about FGM and fistula is incorporated into medical / clinical education.
And finally, you may like to look at the work of Michael Ahabwe Mugerwa, director of the ICOD Action Network in Uganda, who also shares these objectives.
The need for such support for women who have experienced FGM is vastly greater than the services all of us combined can at present even aspire to provide, so Sabine Hellfaier-Fuhrke’s excellent awareness-raising walk is a very valuable ‘step’ forward. Thank you Sabine
It is important to recognise that by no means all, probably not even the majority, of those seeking to end FGM are less concerned about the unacceptability and dangers of male circumcision (MGM).
Dr Tobe Levin, a distinguished long-time campaigner against FGM, has this to say on the matter: https://genitale-autonomie.de/videos-der-vortraege/levin/ (it’s in English). She, like me and many others, is unequivocally opposed to the genital mutilation of any child.
Those who wish specifically to shine a light on male ‘circumcision’ are correct in reminding us that that, too, can have very serious consequences for people who undergo it – not least in Africa, where every year many boys lose their lives. But please do remember that a focus on FGM does not preclude a deep concern for the well-being of male children, just as much as the converse is also true. Children are just that – children.
On a practical level I don’t believe that exactly the same campaigns will work for both – at the moment at least – but mutual moral support is really important, The work of Clitoraid and similar organisations deserves to be welcomed and encouraged by everyone.