Female Circumcism and Waris Dirie

A number of people brought up the issue of female circumcism and the fact that they would like to know more about the issue in general.
I would like to suggest to anyone that wants to know more should start by reading the autobiography of Waris Dirie titled Desert Flower (The Extraordinary Journey of a Desert Nomad).

I recently read the book whilst on vacation in the summer, and was suprised, shocked and upset to find that the circumcism of females is something that causes major problems in certain areas of the world today. The book itself depicts Dirie's life, growing up in the African nation of Somalia, and shows that in this area of the world women are subjected to genital mutilation simply as a result of ritual practises and religious beliefs that have arisen in nomadic cultures over the years.

The book goes into graphic detail about how the process of genital mutilation is undertaken, and it describes the social and religious reasons behind it. In certain parts, I found the book hard to read as it contained such explicit material, but for me it brought to light a serious issue that I didnt even know existed.

In terms of religion, it shows how extreme beliefs can arise in society, and this is a huge example of a dangerous and unethical practise which has stemmed primarily from religious theories. Overall, it shows that the practises of certain religions do not benefit all, and in this case it shows that certain religious principle do need to be altered, and the fundamental beliefs broken down.

Below I have attached a Time article on the book, and also the link that the book is at on Amazon for anyone who wants to know more.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,901020715-300618,00.html

http://www.amazon.com/Desert-Flower-Extraordinary-Journey-Nomad/dp/0688172377