The practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) can be traced back to antiquity before established religions such as Islam or Christianity.

In Ancient Egypt, young girls who were captured and brought up in slavery were genitally mutilated in order to prevent pregnancies, ensuring their re-sale value. It is also claimed that FGM was practiced in Egypt as a sign of distinction amongst the aristocracy and that traces of infibulation can still be found on Egyptian mummies.

Female slaves in ancient Rome had one or more rings put through their labia majora to prevent them from becoming pregnant.

In modern times, the medical establishment used FGM to control women who they considered to be "female deviants". Until the 1950s, FGM was routinely performed as a "treatment" for lesbianism, masturbation, hysteria, nymphomania, epilepsy, and other so-called "female deviances" in England and the United States. (Hosken, F., 1993.)

FGM is practiced in many countries all over the world, but primarily in Africa and many myths are circulated about the practice to ensure its continuation. The reasons why FGM is practiced vary according to culture, country and beliefs.

Reasons given to justify FGM include:

- Religion (go to)

- Tradition (go to)

- To Preserve Virginity (go to)

- To Avoid Sexual Immorality (go to)

- An Initiation Rite (go to)

- Cleanliness and Aesthetics (go to)

- Improvement of Fertility and Prevention of Maternal and Infant Mortality (go to)

Religion, and in particular Islam, is the most frequently cited justifying factor for FGM in many societies. Yet FGM is not mentioned in the Qu'ran, nor is it practiced in most Muslim countries. Significantly it is not practiced in Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam. Prophet Mohammed (Peace Be Upon Him) is quoted several times as specifically dissuading people from practicing FGM.

FGM is practiced in some Christian societies, such as in highland Ethiopia amongst those of Ethiopian Orthodox faith, but it is not endorsed in the Bible. Some animist religious groups also practice FGM.

A strong belief in the positive benefits of tradition is often justification enough for the continuation of practices such as FGM. This is the primary reason for retaining the practice for many societies - there is a Somali that says; 'the abandonment of tradition means annoying Allah'.

In some traditions FGM is considered to be a declaration of eligibility for marriage. It is usually believed to be exclusively a woman's affair and therefore, mothers are obliged to ensure their daughters undergo this ordeal at the right time and in the most appropriate way.

This is another reason given by families who are preoccupied with ensuring the marriage prospects and future of their daughters. Marriage is extremely important in many societies where FGM is practiced - there is no alternative lifestyle for single women - and female virginity is an absolute condition of marriage. In Somali society, the most extreme and common form of FGM, infibulation, replaces the natural hymen and upon marrying it is essential that a woman should be untouched.

In societies where the practice of FGM exists, women are generally expected to be promoters of the dignity of the family in the eyes of the external world. This dignity depends upon how a girl preserves her chastity and her sexual purity throughout her life.

The intention of the operation may also be to diminish a woman's desire. The facts from a medical point of view are that excision of the clitoris reduces sensitivity and can also reduce desire from a psychological perspective.

Dr A.A Shandall in his research in the Sudan concludes; "infibulation does not confer any protection or deterrent action on females. Moreover, the vulval skin diaphragm, being an artificially constructed device, can always be reconstructed without any suspicion that this is not the original

According to anthropologists, female circumcision is a form of ceremony; a rite of passage from one age group to another, from childhood into womanhood, preparing a girl for marriage and family life. In some parts of Somalia, after circumcision, girls may be allowed to grow their hair longer and modify the way they dress as signs of their new womanhood.

In FGM practicing societies, many claim that circumcision improves the aesthetic appearance of a woman. It is believed that by trimming parts of the external genitals of the woman and sewing the remaining parts together, thus establishing a flattened smooth vulva, one enhances the beauty of a woman.

Some societies consider uncircumcised girls to be dirty and impure because they believe an offensive discharge and smell emanates from the clitoris. In Arabic, FGM is called Tahur, meaning purity and cleanliness.

Some tribes in Kenya believe the practice improves fertility and prevents maternal and infant mortality. In reality, FGM causes infertility and contributes in a significant way to perinatal morbidity and mortality.