This is Africa - they're different to us in much the same way as those in the middle eastern regions are.
No, it's slighty connected to Islam. Muslim faith, either sunni or shia base themselves both on the quran (supposed to be the word of god) and the hadith (which are testimonies of words and acts of Muhammed gathered after his death). The quran doesn't says anything about FGM. However, as far as I remember, there is two important hadith about FGM : _ One mentionning when the circumcised genitals of the man meet the circumcised genitals of the woman. _ Another where their prophet says to not circumcise too much woman, but muslims have doubts about the authencity of this hadith. There is 4 big theological schools in sunni islam, and one consider that it's an obligation to "circumcise" (mutilate) the women. Pretending that FGM has nothing to do with islam is a big fat lie, pretending that it's systematical in Islam is a big fat lie, or ignorance. About religion, it depend how do you consider religion, I think that people can learn of how ML King considered religion.
Whoever wrote those in confused a whole pile of folks, then. Don't see how anyone could believe god would want a woman to be harmed. Women are as much a child of god as men.
None of us do because they're different to us. The sad fact is there is no will by the West to do anything about it, especially the ruling classes, so we might as well forget it. Speaking for myself I'd rather forget it than keep being reminded that future generations of boy and girl babies and toddlers will suffer great physical pain in the name of mindless custom, and in the case of the Jewish lads, mindless religious ritual.
Only through international agencies, can these atrocities be protested, or rather discussed. Protesting seems to draw negative attention, many times. No country has the right to tell anyone what to do, though in the case of women, it's not just skin removal. I don't equate the two. I can't.
Men's pleasure comes first and the ability to breed babies, a foid doesn't need privates intact for that. And well who cares they are under the authority of the father so if a girl to be married as in finding the most partners needs a cut up crotch then they cut it up. Seems fine to me. You have no right to question other cultures under moral relativist models ,right, since the way to correct this would be to force our Western values on them which would be presumptuous.
I understand your point, but it's twisted. What god would want to harm one of his children? If it's only a custom, it's a very painful and harmful one. What woman would want to have sex, if she feels no pleasure? It ends up being rape, each time you have sex with her. She becomes a sort of sex robot to be used for the pleasure of a man. It's not a matter of western customs. It's a matter of human suffering.
Rape is a problem in all the world. Anyone who commits rape is committing a crime of the state, religious beliefs not withstanding. I could believe and worship a rock, and it doesn't matter. It would be my religion, but I cannot rape in the name of a rock and not be brought to justice. Those women have human rights, just as any other human being. Any god that encourages mutilation and rape is more likely to be a creation of the one true god. You don't have to believe any of that. Rape is a crime. Mutilation certainly should be. It's sick and evil, in my opinion.
In my view, a girl who has been genitally mutilated has been violated in a way that's worse than rape.