Alice Walker, Warrior Marks: Female Genital Mutilation and the Sexual Blinding of
Women. New York: Harcourt Brace, 1993, 373pp.

Female genital mutilation, also known as female circumcision, is a practice that involves the removal of part or all of the female external genitalia. It occurs throughout the world, but most commonly in Africa where they say that it is a tradition and social custom to keep a young girl pure and a married woman faithful. But to some Westerners, the practice is viewed as being primitive and barbaric. We react with disgust and find it nearly incomprehensible that female genital mutilation can occur in the world today In Warrior Marks, Alice Walker looks at the reality that millions of African, Asian and …show more content…

During the operation, these young girls experience extreme pain and trauma against their will. They also suffer many long-term physical consequences like genital malformation, recurrent urinary infections and loss of sexual sensation. These girls, like everyone else in the world, should have the right to live safe and healthy lives.
Although we consider ourselves superior to these women, we also resort to such extremes to conform to the expectations of society. We go through things like extreme diets, breast implants, face lifts, liposuction and other painful and potentially dangerous processes for beauty, love and social acceptance. I think these operations, just like male and female circumcision, are wrong because they are not natural. If people are born uncircumcised, then that is how our body should remain.
Before reading the book, I thought that female genital mutilation was a very violent and cruel practice. I saw these girls being forced to lie down and have a piece of flesh cut from between their legs. I imagined the excruciating pain and memories they would have to go through as an adolescent. I asked myself why is this happening? Now, having read the book, I understand that they have their reasons just like we have our reasons. But I still believe that is wrong to control a woman's sexuality. This is still oppression and hopefully someday, people will find a way to stop this.
People want to save these children who are being tortured by