Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) encompasses all procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. Historically, these procedures were performed by traditional practitioners using crude, unsterilized instruments. Medicalisation of FGM occurs when any form of FGM is performed by health care personnel, whether in a public or private clinic, at home, or anywhere else. This practice represents a dangerous shift where clinical skills and sterile equipment are co-opted to legitimize a human rights violation. Healthcare professionals who perform FGM violate core ethical oaths to do no harm, mistakenly believing that involving a trained nurse or doctor makes the procedure safe.
The persistence of medicalised FGM is fueled by deep-seated cultural norms, social pressure, and persistent myths. Communities often pressure healthcare providers to perform the procedure to reduce the severe physical risks associated with traditional practitioners.
Despite these justifications, medicalised FGM remains a violation of bodily integrity and medical ethics, regardless of how sterile the environment is.
Healthcare workers perform various classifications of FGM, ranging from symbolic cuts to severe anatomical alterations.
In clinical settings, health workers may perform any of these types, often using local anesthesia and surgical scissors.
Even when performed in clean clinics with antibiotics, FGM causes profound immediate and long-term physical, psychological, and sexual health complications.
Clean surroundings do not eliminate the anatomical and psychological devastation inflicted by these procedures.
Nursing codes of ethics and international human rights law strictly prohibit healthcare professionals from performing or supporting FGM. The World Health Organization (WHO) and nursing regulatory bodies across Africa classify medicalised FGM as professional misconduct. When a nurse engages in this practice, they violate the fundamental duty to protect patient welfare and uphold bodily integrity. Legal frameworks in many nations carry severe penalties, including revocation of nursing licenses and imprisonment. Professional accountability requires nurses to reject community demands for cutting and report any planned or performed procedures to appropriate authorities.
Community health nurses occupy a front-line position in eradicating all forms of FGM through education, advocacy, and community engagement. Effective prevention strategies rely on participatory dialogues with traditional leaders, mothers, and youth to demystify the myths surrounding female genitalia. Nurses must collaborate with local opinion makers to design culturally sensitive health promotion campaigns. Outreach programs should emphasize that medicalisation does not equal safety. By empowering women and girls with knowledge about their anatomical rights, nurses help dismantle the social structures that perpetuate the practice.