Dear Wendy,

Your email was beautifully written :)

In my country (and most of the Muslim SEA countries), circumcision is viewed as part of their religion, and their male children will undergo the process at around the age of 7-12yo. There will be prayers recited and a small feast, in which overall resembles more of like a small gathering.

Some places, the religious head of the area will perform the ceremony and there will be several boys in the line up. The healing process takes about 1-2 weeks.

The females will have their "circumcision" around the time of birth mostly, where (I was told) that a small amount of skin is removed (either from the labia minora or clitoris - I can't seem to remember which part exactly off hand) Most babies will only cry for a while and other than that, they do not present any after effects whatsoever.

In some Asian races, circumcision is administered (with the request of  the parents) at birth and the healing process is about 1 week or so. We have doctors here who conduct circumcision even for adults and I suppose one of the main reasons some men seek for this procedure is because it presents a "healthier" and "cleaner" organ and in some cases, this procedure is more of for sexual pleasure.

Whatever the reason is, I would think this is more of a cultural thing, and when one is living in a diversed and multi-racial community, it does help to know the various cultures and their tradition. However, being said that, I do not approve of the female genital mutilation done (their methods) in countries like Africa.

Warmest,
Maureen Fletcher, CLEC

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