Introduction
Cases of women suffering from the lack of control over their reproductive organs are increasing every day in most parts of the world, especially in the African nations. Research indicates that such women go through psychological and physical torture because of the experiences they go through while growing up. The findings also indicate that this situation causes psychological problems to infants, girls, and women who have gone through the operation (Mirza, Devine, & Gaddipati, 2010).
Other complications depend on the nature of the operation, instruments, the environment, the people who carry out the operation, and the response of the victim after the operation. Therefore, this work discusses this topic with the view of reminding future research to investigate and reduce this physical and psychological trauma among women. Most women face psychological and physical traumas because they do not have control over their reproductive organs. Therefore, giving these women the power to control their reproductive organs and stopping barbaric cultural practices will greatly reduce the rate of physical and psychological trauma among women.
Research question
What are the psychological and physical traumas that women who have no control over their reproductive organs face?
Research Methodology
This paper uses the information published in works that previous researchers published after carrying out detailed field researches in countries where women suffer traumas due to the lack of control over their reproductive organs.
Justification
It was important to carry out this study to save many women from psychological and physical traumas that their male counterparts take them through. Research shows that about 20% of women in Africa and some parts of Asia cannot make any decision about their reproductive organs and their sex lives. This research is, therefore, a very crucial step towards liberating such women.
Findings
. Participants reported that the traumas they undergo result from the lack of control over their reproductive organs. The literature collected during the study shows that Cultural values and customs cause most of these traumas in many parts of the world. Most young women and girls go through female genital mutilation, especially in African and Asian countries (Brown, 2009). Most of these nations carry out FGM on very young girls, mostly between seven to ten years.
Other communities in some parts of the world go to the extent of performing it on married women. Scholars have done extensive research on this problem, and their findings indicate that such practices can cause mental problems and trauma (Mirza et al., 2010). Clinical studies show that some of these individuals exhibit severe signs of psychological suffering, which lead to long-term problems such as stress and depression.
In some communities, women do not have control over their sex life. Men rape them, or their parents marry them off to anybody whenever they want. Women who go through such experiences are likely to go through psychological and physical difficulties (Dailey, Humphreys, Rankin, & Lee, 2011). Instant problems that result from such cruelty against women include shock, anxiety, social discrimination, insecurity, confusion, and fear. Others experience emotional detachment, lack of sleep, nightmares, and flashbacks (Brown, 2009).
Most of these women show a decline in psychological problems after a few months, while others experience them for a long time. Most doctors disregard some psychological signs when diagnosing victims (Brown, 2009). Such symptoms include depression, uncontrollable physical signs, and sexual dysfunction.
Mary Shelley’s thoughts
Mary Shelley, in her novel, terms pregnancy and giving birth as a death sentence. This attitude comes about because of her experience. She lost her two children, and could not imagine going through all that pain again, or losing another child (Brown, 2009). She expresses her deep fear of giving birth to a deformed child or a dead one, who could kill her while giving birth. This fear results from the death of her firstborn child and her mother’s death while giving birth to her.
Conclusion
Denying women control over their reproductive organs results in the elimination of their basic biological function and cultural powers. Most of these women also become genophobic. Such cases lead to mistrust among the victims, which may lead to loss of self-esteem. They may also feel ashamed to face medical practitioners. Some victims go through the healing process successfully while others develop complications such as shock, over bleeding, pain, fear, and loss of other organs.
There are long-term symptoms that experts associate with such victims. They include gynecological obstetrics, urinary tract infections, HIV, extreme menstrual pain, scar formation, pain during sex, fear, and difficulty when giving birth. Most women find it hard to bear children due to obstruction labor that eventually leads to death. Researchers, should, therefore, concentrate on this problem, and find a long-term solution for it.
Recommendations
- People should stop practicing FGM because it is against human rights.
- Governments should create institutions that will protect the rights of young girls and women.
- The states should participate and monitor the fight against FGM.
- Communities should allow women to choose their marriage partners.
- There should be strict laws against rape.
- All nations should educate the public on the need to stop such practices and embrace gender equality.
References
Brown, H. (2009). Trauma in pregnancy. Obstetrics & Gynecology, 114(1), 147-160.
Dailey, D., Humphreys, J., Rankin, S., & Lee, K. (2011). An exploration of lifetime trauma exposure in pregnant low-income African American women. Maternal And Child Health Journal, 15(3), 410-418.
Mirza, F., Devine, P., & Gaddipati, S. (2010). Trauma in pregnancy: a systematic approach. American Journal of Perinatology, 27(7), 579-586.