In the past, domestic violence was a tough issue to discuss. Today people struggle to understand the practice of female genital mutilation.

Alasebu Gebre Selassie, consultant to UNICEF/United Nations, discussed the harm of these “cultural traditions” Wednesday night at the Memorial Union.

She spoke to a crowd of nearly 40 people, capturing their attention with stories about the pain and horrors inflicted on young girls and women who suffer because it is their “rite of passage.”

Sponsored by several Iowa State groups and the YWCA, Selassie’s 45-minute lecture was based on the practices of female genital mutilation (FGM) and the women who have been subjected to it.

Selassie said historians do not have documentation on when FGM began, but nearly 130 women and girls are mutilated every year.

She said because of their tribes’ culture, nearly two million girls are in danger of being subjected to this tradition every year.

Every day in Africa, 6,000 girls are mutilated, she said.

Selassie, who now resides in Stoneybrook, Conn., is a native of Ethiopia. Ethiopia is one African country that practices FGM.

Between 26 and 28 African countries take part in FGM, Selassie said. FGM is sometimes referred to as “female circumcision.”

There are three common types of FGM.

The first is the total removal of the clitoris. The second is the total removal of both the clitoris and the labia majoria. The last is “infibulation,” where all the external genitals are cut away, and the area is restitched, leaving only a “pea-sized” opening for both urine and menstrual blood.

Typically, the mutilations are performed without anesthesia or sanitary precautions, Selassie said. Immediately or soon after the procedure is performed, 20 percent of the girls and women die.

“FGM is performed because of [several] psychosexual reasons,” Selassie said. “Some think without the clitoris, the girl will not be easily enticed.

“Some want to guarantee that the girl will be a virgin [before she is married],” Selassie said.

Another belief is that FGM will cause a woman to ‘behave” and be faithful to her husband, she said.

Other reasons are religious.

“Some feel that the flesh is sinful, and that the sinful part of the body must be removed,” Selassie said.

Some incorrect reasons for FGM include that the removal will end body odor, make childbirth easier and make women will look “nicer.”

Selassie said people need to recognize that other cultures have ideals that also harm women.

She said that an obese woman in America is as equally unwanted as an uncircumcised girl in African countries.

“[All societies] want girls to behave, and they want to make girls behave,” Selassie said.

All classes of people, rich and poor, perform FGM, she said.

Generally, women perform the procedure. However, Selassie said there are both men and women in those countries working to stop FGM.

Selassie said she doesn’t see education as the key to stopping FGM. “You can’t change a culture without understanding it. Going to classes, reading some books — that alone won’t stop FGM,” she said. “The people themselves have to be convinced.”

FGM is usually performed on girls from 7 days old to 14 years old. Selassie said older girls are most affected by the procedure, and often try to escape by running away from home.

FGM is also practiced in other countries around the world, such as scattered communities in South America and the Middle East.

Rebekah Dassion, a sophomore in English and Spanish, said the ongoing torture of women in countries where the political system is in constant upheaval is outrageous.

Another student saw women being prepared for the procedure.

“I actually went to Kenya, and while we were in the countryside, we saw the Samburu tribe preparing some of the women for FGM,” Jennifer Schultz, a junior in biology, said.

“It’s a very traumatic thing, and unfortunately, it seems very deeply rooted in some cultures,” she said.