uring and sometimes following the mutilation, the young girl will have torrents of blood pouring out of the wound. As a result of the loss of blood and the excruciating pain she has just experienced, the young girl may go into shock and may ultimately die (Rushwan). There is also the possibility of infection. Following the mutilation procedure the girl will often develop gross-wound infections (Female Genital Mutilation). This is of course a direct result of the unsanitary conditions that the operation was preformed under. The girls may even acquire tetanus or septicemia (blood poisoning) from the unhygienic conditions. As a result of having chronic infections, many girls will develop pelvic inflammatory disease. Some of the infections are due to urine and menstrual retention. Directly following the excision, the girl will almost always have urine retention. This is due to the swelling of the tissues, which causes severe pain during urination. When the girl holds her urine in like this, it can cause urinary tract infections. In addition to retaining urine, she might also retain menstrual blood. The opening that is left behind is at times too small for the blood to escape; thus there is a retention of menstrual blood (Rushwan). After experiencing this operation, many girls find that menstruating alone is intensely torturous. Indeed, some may pass out from the pain (Cheakalos and Heyn).Over a longer period of time, other problems can occur from this ghastly tradition. One such major problem is the formation of keloids and cysts. Keloids can cause problems with intercourse and with delivering babies (Rushwan). Keloids can make it impossible to consummate a marriage; the man can not penetrate the vagina as a result of the keloids. Infact, in many cases, when the man tries to penetrate he will cause lacerations to his penis. The only way to correct this is to have the keloids removed. The formation of cysts is also a prob...
