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*'''Female Genital Mutilation''' - which reduces a girl's capacity for sexual pleasure both physically (through the removal of the clitoris and labia) and mentally (through the effects of trauma). Where a girl has been infibulated her chastity is further guaranteed because her vaginal opening is sealed with a covering of skin, the penetration of which is extremely painful and which leads to severe hemorrhaging that is difficult to conceal. | *'''Female Genital Mutilation''' - which reduces a girl's capacity for sexual pleasure both physically (through the removal of the clitoris and labia) and mentally (through the effects of trauma). Where a girl has been infibulated her chastity is further guaranteed because her vaginal opening is sealed with a covering of skin, the penetration of which is extremely painful and which leads to severe hemorrhaging that is difficult to conceal. | ||
Marriages to high status men are highly advantageous, both | Marriages to high status men are highly advantageous, to both potential brides and their families, who will benefit from having a high status male as a relative. The urge for women to marry into higher strata of society is called ''hypergyny''. It is universal to all societies, but is much more intense in polygamous societies. This is probably because in monogamous societies, once a high-status man marries he is no longer available, whereas in polygamous societies a married high-status man remains available. | ||
The high status polygamous man will require that girls who aspire to marry him conform to his expectations and standards. And a family wishing to marry a daughter to a high status man must persuade him that their daughter is 'pure', chaste and will be faithful to him. They demonstrate this by adopting (or having their daughter adopt) Chastity Assurance practices expected by that man, whether it be FGM or other practices in the above list. | |||
The intensely Hypergynous nature of polygamous societies means that the marriage practices of high-status polygamous men cascade down through the lower ranks of society, and are adopted by all families. Only the daughters of the poorest, who can not afford to engage in such practices, are spared. | The intensely Hypergynous nature of polygamous societies means that the marriage practices of high-status polygamous men cascade down through the lower ranks of society, and are rapidly adopted by all families. Only the daughters of the poorest families, who can not afford to engage in such practices, are spared. These girls and their families are stigmatised as 'impure' and 'contaminating' and guaranteed to be unchaste, and will be considered as 'untouchables' and suffer from intense discrimination and persecution. Thus the avoidance of stigma becomes an added incentive for families to conform to the community's Chastity Assurance practices. | ||
==External Links== | ==External Links== |