In Somalia, as in many countries in Africa and the Middle East, girls are made "pure" by removing part of their genital organs. There is no other way to describe this procedure, which is usually done around the age of five. After the clitoris and labia minora have been literally scraped off, in the most compassionate cases cut, the genitals are stitched up so that a thick band of tissue forms a chastity belt made up of the scarred flesh. A tiny opening, suitably positioned, is left for the escape of a very thin stream of urine, one realizes that a woman is not infibulated simply by hearing her urinate. Infibulated women immediately recognize the non-infibulated, the "woman" because she urinates with a strong jet, that is "like a man". Only with great strength and suffering can the opening be enlarged later, tearing the scar tissue and thus allowing sexual intercourse.
In our times this practice is still used and is part of the culture and religious tradition of those populations. Informing and letting people know what happens is a moral and ethical obligation in respect of the poor girls, future women, who passively undergo an atrocious practice that will irreversibly mark their lives. A thought today is certainly addressed to the little Somali girls and to the little "child brides" that still exist today in Asian countries such as India.