I know several women who have had this done to them after their first period, at which time a great ceremony is held for the young girl and the thing is done. She is then initiated in the world of woman.

I became quite friendly with a mother of 7 children from Somalia who had this done to herself. She had big problems whenever she had her mens..as the blood could not flow out freely and clotted inside of her..She has big pain at childbirth eventho the stitches would be cut so that the baby could pass thru the vagina canal. And then she would again be sewed with everything in place. She didn´t want this for her child, she told me, and was not going to do it for her. In the end, her husband was reunited with this mother and she had her little girl was cut and sewed as well. In this case and in many others that I knew, it WAS the old grandmother who saw to it that these preceedures were done on the very young girls in their families.. because it brought dishonor on the old woman herself and the entire family, if this was not done...