Amazing piece. Thank you for your contribution on the subject, Dr. Akhtar!

I’m disappointed by not only the insensitive (no pun intended) attitude of some of the medical professionals turning a blind eye towards the practice but also some of the commentators making this a competition between male vs. female issues and using degrading terms like “male tears” and other BS, when it isn’t. It is about a stupid practice affecting human infants— whether FGM or MGM.

The difference of course is, because it affects men, people’s attitudes towards the subject are dismissive and marginal at best — because men can take it; are supposed to. This is no different than reinforcing the traditional patriarchal attitudes towards men, most feminists complain about to begin with. If you are able to separate emotion from subject, you will realize, societies globally— patriarchal or matriarchal, have a bias towards protecting women over men, spontaneously. Therefore, in either worlds, male expendability (military, dangerous jobs, etc. being handed down to men) continues to prevail no matter how egalitarian we are becoming or claim to have become.
If an issue does affect women or minorities (I speak as a minority), it gets a disproportional amount of attention, action everywhere but the basic bias we retain against the “majority” or males — that they can’t or don’t have very real issues is wretched.

Anyway, let me be clear, talking about male or female issues is about humans and doesn’t have to be a competition, so don’t make it into one. 🙄