by Anonymous
Age: 26
Country: India / United States
I was about 6 years old when I was taken to a clinic. One doctor and one nurse conducted the “surgery”. It took less than a minute to do it. I was told that there was a worm which the doctor was going to remove. The pain was for a split second and when I went to pee afterward the cotton that the nurse had stuffed in my underwear had blood on it. I was lucky to have no burning sensation or pain while peeing.
Later, I was asked to not discuss this experience with anyone: “It’s a secret,” they said. So I never knew what happened to me and why.
In my teenage years, I learned that my other Bohra friends and cousin sisters experienced it too. I learned that it was called circumcision when I was studying anthropology in college. I read about horrible stories that women in Africa went through.
I am thankful that, unlike other friends who were taken to some lady’s dingy house, I was taken to a clinic.
But I was horrified when I learned the reason behind this act. I wonder if I’d be a different person if I hadn’t been circumcised.