The custom of femaile circumcision is carried out by some African tribes, on girls often as young as four or five. The labia are removed by a knife, or sharp stone, without anaesthetic, and the wound is stitched leaving a pin-hole for the menstrual flow. The opening is then torn assunder on the girl's wedding night by her husband's penis - virgins are highly prized in such culture, and this means that faking virginity is impossible. As my colleagues have advised, it is brutal and barbaric, and hopefully dying out, although some mature women are keen to visit the pain and anguish on young girls, that was once done to them.