Clitoraid is a non-profit project started by the Raëlian movement to combat

female genital mutilation Female genital mutilation (FGM) (also known as female genital cutting, female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and female circumcision) is the cutting or removal of some or all of the vulva for non-medical reasons. Prevalence of female ge ...

. The project was started in 2005 or 2006. The Raëlian movement sees sexual gratification as a positive thing and Clitoraid has sponsored clitoral reconstruction for African women and sought to build a hospital in

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest. It covers an area of 274,223 km2 (105,87 ...

where they can also receive post-operative instruction in

masturbation Masturbation is a form of autoeroticism in which a person Sexual stimulation, sexually stimulates their own Sex organ, genitals for sexual arousal or other sexual pleasure, usually to the point of orgasm. Stimulation may involve the use of han ...

. Clitoraid has an Adopt a Clitoris sponsorship program, which it has promoted at the

AVN Adult Entertainment Expo The AVN Adult Entertainment Expo (AEE) is an adult entertainment convention and trade fair, trade show held each January in Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas, Nevada and is sponsored by AVN (magazine), ''AVN'' magazine. AEE is the largest pornography ...

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

. In 2010, on the encouragement of sexologist Betty Dodson, the San Francisco-based sex shop chain

Good Vibrations "Good Vibrations" is a song by the American rock music, rock band the Beach Boys, produced and composed by Brian Wilson with lyrics by Mike Love. Released as a single on October 10, 1966, it achieved immediate critical and commercial success, ...

pledged financial support to Clitoraid including asking customers to make donations; the company rescinded the offer after protests that the effort was misplaced, especially from Wanjiru Kamau-Rutenberg, a professor of politics at the

University of San Francisco The University of San Francisco (USF) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit university in San Francisco, California, United States. Founded in 1855, it has nearly 9,000 students pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees ...

. In 2013, Clitoraid designated the week of 6–12 May as "International Clitoris Awareness Week". The 2014 opening of the Kamkaso Hospital or The Pleasure Hospital at

Bobo-Dioulasso Bobo-Dioulasso ( , ) is a city in Burkina Faso with a population of 1,129,000 (); it is the second-largest city in the country, after Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso's capital. The name means "home of the Bobo- Dioula". The local Bobo-speaking pop ...

was delayed by the Burkina Faso Ministry of Health. Clitoraid blamed the Catholic Church. In 2015, in response to a dispute over the circumcision of a four-year-old boy in the US, Clitoraid issued a press release supporting the mother who did not want the circumcision. They also called on the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

to ban the practice: "Bodily harm is against the

fundamental rights Fundamental rights are a group of rights that have been recognized by a high degree of protection from encroachment. These rights are specifically identified in a constitution, or have been found under due process of law. The United Nations' Susta ...

of all children, and we can't understand when a so-called civilized country such as the United States would allow its male babies to be so readily mutilated legally!"

References

External links

* {{Raëlism Activists against female genital mutilation Raëlian practices Circumcision debate Clitoris