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We males in this jungle camp are completely baffled. What, for pity sake, is "female circumcision" [TIME, Sept. 1]?
W. R. S. HENDERSON
Fort Simpson, Northwest Territories, Canada
¶ A custom of ancient Egypt, still widely practiced among the primitive peoples of Africa and other parts of the world, female circumcision is performed by removing all or part of the external genitalia of girls. This is done—usually as a part of prepuberty or premarital rites—for reasons varying from esthetics to the desire to reduce female sensuality.—ED.