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Like its male counterpart, circumcision of females has two histories. First it is a ritual or customary practice among tribal societies (mostly in Africa) and some Islamic communities. Secondly it is a medical intervention, justified by Victorian (and, in the USA, some twentieth century) doctors in exactly the same way as they rationalised circumcision of boys: to deter [[masturbation]], to treat obscure nervous disorders such as hysteria, neurasthenia and epilepsy, and thereby to promote health.