PIP: The ritual genital mutilation of females is widely practiced across the greater part of the African continent affecting an estimated 100 million women in more than 25 countries. The practice also exists to a lesser extent along the Arab peninsula and in parts of Asia. Approximately 200,000 immigrants have come to the US over the past decade from such countries. Many of the women among this immigrant population are severely disabled by social constraints, chronic pain, and impaired mobility. They only rarely present, however, at conventional medical facilities because they are prevented by men and/or they do not expect their specialized medical problems to be understood or handled compassionately. The author spent 32 months between 1979 and 1984 in Sudan, Kenya, and Egypt researching female genital mutilation. She describes the immediate and long-term medical consequences of the process and condition, especially with regard to menstruation and childbirth. The significance of the procedure as a social phenomenon is explained in historical terms and in terms of the values of the societies in which it is established, with consideration given to how a working relationship may be established with the immigrant women.