Should he be circumcised?

The least talked about and most important surgical procedure for men is now being made common. The Malawi Government is now on a campaign to have men between the ages of 15 and 49 circumcised as a public health measure. But what do people think of circumcision itself, Cheu Mita finds out.

When you think of it, men should get this procedure as an act of love for women. Women are at greater risk of infections than men in general. If this procedure really does reduce the rate of infection in men, it really does protect the health of women. Talking to some of my girlfriends they say sex with a circumcised male is more enjoyable…. So, I guess the whole thing would be beneficial to women. I don’t really buy the argument that this would promote whoring. We Malawians like to bury our heads in the sand about the nature of man, desire, behaviour, morality and the effect of religion on behaviour.-
Chikondi, Blantyre.

I am against that campaign, it will only fuel infidelity, men will
stop fearing HIV and Aids and end up sleeping with many  without protecting themselves. On sexual pleasure, it is the connection of two people that makes it enjoyable whether circumcised or not, so please there is no any difference on that.- Susan, Bvumbwe.

As a public health measure, it’s good to encourage men to go for circumcision despite the sexual pleasure. —Paulette, Lilongwe.

As we are living in a situation where men are not satisfied with one partner; they want to be trying each and every girl in town, I would love if all men could go for circumcision as it may reduce HIV infection by 60%. It is only that some people do not understand the whole issue, but if they could just do it and see the benefits. —Sela,via SMS.

The idea is good for the reasons that they are advancing, but it goes back to the issue of culture. For instance, guys from Central Malawi cannot accept to be circumcised after the age of 16. So, the idea is good, but not many people will do that. It’s strange in my culture to undergo this process, so it’s optional. For any woman to opt for circumcision, they will be misunderstood. I for one would strongly urge women not to take this debate seriously if their spouses are not circumcised because there is not much difference and if anything they will just create problems for them for wounds that will not heal.
—John, via email.

I have come to realise that sex is truly in your head. I must point out though that as a biologist and I know for a fact that studies have shown that compared to the external skin surface, the inner mucosa of the foreskin has less deposition of fibrous protein, a higher density of target cells for HIV infection and is more susceptible to HIV infection than other penile tissue according to laboratory studies, and there are a lot of laboratory studies that have saved lives.

 

The foreskin may also have greater susceptibility to tearing during intercourse providing a portal entry for pathogens, including HIV. In addition, the microenvironment in the sac between the foreskin and penis is conducive for viral survival. Lastly, the higher rates of sexually transmitted infections observed in uncircumcised men may also increase susceptibility to HIV infection.
It has also been observed that in societies that have practised male circumcision for a long time, for religious and traditional reasons such as the Jewish, there are low incidences of cervical cancer.

As a woman, it will give me extra peace of mind if my partner is circumcised in case something goes wrong. But again, the tricky thing with probability is no matter how low the chance of infection is; there still a chance and you may be the unfortunate
1/1000000th!—Florence, via Facebook