Mrs. Dodds asks Dr. Lila to perform a female circumcision on her 8 year-old daughter,
Alice. The procedure reduces or eliminates sexual pleasure in women, which is
desirable in many countries for social or religious reasons, and is held to increase a
young woman’s marriageability. Although traditionally done without anesthesia or
antiseptics, Mrs. Dodds says she does’t her daughter to suffer and wants her to be
safe. She also says that if Dr. Lila doesn’t perform the procedure, the only alternative is
for them to have the procedure done traditionally by a non-clinician