it's more prevelant among some african tribes, look up female genital mutilation. if you want a brief descript, here goes
near the age of 13/14, sometimes up to 16, a young lady is taken by her grandmother or mother or just ladies from the tribe. They go to a private area away from the site and hold teh lady down, razors or sharpened rocks (seriously) are used to cut the clitoris and hood off. This is to keep sexual urges down (again, seriously). Now, the procedure can go one of two ways. Either, they can simply sew up the labia leaving a small opening for blood and urine to pass OORRR, they can scrape the insides of the labia with sharpened stones and then sew them up. If they scrape and sew, the scar tissue forms and completely closes off the areas that were sewn.
This is supposed to ensure virginity until marriage when the husband has the pleasure of breaking the seal, so to speak. Actually, it's more like tearing the tissue apart and ensures that the woman is loyal/etc.
Now, i have given the procedure described in anthro textbooks. Modern age has brought about remotely more sterile ways fo performing this procedure, but it's still a horrible disfigurement. However, it is still a very deeply ingrained tradition in some communities, so much so that the mother/grandmother insists that it be done to the daughter. I don't understand it, but then again, i'm a peace/free love loving hippy at times
the thing that gets me is that i don't really recall any accounts of it being performed in georgia. one of the few american cases i have heard about was when a nurse from a southern country in Africa was being examined for severe cramps, etc. The examining dr was pretty shaken by what he saw and she thought it was totally normal.
Other than that, i don't really see it as an american tradition/case at all. I think standard clitordectomies MAY be performed..rarely. I'm not seeing it as a major concern, at least not enough to pass a full law against it.
Hmm..just google female genital mutilation
here are some decent links:
http://www.amnesty.org/ailib/intcam/femgen/fgm1.htm
http://www.religioustolerance.org/fem_cirm.htm
http://www.cirp.org/pages/female/