Genital mutilation

Today I read a newspaper article in the Guardian about Female Genital Mutilation. It was horrifying.
Part of the text says the following: 

"FGM: number of victims found to be 70 million higher than thought. Half of girls and women cut live in just three countries as Unicef statistics reveal shocking global scale of barbaric ritual"

This article made me think about quite a few things that I think need to change before anything substantial will change with regards to this topic.

I am very seriously against genital mutilation of any sort, women or men. The fact that there is such a strong push to globally stop genital mutilation of girls and women, but there is no push to stop genital mutilation of boys and men, is discrimination against men.

The message is in certain parts of the world that it is good for men and women for men to get mutilated, that it prevents STD's and such. 
I have read a lot about this topic over the last years and no, it is not good for men and women, and it does not prevent STD's in any way. Condoms prevent STD's. Mutilated men are less likely to use condoms as their sensitivity has been tampered with, due to the mutilation. Many mutilated men have in the long term erection problems. Many men have ended up with a botched mutilation, which makes matters even worse, sometimes to the point where sex is nigh impossible. 

There are a many very, very good articles out there on this topic.

Here are a selection of the ones that I consider the best:
http://www.drmomma.org/2009/09/history-of-female-circumcision-in.html
http://www.drmomma.org/2011/04/male-and-female-circumcision.html
http://www.drmomma.org/2009/10/male-circumcision-hurts-women.html
http://www.circumcision.org/harmswomen.htm

I am convinced that as long as male genital mutilation keeps getting promoted as being a good thing and does not get forbidden, as it should be, female genital mutilation laws will not get taken serious. When it's good for the goose, it's good for the gander. It all gets done because this is how "we" do things and this is how "we" have always done it. Nothing will change unless both get the same treatment and men stop being discriminated against in this field.
Late last year a court case in the USA was fought between an opposing mother and and father who was pro mutilating the genitals of his son. The father won. The boy got mutilated. He was 4 or 5. As long as this stuff can happen, FGM will not stop and will not be taken seriously.

Both procedures are damaging humans, physically and psychologically. It has to stop.

I think it is quite perverse to even consider cutting people's genitals because it is custom or such. It is sickening to me to even consider anyone messing about with the most sensitive parts of any small human being, as usually they are children who are the victims of the procedure. Children cannot give consent to a procedure like that and it a life time punishment.
Why did people start doing it? Why can they not see how awful it is? 
There is a LOT of research out there showing no benefit whatsoever from the procedure. In some countries they are trying to find benefits and keep repeating myths to prove the so-called benefits. 
I'm just horrified by the whole thing and am every day thankful to live in an area of the world where neither MGM nor FGM are the norm.