The practice of “gishiri cutting”, also known as "gishri cutting" is done in many African villages. A whole range of gynecologic complaints, including difficulty in labor and the inability to vaginally penetrate pre-pubescent girls, are believed to be caused by a vagina that is too narrow. The traditional treatment is to incise the vagina. A long knife is inserted into the vagina and backward cuts from the vagina into the perineum are made. Gishiri cutting is often viewed as a form of genital mutilation.