Interviewed over 400 Sudanese women and men in all walks of life on the physical, emotional, and psychosexual effects of female genital circumcision and infibulation. Pharaonic circumcision is a culturally embedded practice interwoven with patrilineage, family honor, and social position. It is clung to tenaciously by both sexes, although its long-term effects are detrimental to the health of girls and women and thereby the well-being of the entire family. The adverse psychological effects of this practice on women are mitigated by a strong conviction that its performance purifies and ennobles them. Strong marital bonding is common, and Sudanese women are able to experience orgasm in spite of their genital mutilation.