There is no known Hadeeth which requires female circumcision. Reference to the brightness of the face and to better relationship with the husband are clear indications of his senstivity and compassion. It is true that Islam requires adherents of both genders to be chaste. Yet, there is no text in the Qur'an or Sunnah which requires selective curtailment or control of the sexual desire of one specific gender. Rather, they are contingent on spiritual and moral values of the person and the supporting virtuous environments.
Female circumcision falls within the category of the permissible.
It was probably on this basis that some scholars opposed a sweeping ban of this practice. Before discussing this view, it is important to distinguish between different types of procedures that were and still are called circumcision. This procedure is, to some degree, analgous to male circumcision since in both cases, no part of the sexual organ is cut off. In both cases also, it is only the foreskin, or outer fold of the skin, which is cut off. This is a form of mutilation.