Posted by Benjamin on: 10.18.2007 /
Sharon over at A Cup of Coffee wrote this post last week and has kindly granted us permission to repost. Thankyou Sharon!
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This morning I attended a workshop on FGM (Female Genital Mutilation or “female circumcision”). We care for a lot of refugees at the health centre where I work, including a significant number from Somalia and other African countries where FGM is practised, and so although it is uncommon and illegal here it is something we do see regularly and need to know about.
Female genital mutilation (FGM), often referred to as ‘female circumcision’, comprises all procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs whether for cultural, religious or other non-therapeutic reasons. (WHO)
Girls usually undergo FGM prior to puberty- the average age is 6-8. While it is increasingly done by health professionals under local anaesthetic, in rural areas it is still carried out without anaesthetic, with scissors, razor blades or knives while the girl is held down by female relatives. In the short term the girl may experience excrutiating pain, shock infection, haemorhage, urinary retention and fractures. But it doesn’t end there. Long term issues caused by FGM include difficulty passing urine, pelvic infections, scars, cysts, fistulae, difficulties with menstruation, increased risk of HIV transmission, sexual complications, childbirth complications and negative psychosocial impacts.
While the physical trauma that girls go through is horrendous and quite harrowing to contemplate, what I found most disturbing was the psycho-social issues they face, the fact that even in New Zealand women see the pain and long term complications of FGM as preferable to the socially ostracised life they and their daughters would lead without it.
FGM is a complex multifaceted practice deeply rooted in a strong cultural and social framework. It is endorsed by the community and supported by loving parents with what is believed to be the best interests of a young girl at heart. FGM can only be understood within its cultural context, for in the societies where it is practised — despite its harmful physical affects — FGM provides women with many social and cultural benefits…
Whether the practice is shrouded in rituals and celebrations, or whether it involves a visit to the local midwife, FGM is an integral part of a girl’s social development. The practice is deeply embedded in the social norms of the community and there is immense social pressure on all young girls to conform. A girl who does not undergo FGM is likely to be severely socially penalised, and is often despised, taunted, ostracised and made the target of ridicule. No one in her community may want to marry her, and what is clearly understood to be her life’s work — marriage and childbearing — will be denied her.
For a woman living in a patriarchal society with no access to land or education and no effective power base, marriage is her main means of survival and access to resources — and FGM is her pre-requisite for marriage. With the beliefs surrounding FGM deeply embedded from childhood, the social approval associated with FGM and the sanctions women face if they don’t undergo FGM — the benefits of FGM would seem to outweigh the physical difficulties. FGM is inevitably viewed in a very positive light and this can explain why women continue to cling to the tradition, colluding in their own daughters’ circumcision. (fgm.co.nz)
It makes me incredibly sad and angry that women and girls are faced with these kinds of realities. I have the utmost of admiration both for the women who live daily with the impacts of FGM on their physical and psychological health, and for those who have taken the huge step of refusing to have their daughters circumcised.
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Comment by: Helen
1 10/18/07 8:24 AM | Comment Link |I never heard about this until I read a novel as an adult, which is written in the first person and it happened to her when she was a child.
It’s so sad that refusing to undergo this has such severe ramifications that people are continuing to do it/allow it to allow it to happen to their daughters :(
And I think I read that the reason for inflicting this on women is so they will be faithful to their husbands? It’s a male control issue?
And this is not the only type of mutilation forced on women.
I only realized about the Chinese feet thing in the last year or so when I was looking at how small their shoes were and I looked up footbinding on the Internet. I couldn’t believe that just so womens feet could look attractively (unrealistically) small, girls have their feet painfully bound so they are forced to be misshapen, get infections, can’t walk.
Maybe men have had similar things done to them but overall based on what I know, it seems like women around the world have been more subject to mutilating atrocities for ridiculous reasons than men.
Comment by: Benjamin ady
2 10/18/07 8:40 AM | Comment Link |Helen,
It was C.S. Lewis, I believe, who talked about how the female body is the focus of the idea of physical beauty for both men and women. I’m not saying I agree that this is true–but it seems to be a possible explanation for the fact that women get the shitty end of the deal in terms of the twisting of this idea in cruel ways?
Comment by: Helen
3 10/18/07 9:26 AM | Comment Link |Benjamin, my guess is that since historically men have had the powerful roles in societies, not women, men have been able to inflict cruel physical mutilation on women just to suit their own ends and women haven’t been able to do anything about it.
This unequal distribution of power maybe explains why women got objectified in the way C.S. Lewis wrote about.
This sort of behavior again fits the ‘Domination/Empire’ framing story Brian McLaren talks about in his latest book - which Brian says Jesus message was all about subverting and changing, even though Christianity has often been turned into simply another Domination/Empire framing story.
[Shamelessly linking to my own blog: my notes from Brian's lecture (which pretty much follow the book content); my review of the book]
Comment by: benjamin ady
4 10/18/07 12:34 PM | Comment Link |Sharon,
I love the way that in light of such a really awful practice, you choose to focus on the positive, without denying the reality or power of the negative. I want to emulate your attitude in general.
I continue to be ever more thoroughly convinced that the world is set up in such a way that women have it much harder than men. It is good to be reminded of this … generally so that I can once again attempt to readjust my schema appropriately.
I wanted to just link to FGM.co.nz’s list of links to resources about this subject. It’s certainly not beyond possibility that someone who dealing with this issue personally will be reading this post, and I just wanted to say there are resources both on the net for you, even if you are unable to find them in your local community.
Comment by: Sharon
5 10/18/07 2:31 PM | Comment Link |Hi Benjamin & Helen. Thanks for reposting this, and for your kind words. It is nice to know there are others in the world who are thinking about these sorts of issues and willing to discuss them. There seem to be few in the west who know, or want to know.
Helen, you are right that it is often done in order to inhibit a women’s sexuality and keep her pure until marriage and faithful afterwards. However this is tied up in a whole mixture of other beliefs, such as that her genitals will grow to male size if not cut. In some places normal female genitals are considered ugly and disfiguring, in others it is an issue of cleanliness- a womans may be considered unhygenic if not cut. Although the opposite is actually true, some groups believe that it is necssary for the health of the baby, or in order to concieve in the first place. Education is starting to make an impact on these beliefs, but the practise is very deep rooted and will take a lot of time to change,
I think for me, one of the most disturbing things about this issue is that women do it, or allow it to be done to thier daughters. I can’t imagine having to make that kind of decision for my daughter. However whatever the belief system that underpins the decision to practise FGM, I think it is ultimately an extreme result of disempowerment- a strongly patriarchal society, and a lack of education and access to health services.
Comment by: Rachel
6 10/18/07 4:48 PM | Comment Link |I can’t either, Sharon! It breaks my heart to think of the suffering of these girls and of all that has been taken from them. Are there action steps we can take to help combat this practice?
Comment by: Sharon
7 10/18/07 8:13 PM | Comment Link |Unlike other social justice issues I’m not sure there are any direct action steps that we can take. Certainly raising awareness of the issue is very important, and one of the reasons I was more than happy for Benjamin to repost this here! It may be worth looking around to find NGOs who are working with women in these countries to see if there is a way you can financially support them, the countries where FGM is practised are almost invariably very poor and resources for education are limited. Even if you don’t find an organisation working to directly combat FGM, it is definately worth supporting organisations that work with women in general, particularly those who provide education.
Finally, if you are living in an area where African refugees are settled, see if your local resettlement agency needs volunteers or sypport people. Although this is a very sensitive issue and one that is likely to be inappropriate for an outsider to address directly, any support to help the resettlement process and to contribute to the education and empowerment of women and girls will help to make a difference in the long term.
Benjamin- you are a feminist! Seriously, it is really great when men are able to see this. Actually, in all honesty it is great when women realise this. A lot of western women now ignore the feminist movement because they think it is irrelevant now, that the goals have been achieved. However there is still a large gap, evedenced by income disparity, health statistics and media coverage (just look at the fuss in your country over the idea that there could be a female president!). That gap grows along with poverty. The poorer the community, the more the women suffer- and disproportionatly. I don’t think it is a coincidence that some thing FGM is found in primarily poor countries, and I would suspect the incidence decreases as income- and therefore education and empowerment- increases.
Thanks. I have been thinking about this statement since I read it this morning, and feeling good about it. I think it is because it is something I have tried to work on in myself over the past few years. To find a balance. Kind of like the title of this blog- justice and compassion. The world needs both.
Now if I can just translate that balance into a PhD thesis I think I will be right on track!
Comment by: Sharon
8 10/18/07 8:21 PM | Comment Link |Here are some more resources for those interested;
A good basic FAQ from UNFPA
The Female Genital Cutting Education and Networking Project
Women WakeUp- an NGO fighting FGM in Tanzania.
Comment by: benjamin ady
9 10/18/07 8:26 PM | Comment Link |Sharon,
Wow I think you’re brave to take on a Ph.D. The longer I’m hanging around U.W. (which is a major research institution) as an undergrad, the more convinced I become that A. I couldn’t handle doing a Ph.D., and B. I don’t really want to. Just more work than I wanna take on. Maybe later. when I’m sixty. For now I’m more and more thinkng I’ll be happy with a master’s.
I’m feeling guilty about that even, actually. Helen quote Brian Mclaren as saying we (that is, we in America) are the most excellent consumers in history. And here I am excellently consuming education while largish chunks of the world starve. oh dear.
Comment by: Sharon
10 10/19/07 4:44 AM | Comment Link |LOL I think I’m being brave too! Or just plain mad. I’m already wondering what I’m getting myself into. I never had any thought of doing a PhD when I started post grad study, I was only going to do a couple of papers just to learn and explore a little more about development. Two papers became 4, then a thesis was added to make a masters and now I think I’m hooked, or as I said, gone mad.
I’ve also had some similar thoughts about study and all the resources I am going to use in the next 4 years or so just so I can add Dr to my name. In some ways it is a very selfish exercise and I am sensitive to that. I really thought long and hard about doing this, and in the end I came to the conclusion that this is actually an opportunity to contribute something back. My motivation has long been to work for social justice, and if I can contribute some unique research, and add an academic voice to the call then I think I will have achieved something.
Of course, I started the whole study thing with this sort of motivation, and to try and help answer some questions I had about development, and I finished my Masters degree with even more questions than I started with, so I’m not over-confident about what I might be able to achieve. I may just end up a completely over educated cynic with no real life skills left… but thats the risk! I feel like it’s something I need to try anyway.
Comment by: Helen
11 10/19/07 5:58 AM | Comment Link |Sharon wrote:
Nor can I :(
Thanks for all the information you shared here, Sharon.
Benjamin and Sharon, I can’t really hold myself up as a great role-model regarding consumption and selfishness - I just bought a new camera…
I made a policy decision not to feel guilty about all my selfishness and over-consumption when I realized that feeling guilty didn’t motivate me to behave differently, yet it sort of tricked me into thinking it ‘counted’ somehow that I felt guilty. Meaning, somewhere inside I was congratulating myself for feeling guilty, even though the guilt wasn’t achieving anything, so I should only have congratulated myself when I actually did something.
So now I try to take doable steps (I know I’m not great it at) but set aside guilt as pointless. I recommend that to anyone who discovers that feeling guilty doesn’t actually change their behavior.
Comment by: lisa
12 10/26/07 12:53 PM | Comment Link |my maasai women friends are circumcised as soon as they hit puberty and begin to menstruate. they have been sexually active for several years prior to this, (encouraged by their community to be available for the warriors.) circumcision marks their transition into adulthood and they can marry after this procedure. none of our maasai friends believed a man would marry an uncircumcised girl. the incident rate of urinary tract infection at our clinics were always high because of it. they also had complications in pregnancy and childbirth because of it. my silent protest was that i never attended a circumcision “party” and i spoke against it when asked. i used to tell them that God made us whole for good reason.
Comment by: benjamin ady
13 10/26/07 1:25 PM | Comment Link |Lisa,
Great to have you here on JaC. That is so kewl that you have Massai friends! “Wild Hope” is a yotta awesome name for a nonprofit NGO. Love it. I love the way you protested without being obnoxious. How very otherly of you.
Comment by: lisa
14 10/26/07 1:51 PM | Comment Link |thanks :-)
interestingly, when living as guests among a people who practice this, (or any other custom that oppresses,) it doesn’t necessarily help to begin to teach against it. what we found (very slow) but helpful, was that when men and women were transformed by relationship with Christ, they (slowly) began to see women as equals. even the women needed this new perspective. this was the starting point from which all the other conversations could go forward. transformation at deep cultural levels doesn’t come very quickly.
Comment by: Rachel
15 10/26/07 2:06 PM | Comment Link |Welcome to Justice and Compassion, Lisa! We’re so glad you found us.
That is so interesting. I had assumed that women were always circumcised as virgins and therefore they would never know what normal sexual response was like. But these Maasai girls would have experienced a before and after and would know what had been taken from them. That makes it seem even worse!
Comment by: Benjamin Ady
16 10/26/07 7:34 PM | Comment Link |I hope I won’t get get in enormous trouble if I say that doesn’t sound like a typically american viewpoint. would that more could see that.
Comment by: FED
17 11/5/07 11:42 AM | Comment Link |It’s the grandmother project. They hired. Congress then came out with new legislation on gm. Hillary was a big advocate. Hillary has some secrets.
GM is done to males and females. It’s equally bad, although there a myths for men. It is common for people who get hired at the grandmother project to go
( Example: female US government employees in Peace Corps going to a group male mutilation - representing America) and say nothing, but protest a female being mutilated.
It is sexism at it’s worst.
http://www.voanews.com/english/AmericanLife/2007-10-25-voa41.cfm
Comment by: Benjamin Ady
18 11/5/07 2:22 PM | Comment Link |FED. thankyou for pointing this out. I am thinking to repost your comment at the top of a new thread–perhaps on Friday.
Comment by: lisa
19 11/9/07 12:02 AM | Comment Link |Actually, there is a huge difference between male and female circumsicion. The clitoris contains the same amount of nerve endings as the head of the penis. Male circumsicion does not remove these important nerve endings. Male circumsicion is generally cosmetic but has no impact on sexual experience. Female circumsicion leaves behind extreme complications for giving birth. Male circumsicion does not generally lead to life-threatening complications in this way. In some cultures it is a sign of manhood, while in others (Hebrew) it is a sign of covenant. But it has no impact on the “function” of the male genetalia.
Comment by: Rachel
20 11/9/07 8:51 AM | Comment Link |Thank you for making those important distinctions, Lisa. A much closer male equivalent to female circumcision would be castration.
Comment by: Benjamin Ady
21 11/9/07 5:34 PM | Comment Link |Lisa, Rachel,
while you are right that there *is* a huge difference between male and female “circumcision”–to such an extent that it strikes me as bordering on ridiculous to use the same term for both procedures–it still seems to me that … circumcisions of males (which, as I understand it, takes place (much like … execution), far more extensively in America than in any other western nation, is a practice which compassion calls us to speak against. Thoughts?
Comment by: Rachel
22 11/10/07 9:40 AM | Comment Link |Benjamin, I guess my initial response is that I can’t seem to summon any sense of outrage over male circumcision. I perceive it as simply an elective medical procedure, for which there are reasonable arguments both for and against. I only have a daughter myself, but I know that a number of my friends who have sons struggled to make this choice. My observation was that they weighed the pros and cons and some came to a different decision than others.
But perhaps there are dimensions to this issue that I am not aware of or don’t understand. I am certainly open hearing more information and changing my viewpoint.