Can we stop FGM?
The photo at left shows young Ugandan Pokot girls on their "coming out" day in 2005, at the end of the seclusion period following their undergoing female genital cutting. They are very excited because they expect to be married in a few days, though they have barely entered puberty. These girls probably have not had even primary school education, and they do not imagine any life course other than circumcision followed by an early marriage. They are hoping to marry a young warrior, but if their parents did not negotiate well they may become the second or third wife of an older man, who will have more cattle to offer as a bride price.
Considering the harm and loss resulting from female genital mutilation and the millions of words and dollars expended by outsiders trying to discourage FGM, why is it still going on? Thousands of girls and women are still undergoing female circucmcision every year.
Until recently, female circumcision was taboo for public discussion in many traditional societies. Even today, those who have been cut are unwilling to reveal the details of the rituals. In the late 1800s, missionaries and colonial authorities in Africa were horrified to discover that girls (and boys) were being circumcised, and they attempted to stop the cutting. They were unsuccessful, and Western knowledge of "female circumcision" mostly receded to a few pages in college anthropology textbooks.
A few courageous African women began speaking out and organizing efforts against FGM during the 1970s and 1980s. Some also began refusing to be cut, something that would have been unthinkable in the past. In Uganda, a few of these "feminists," as they were labelled, were tied down with ropes and forcibly cut. A few African women fled their homes and sought asylum in the West, and the resulting media attention caused many people to learn about FGM for the first time. International protests against FGM resulted from documents and conferences during the United Nations Decade for Women (1975-85). However, criticism from international activists has often resulted in strengthening FGM, or driving it underground, as offended people defended their culture against outside intervention and opprobrium.
Most modern governments in the West, and also in Africa, have made FGM illegal, but the laws against female circumcision are usually unenforceable because of the resistance of FGM-practicing cultures. In March 2010, Uganda implemented its Prohibition of FGM law, which attracted praise from around the world, except in the parts of Uganda where the cutting is actually done. In November and December 2010, the most recent Sabiny circumcision season, hundreds of girls were cut, despite or in defiance of the new law. Pokot girls were being circumcised from the summer onwards.
We have observed that human rights-oriented activism and confrontational tactics aimed at stopping FGM have often been counterproductive and have caused the practice to be even more deeply entrenched. Sometimes the cutting nowadays is done secretly, and sometimes openly and defiantly, with the press invited to attend large ceremonies.
Only those who practice FGM are in the position to stop doing it. It is our experience and conviction that the best short- and long-term way to discourage female circumcision is by educating girls. Surveys in Uganda have found that girls who have as little as primary schooling tend to refuse FGM, and it is rare for a girl who completes S4 in secondary school to be cut. Later in life, such a girl may be pressured to be circumcised in order to marry within her tribe, but if she has been trained for a profession or a skill so that she can support herself, she need never give in. By her accomplishments she will demonstrate that an uncircumcised woman can have a successful life. Encouraging others by her example, she will accelerate natural change in her culture. Once transmission of FGM to the next generation stops, the practice will end.
Join us!
Read what sponsored girls say
Considering the harm and loss resulting from female genital mutilation and the millions of words and dollars expended by outsiders trying to discourage FGM, why is it still going on? Thousands of girls and women are still undergoing female circucmcision every year.
Until recently, female circumcision was taboo for public discussion in many traditional societies. Even today, those who have been cut are unwilling to reveal the details of the rituals. In the late 1800s, missionaries and colonial authorities in Africa were horrified to discover that girls (and boys) were being circumcised, and they attempted to stop the cutting. They were unsuccessful, and Western knowledge of "female circumcision" mostly receded to a few pages in college anthropology textbooks.
A few courageous African women began speaking out and organizing efforts against FGM during the 1970s and 1980s. Some also began refusing to be cut, something that would have been unthinkable in the past. In Uganda, a few of these "feminists," as they were labelled, were tied down with ropes and forcibly cut. A few African women fled their homes and sought asylum in the West, and the resulting media attention caused many people to learn about FGM for the first time. International protests against FGM resulted from documents and conferences during the United Nations Decade for Women (1975-85). However, criticism from international activists has often resulted in strengthening FGM, or driving it underground, as offended people defended their culture against outside intervention and opprobrium.
Most modern governments in the West, and also in Africa, have made FGM illegal, but the laws against female circumcision are usually unenforceable because of the resistance of FGM-practicing cultures. In March 2010, Uganda implemented its Prohibition of FGM law, which attracted praise from around the world, except in the parts of Uganda where the cutting is actually done. In November and December 2010, the most recent Sabiny circumcision season, hundreds of girls were cut, despite or in defiance of the new law. Pokot girls were being circumcised from the summer onwards.
We have observed that human rights-oriented activism and confrontational tactics aimed at stopping FGM have often been counterproductive and have caused the practice to be even more deeply entrenched. Sometimes the cutting nowadays is done secretly, and sometimes openly and defiantly, with the press invited to attend large ceremonies.
Only those who practice FGM are in the position to stop doing it. It is our experience and conviction that the best short- and long-term way to discourage female circumcision is by educating girls. Surveys in Uganda have found that girls who have as little as primary schooling tend to refuse FGM, and it is rare for a girl who completes S4 in secondary school to be cut. Later in life, such a girl may be pressured to be circumcised in order to marry within her tribe, but if she has been trained for a profession or a skill so that she can support herself, she need never give in. By her accomplishments she will demonstrate that an uncircumcised woman can have a successful life. Encouraging others by her example, she will accelerate natural change in her culture. Once transmission of FGM to the next generation stops, the practice will end.
Join us!
Read what sponsored girls say