The problem of female circumcision: In East Africa
Loading...
Date
2009-11
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Melbourne
Abstract
It is estimated that 130 million girls and women in the world today have undergone some
form of female circumcision (FC), and 2 million girls are at risk from the practice each year.
FC occurs mainly in sub-Saharan Africa, but the practice is also known in parts of the Middle
East and Asia. Report from Europe. North America, and Australia indicate that FC is still
practiced by some immigrant communities. FC covers a range of procedures, but in the great
majority of cases it involves the cutting of the clitoris and the labia minora. At its most
extreme, the procedure entails the excision of almost all the external genitalia and the
stitching up of the vulva to leave only a tiny opening. Whatever form it takes, FC is a
violation of the human rights of girls and women; and it is a grave threat to their health.
Effects of FC can range from psychological trauma to extreme bleeding and death. People of
different ethnicities and religions practice FC in East Africa but neither the Bible nor the
Koran demand it..The main objective of this research was to study the problem of FC and the
approaches used to address it in East Africa. Attempts to stop FC by the local and
international community focused on women’s rights and individualist approaches which
brands FC as a social problem requiring legal and political action to end it. This study
suggests that FC is one of the traditions which are embedded deeply in social structures which
construct and transform social institutions. Understanding the body of knowledge of these
structures which define and determine the identity of individuals comprising the society is
important for any effective strategy designed to end female circumcision practices.
Description
Msc. in Development studies
Keywords
Female Circumcision, East Africa, Female Circumcision-violation