Female Genital Cutting in Africa
3 Dec 2003
RECENT RECOMMENDED READING:
Female "circumcision" in Africa : culture, controversy, and change / edited by Bettina Shell-Duncan, Ylva Hernlund. Boulder, Colo. ; London : Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2000.
1 Female "Circumcision" in Africa: Dimensions of the Practice and Debates / Bettina Shell-Duncan, Ylva Hernlund
2 Is Female "Circumcision" a Maladaptive Cultural Pattern? / Ellen Gruenbaum
3 To Mary and Bear Children? The Demographic Consequences of Infibulation in Sudan / Deborah Balk
4 Female "Circumcision" Among the Yoruba of Southwestern Nigeria: The Beginning of Change / I. O. Orubuloye, Pat Caldwell, John C. Caldwell
5 Female Genital Cutting in Nigeria: Views of Nigerian Doctors on the Medicalization Debate / Mairo Usman Mandara
6 Women Without Choices: The Debate over Medicalization of Female Genital Cutting and Its Impact on a Northern Kenyan Community / Bettina Shell-Duncan, Walter Obungu Obiero, Leunita Auko Muruli
7 "Ngaitana (I Will Circumcise Myself)": Lessons from Colonial Campaigns to Ban Excision in Meru, Kenya / Lynn Thomas
8 Revisiting Feminist Discourses on Infibulation: Responses from Sudanese Feminists / Rogaia Mustafa Abusharaf
9 Adopting Female "Circumcision" in Southern Chad: The Experience of Myabe / Lori Leonard
10 Handing over the Knife: Numu Women and the Campaign Against Excision in Mali / Claudie Gosselin
11 Becoming a Muslim, Becoming a Person: Female "Circumcision," Religious Identity, and Personhood in Guinea-Bissau / Michelle C. Johnson
12 Cutting Without Ritual and Ritual Without Cutting: Female "Circumcision" and the Re-ritualization of Initiation in the Gambia / Ylva Hernlund
13 Female Genital Cutting: The Beginning of the End / Gerry Mackie
14 Rites and Wrongs: An Insider/Outsider Reflects on Power and Excision / Fuambai Ahmadu
I suffered as a result of my circumcision, but I was lucky. Many girls die from bleeding to death, shock, infection or tetanus. Considering the conditions in which the procedure is performed, it's surprising that any of us survive". · ...there can be no way to "objectively" test the evidence regarding the impact of excision on women's sexuality because it is subjective and individually variable. Notwithstanding, an interesting finding in The Hite Report is that the external clitoris constitutes a small fraction of the total nerve endings that produce sensations for the entire appendage (see also Chapter 1). This suggests that excision does not damage most of the clitoral nerve endings because they are beneath the vaginal surface. Thus, paradoxically, even according to "objective" biological science, it is possible for a woman's sensitivity to remain for the most part undiminished after excision. This would probably explain how it is that many women who had sexual experiences prior to excision, the author included, perceive either no difference or increased sexual satisfaction following their operation. In any case, most contemporary, urban-educated as well as rural Kono women are just as interested in their sexuality as are their counterparts in Western countries, and they do not perceive excision as inhibiting them in any way. It is also worth noting, especially since it is usually omitted, that significant numbers of Western women, despite having their clitorises intact, experience their own difficulties in achieving any kind of orgasm, clitoral or vaginal.
Finally, with regard to the psychological well-being of young girls and women who have undergone initiation and excision, more research is needed before any credible generalizations can be made. A small but growing number of African female activists against various forms of "circumcision" have detailed the pain and trauma they underwent and the lasting impact such negative experiences have had on their lives, and they campaign against what they rightfully believe to be an affront to their human fights and womanhood. I have spoken to a few young Kono women who are adamantly opposed to initiation because of their experiences of pain, abuse, and maltreatment by female elders in the "bush." However, most women I have interviewed fervently support the practice, and my observations in the field confirm that most girls not only continue to look forward to their initiation but, further, demonstrate their ongoing support for the practice by actively participating in later ceremonies involving younger female friends and relations.
- Fuambai Ahmadu 2000:304-305 (reference above)
Reactions of "Circumcised" Yoruba Women to Their Condition
Female "Circumcision" Among the Yoruba of Southwestern Nigeria: The Beginning of Change / I. O. Orubuloye, Pat Caldwell, John C. Caldwell Rural Urban (n=290) (n=676) Whether they believe their "circumcision has reduced their enjoyment of sexual activity Increased enjoyment 53 16 No effect either way 40 63 Reduced enjoyment 4 16 Cannot evaluate 3 5 Whether they believe their "circumcision has reduced their husbands' enjoyment of sexual relations with them It increases his enjoyment 55 18 No effect either way 36 71 It reduces his enjoyment 7 8 Cannot evaluate 2 3 The aesthetic effect of their "circumcision on their genitalia More beautiful 76 24 Neutral or little effect 21 73 Uglier 2 2 Cannot evaluate 1 1 The effect of their "circumcision on the chances of children surviving birth More danger to infant 8 3 No effect either way 13 80 Less danger to infant 77 16 Cannot evaluate 2 1
