FEMALE CIRCUMCISION in many African countries is becoming the subject of more and more widespread attention. It is a very old custom practiced on young girls or women just before marriage. Statistics are hard to come by, or non-existent because the operation is performed in secret, usually in a forest. Until now no surveys have been undertaken. But one thing is certain: the practice is widespread from.Algeria in the north to the Central African Republic in the south, and from Senegal and Mauritania in the west to Somalia in the east.
The details are horrific (see below), and it is clear that in terms of the physical and psychological violence against women that female circumcision presents, it must be eradicated at all costs.
But there are enormous inherent problems of the western countries condemning the cultural traditions of the Third World countries. Any attempt at action can be taken as paternalism, Neo-colonialism or imperialism. ISIS interviews a woman from Senegal who has been involved in studies and action on the issue, and she stressed this point: that even though no government in Africa dares to speak about female circumcision at the present time, westerners must understand that Africa is going through a crucial phase. Africans must express themselves as a culture and show that they speak as Africans.
We asked her what she felt about the action or publication in western countries about excision (female circumcision) , and what she thought western countries could do about trying to change the situation. She said, "the problem is that there's an enormous danger of racism: it's terribly important to avoid,cultural judgement. If you do anything, it has to be on the medical level. For example, as soon as you start talking about "Savagery" or "barbaric rituals" you're on dangerous ground. If you talk about violence, people will tell you that. it's a way of teaching women to endure pain. This is considered a great attribute. It's important that westerner try to see Africans with different eye and not simply categorize them according to their own western socio-cultural context."
What follows is an edited translation of an article entitled "L'Excision: base de la stabilitir familiale ou rite cruel?" (excision: basis Of family stability or cruel rite?) published in Famille et Developpement (Dakar, Senegal) no. 2, April 1975, by a specialist' in public health at Yalgado hospitali Ougadougou (Upper Volta),
"In West Africa, the term "circumcision: can cause confusion because it denotes two things: on the one hand, the operation which deprives the man of his foreskin and the woman of her clitoris (excision), and on the other, the actual initiation ceremony.
In speaking of circumcision or excision one must immediately ask what the origins of such a practice are. First of all, there is circumcision/excision carried out for hygienic reasons or. ritual cleanliness. Then there is circumcision/excision which is carried out on religious grounds. And finally there is circumcision/excision carried out at puberty, which is performed as a kind of " rite of coming of age" from adolescence to adulthood. In these cases, the operation is done in a group with boys or girls of the same age.
In West Africa, circumcision and especially excision seem to fall into the third category, at least until very recently in the history of the African civilization. Today, excision has become a routine practice for which nobody can give an adequate reason. The reply is with always that it.
Attempts at justifications.
In West Africa, neither excision nor circumcision seem to have come from other civilizations such as the Jewish or Islamic cultures, even though it is basically the same operation in both cases. It is not something which has grown out of a hygienic ritual, and certainly does not have anything to do with the ratification of a pact with some divinity as in the Jewish custom. It is an act which is considered sacred and whose main aim is to clearly demarcate the sex of the person undergoing the operation.
Africans believed that both the female and male sex existed in each person at birth. This hermaphroditic notion held that only the rites undergone at puberty could take away from the individual the sex which did not correspond to her/his "true nature", and leave her/him with the "right" one. Thus, the Bambaras and the Dogons from
Mali think that a boy is female by virtue of his foreskin, and a girl male by her clitoris. This explains why circumcision and excision are practiced by these people.
It is a tradition with the Bambaras that a man who sleeps with a woman who is not excised risks death (he can be touched by the " sting"- clitoris- of the woman).
The Mossis consider that a woman who is not excised cannot have children, since the clitoris , according to them is a dangerous organ, killing the child
at birth when touched by it. They also think that the clitoris can be a source of impotence.
The ceremony
Some populations think that excision is a means of curbing a woman's sexual appetite, thus keeping her more " faithful", especially in the case of polygamy
when the husband has to satisfy several co-wives.
In general, it is not the girls themselves who ask for the operation. It is imposed on them by their parents who take the initiative of organizing it. No girl has the right to refuse the ceremony - it is obligatory in upper Volta, the Mossis have a witch doctor who decide on the date, the period and the place of the excision ceremony. These prescriptions are usually followed by sacrifices against accidents and spells put upon them by their enemies.
The most favoured day is a Saturday. It is nearly always carried out away from the town or village, in an unknown and shady place. The person performing the excision, is always an old woman. Instruments used are varied: razors, knives, with which the clitoris and the small lips are cut. The actual nature of the operation can vary too: anything from a small incision at the tip of the clitoris, is to total ablation of the clitoris, with grave consequences, as we shall see.
(Editors ' note): There are four kinds of female circumcision: (1). Sunna circumcision does removal the tip of the clitoris, (2.) Clitoredictomy does removal the entire clitoris plus lavia minoria (3.) Infubulation removal of the whole clitoris and labia minora plus part of the lavba mijora, followed by stitching to close the vaginal erifice women who are infibulated have to be cut open to allow intercourse and again for delivery. (4). Introcision does the cutting into the vagina or spliting of the premium, either by means of a shrap instrument or with fingers".
The first dressing is a made from a mixture of ashes and butter which is applied directly to the wound. The only effect of this dressing is to stop or cut down the bleeding . During the operation, all the women helpers all ready (excise) let out loud shouts, no doubt in order to drown the cries of the victims. Other populations in West Africa practice excision by cauterization with help of the brand or red hot-iron.
Excision quite frequently takes place even in christian families. In Ouagadougou the percentage of excisions is around 40%, and in rural areas this is probably up to about 80-90%. Mali, Niger and Mauritania probably go into even higher figures
Convalescence
This is also variable, but lasts anything from two to four weeks During this time it often happens that some of the girls suffer enormous pain or extreme and continued bleeding, and die. Such catastrophes are interpreted in different ways depending on the population. Some attribute it to a spell, others to the respecting of certain customs, but responsibility is never put on the operation of excision itself.
The convalescent period is used for sexual and social education purposes. Thus the newly- excised are taught everything they need to know about their future role as wife and mother.
Attitudes to excision
In rural areas, excision is considered an obligation to which everyone has to submit for fear of evil happenings. In general young girls undergo it voluntarily, but in the towns there is an ever-growing opposition by the parents to the continuation of such a practice.
Especially amongst women, there is almost unanimous opposition to the excision of young girls. But there are still too many ignorant or conformist parents who oblige their daughters to undergo excision at a very young age (4 or 5 or even earlier sometimes).
(Editors note): The responses to this article against excision especially from women - teachers, midwives, social workers - who felt very strongly that it is oppressing and alleviating of women from advancement in society. However, those women who wrote in favor of excision - particularly from the petite bourgeois- held that it is the thing which" gives a woman her value as a "woman".
"The justification for this practice which is most often used is that of protection against spells, and breaking an ancestral tradition. Another reason often advanced emphasizes that excision leads to fidelity in view of the decrease in sexual sensitivity from the operation. Behind this justification is the fact that the parents themselves often flee from their responsibility of educating their children sexually. But there is yet another reason in certain regions. This is an economic one. In fact, until very recently the old people who organized the excision could make the groups of excised children work in their fields for 2 to 3 years. Obviously such an economic motive presents a considerable obstacle to the abolition of such a custom.
From a medical point of view, excision is a catastrophe. We can never emphasize enough the enormous dangers of such a ritual.
The consequences
• infection: excision is done outside any medical surveillance, exposing the victim to all kinds of complications. The worst is tetanus, but others are no less serious.
• bleeding/hemorrhaging: sometimes those excised die from excess loss of blood. In other cases, they become so weak that they die gradually.
• deformity: excision often leaves scars and mutilations which are not only unsightly but which often lead to serious occlusions ( complete closing of the vagina). Any gynecologist in the Sahel region, for instance, can cite cases of women who, after excision, have a vaginal opening so narrow that even a little finger could not pass it. Not only does this make any normal sexual intercourse impossible, but the woman is obliged to undergo cesarean when giving birth to her child (note that this deformity does not stop conception).
• dyspareunia: this is the medical term for pain suffered during sexual intercourse. There is a huge number of women who, without necessarily bent deformed, can never enjoy sex because of excision.
• frigidity: this is one of the most dramatic and cruel consequences of excision. There are many excised women who are never able to have an orgasm. Fear and male egoism are such that very often husbands think the situation is perfectly normal, and that their wives will be more " faithful", even though they themselves often try to find other sexual partners who will give them the "stronger sensations" which their wive cannot give them - and with reason!
From the psychological and social point of view, the consequences are just as serious, for a woman who is beginning to liberate herself or who is educated after having undergone excision, This operation becomes an enormous humiliation. Excision just like Chinese foot-binding is the external sign of the inferiority of African women. It is almost more of a psychological would than a physical one. The abolition of excision is thus imperative.
What is to be done?
What can be done to change this situation? There is a limited value to bringing in new laws for bidding the practice, as long as the deep-seated social causes upholding such customs remain. Simply forbidding excision- as can be seen in the case of Kenya under colonial rule - can even lead to the opposite effect: exacerbating hidden opposition or crystallizing the discontent of any anti-government movements.
What needs to happen is an entire evolution in society. First of all, there has to be an awareness by both sexes, of the equality between men and women at every level, without necessarily confusing equality with identity. This does not mean that certain measures cannot immediately be taken. For instance:
• The acceleration of education for girls. In many African countries girls' education is way behind that of boys.
• Increased health education: medical personnel should receive specific information and instructions emphasizing the grave risks of excision. The cases of death following excision should be published and made available at the local level.
• Civil servants should have the courage to publicly denounce excision and refuse excision for their daughters.
• The introduction of sexual education in schools and radio broadcasts about the consequences of excision should be envisaged."
Famillie et developpement , described as a quarterly review of family health, is a well presented- progressive magazine covering many issues of crucial importance to African development, such as an employment, agriculture and exploitation, sex education, population etc. Often deals with women . from BP 11001, (ISIS 184) see the annex Dakar Senegal.
RESOURCES
Africa's dark secret Guardian, Jill Tweede, London 23.8.76, in English.
A half-page newspaper article on the "Women page" giving some gory details (with personal testimony) and publicizing the little that is being done to stop excision, (ISIS 178)
L'Éxcision, cette mutilation, Doris Habart, Jcune Afrique (Paris), no. 813, August 1976, in French.
Decribes he attitude towards excision (conservative) in many African countries, together with details of the ceremony and the operation. Emphasizes particularly the oppression of women which this represent. (ISIS 180).
Female circumcision: summary Facts/ AFrica, WIN News , USA, in English.
For the past two years the Women's International Network (Fran Hoskin) has been campaigning against female circumcision, the 1975 issues of WIN News give a synthesis of information collected during the investigation summer 1976 issues gives an extensive writting campaign mounted as maternity hospital and health clinics in Africa. From: 187 Grant Street, Lexington MA 02173 (ISIS 177)
Sequelae of female circumcision. J.A. Verzin , in tropical Doctor (London) no. 5, 1975, in English, pp. 163-169.
A clearly presented description of the short and long-term results of excision both medical and psychological the staright forward documenting makes for devastating reading. The Author (Irish gyneacologist and obstetrician having worked in Sudan) also lists countries where female circumcisions still carried out many countries in Africa, Brazil, East Mexico, Peru, and parts of Malaysi, Pakistan and Arabia. (ISIS 179)