Left you can see a map of Africa which indicates the porcentages of FGC in different African countries. The darkest colour indicates a more then 75% of FGC. Really shocking isn't it?
I know that there are a lot of women in our society that don't even know what it is or if they've heard about it, they don't want to read anything about it and stay unknowing, because it's too embaracing and painful to see what has been done to so many women in those countries.
I still have two books waiting to be read, it's just that I don't have the time right now, but I definitly will read them.
But what I actually wanted to point out right now is 'Why?' Why is this done to both women and men? I don't have the answer, I wonder is someone does. But I just read an very interesting article about FGC where three stories were given why those cultures still believe FGC should be done. I thought two of them were too ridiculous so I will not even mention them, I only want to stick to the first one, where has been referred to the sunna of the Islamic religion.
The sunna are old writings of the Profet Mohammed, written by his closed family and friends. Those writings tell about the life of the Profet and contains a moral. You wonder, what does this have to do with FGC?
One of the sunna tells the following story:
When the Profet married his second wife, the first got really jalouse. So she made a plan to make the Profet don't want his second wife anymore. With carbon she painted a beard and a mustach on the other girls face which could not be removed. But instead of rejecting his second wife, the Profet still liked her. So after this the first wife painted the second wifes gums with the same carbon, but the Profet still liked his second wife. So the last attempt of the Profets first wife was to remove the clitoris of her rival. Then, so has been said, the Profet saw the purity and beauty in this cutting as well.
When I read this sunna the moral it passes to me is the fact that the Profet loved his second wife even with her defects, the way she looked did not effect his love for her, as he saw the beauty inside her.
Now tell me why... even if you would believe that the Profet liked the physical aspect of his second wife, why don't we see women with a painted beard and mustach, or with painted gums... Why do we only hear those horrible stories of Female Genital Cutting?
For me this sunna was interpreted by the wrong people, by men who wanted to dominate their wifes. Women have always been and still are victim in war and powerstruggles.
I cannot say that I feel it is my particular duty to go to Africa and try to stop this terrible phenomenon, but I will not close my eyes and ears and keep unknowing and I will, definitly, celebrate with all my heart the day that Female Genital Cutting is over.
******************
Article:
INTEGRACION SOCIAL, IDENTIDAD ETNICA Y GENERO: LA SALUD
SEXUAL Y REPRODUCTIVA DE LAS MUJERES MIGRANTES
SUBSAHARIANAS: retos e implicaciones.
By:
Adriana Kaplan Marcusán
Profesora Titular de Antropología, Universitat Ramón Llull
Investigadora, Centre d’Estudis Demográfics, UAB
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ReplyDeleteDe FGM/FGC is morgen nog niet verlaten, het is zodanig in die culturen Ingeborg, en ook niet eenvoudig om er een alternatief aan voor te stellen, zodanig dat ze er geruste in zijn om het te verlaten, dat er nadien niet zal mislopen bij hun dochter of vrouw, maar goed international gezien is er constant veel aan gedaan, en in een aantal landen is er winst, laat ons daar maar verder aan werken dat het een dag een einde heeft, in Europa zou het moeten zo ver komen, dat iedereen, diegene die het hun aangedaan heeft gerechtelijk kan vervolgen, en ook een jaarlijks medisch onderzoek oom ze te kunnen vervolgen.
ReplyDeleteThis problem is very difficult to solve, specially because this is taken as cultural or even religous matter. how to tell those people that this wrong?
ReplyDelete