Rites of Passage: Female Genitalia Cutting

Cultural Anthropology ANT101

Rites of Passage: Female Genitalia Cutting

Have you heard of Female Genitalia Cutting or FGC? It is not an unknown practice here in the United States, but laws prevent it from occurring here. In other cultures in other countries Female Genitalia Cutting is being performed to children as young as 5 years old. In Cultures like Maasai in Tanzania and Shendi in Sudan these procedures are being performed on children as young as three. Is this a form of mutilation? Or is it the right thing to do to a child? Growing up in these cultures they are taught that this is the right thing that must be done, to show that they are fertile, to show their fidelity. A tradition that goes back over a hundred years and their “stubbornness” to end tradition keeps this rite of passage going.
Female Genitalia Cutting is the cutting of the female external genitalia, there are four forms of female genitalia cutting according to the World Health Organization also known as WHO. Clitoridectomy, excision, infibulation and other which is any harmful procedure done for non-medical reasons such as piercings. All of these procedures are normally done by a person who has no medical training and can cause death or infection to the person it is being practiced on. Clitoridectomy is cutting the clitoris as what the name says, the excision removes the clitoris and labia minora and the most invasive is the infibulation which reconstructs the labias and are sewn together and may or may not cut the clitoris only leaving a small hole to pass urine or menstrual bleeding. These procedures are done without any medication for pain or to numb the area that is being cut or sewn together, causing many difficulties such as hemorrhaging, infections, pain during sexual intercourse, pain during urination and may cause problems during child labor leading to death of the newborn. This procedure in many cases is done to ensure that the women does not have premarital sex or for the cleanliness of the area. Most of the times these procedures are performed they are by an older women from the culture not even having a certified medical personal around to help in case of an emergency. In Maasai when asked why Female Genitalia Cutting was being performed according to An African Association Journal they simply answered, “It is our culture” or “our grandmother gave it to us.” A practice that has long been established and is very hard to venture out of since the 1940s. Maasai is the one of the most populated regions in Tanzania where most of the female genitalia cutting is practiced. The following statements are the Maasai believe, and are gleaned from the Maasai rituals: "It takes one day to destroy a house, but to build a new one will take a months; perhaps a year. If we destroy our own culture and ways of life to construct a new one, it will initially take a thousand of years."(NewsBank.com) Their ritual sounds like something good to live by but in many cases with time and new technology a culture can evolve and create new traditions that does not harm the girls or women in their culture. Sometimes something that may take years to repair can benefit with greater benefits and can help save many lives of newborns or even the women who undergo such harsh treatment. The practice of female circumcision is stated to be the rite of passage from childhood to adulthood. The women are circumcised during puberty and are then ready to enter matrimony and if a women refuses the practice she is shunned. Female Genitalia Circumcision in Maasai is different than when a boy undergoes circumcision, the male is not allowed to cry or show that he is in pain as to where women are allowed to cry during the procedure as they see it as more painful for a women to undergo the procedure. Even though it is now outlawed to continue with Female Genitalia Mutilation which it is now called many families secretly continue to perform the “rites of passage” even if the end results is jail time or a fine.
Shendi in Sudan has almost one hundred percent of their women circumcised. Every culture has different names for the forms of cutting starting with the first form as Sunna the second is Matwasat and the last one is Pharaonic, they give no name or example of the fourth that the WHO gives. In these cultures a women who is uncircumcised is considered unmarriageable and shamed. Pharaonic is the most practiced procedure in the Shendi culture, ninety six percent out of the ninety nine point six percent that are circumcised have this procedure. The procedure itself causes many problems with urinary tract infections to infertility issues and martial issues when it comes to the pleasure the spouse receives. The flexibility of the vaginal area is almost inexistent after this procedure. The percentage of women who have undergone circumcision say they will have their own daughters undergo the procedure as well, they see it as a normal procedure since they too have undergone female genitalia cutting. Even knowing that there is so many complications and they have personally experienced some or most of them they feel that this is the only way. It makes them in their culture more suitable for marriage, having more women who were circumcised married than the women who chose not to undergo the procedure.
While comparing both cultures and why they circumcise, as per Maasai they do it more for their stubbornness to change their traditions since it is a “rite of passage” while in Shendi it more due to how they are perceived if they have the circumcision. Shendi women have a higher circumcision rate if they have a higher educational status or the status of their household. In Maasai there is an equal as to who is or is not circumcised. In Shendi cultures the percentage of women who are from the Muslim religion are more likely to be circumcised then those of the Christian women. In Maasai circumcision is slowly declining and trying to be completely terminated by the year 2015, Shendi has no such protocol in place. While Shendi may not have any protocol in place they seem to be more open into stopping the procedures then the Maasai who argue for the sake of their traditions.
Many of the children from the United States that undergo female genitalia circumcisions go to the families homeland in some cases back to their cultural Shendi or Maasai to have the procedure. In the United States it is illegal for the practice to be done, but many find the loophole and go on “vacation” to have it done. Only the state of Nevada has a felony law that still fines the parents if the child is taken out of the state to have the procedure done. Considering that according to the WHO on number four of the practices though in the United States many women over the age eighteen also undergo female genitalia mutiliation as they go to tattoo parlors to pierce their genitals. These women are not forced and are not charged for undergoing this procedure of their own accord to feel more pleasure or to have something sexual on them why should we stop cultures who have their own ways of doing something. Maybe we can go and educate and help them find an easier safer way to continue with their traditions without truly hurting the person. They can change the age to eighteen to where the child is now an adult and can decide on their own whether or not they want the procedure and not be shunned or feel as if they will not be a good choice as a wife because they chose to stay intact. We are all very passionate people and defend what we believe and are stubborn, just look at our rate in male circumcision in the United States where it is considered a “cosmetic procedure”. It is now somewhat the norm for a parent to have their newborn child that is a few hours old go under the knife without any medication because they Doctors say they feel no pain. If we allow males to undergo such a crucial procedure and fight for equal rights should we not allow the women to have a choice in what they have done to their own bodies?
Female Genitalia Cutting or FGC is practiced in many cultures and is considered the normal or necessary. With all the high risks, deaths and issues with Female Genitalia Cutting or what human activists call is as Female Genitalia Mutilation the question left to answer is will it ever stop? Many organizations out there are trying to stop this mutilation practices but many cultures feel it is a violation to their traditions.

References

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs241/en/ :

Female Genital Cutting: Cultural Rights and Rites of Defiance in Northern Tanzania
Anna Winterbottom, Jonneke Koomen and Gemma Burford
African Studies Review , Vol. 52, No. 1 (Apr., 2009) , pp. 47-71 Female Circumcision in Sudan: Future Prospects and Strategies for Eradication M. Mazharul Islam and M. Mosleh Uddin
International Family Planning Perspectives , Vol. 27, No. 2 (Jun., 2001) , pp. 71-76

The Maasai Youth Culture, Peter Gatkouth Sudan Tribute (Sudan) (Oct. 2009) Newsbank