scholarly journals The prosecution of Dawoodi Bohra women: some reasonable doubts

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard A. Shweder
Keyword(s):  
Male Circumcision ◽  
Female Circumcision ◽  
Muslim Women ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Genital Mutilation ◽  
Less Invasive ◽  
Religiously Based ◽  
Dawoodi Bohra ◽  
Clitoral Hood ◽  
Female Genital

Muslim women of the Dawoodi Bohra community have recently been prosecuted because they customarily adhere to a religiously based gender-inclusive version of the Jewish Abrahamic circumcision tradition. In Dawoodi Bohra families it is not only boys but also girls who are circumcised. And it is mothers who typically control and arrange for the circumcision of their daughters. By most accounts the circumcision procedure for girls amounts to a nick, abrasion, piercing or small cut restricted to the female foreskin or prepuce (often referred to as ‘the clitoral hood’ or in some parts of Southeast Asia as the ‘clitoral veil’). From a strictly surgical point of view the custom is less invasive than a typical male circumcision as routinely and legally performed by Jews and Muslims. The question arises: if the practice is legal for the gander why should it be banned for the goose?<br /><br />Key messages<br /><ul><li>Wherever there is female circumcision there is male circumcision – the custom is gender-inclusive.</li><br /><li>The tradition of gender-inclusive Abrahamic circumcision has broad support among Dawoodi Bohra Muslim women.</li><br /><li>Female circumcision as practised by Dawoodi Bohra women is less invasive than male circumcision as legally practised by Muslims and Jews.</li><br /><li>Why should girls be excluded from the Abrahamic circumcision tradition? If it is legal for boys why shouldn’t it be legal for girls?</li><br /><li>Has the time come to rethink the expression ‘female genital mutilation’? Is it a ‘no brainer’ or has it made us ‘brain dead’?</li></ul>

Shaping Genitals, Shaping Perceptions

2012 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 417-445 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marjolein van den Brink ◽  
Jet Tigchelaar
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Male Circumcision ◽  
Female Circumcision ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Genital Mutilation ◽  
Human Rights Protection ◽  
Rights Protection ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Human Rights Norms ◽  
Female Genital

Human rights claim universal validity, which implies that bias in their applicability as well as in their application should be avoided. From this perspective it is rather remarkable that female circumcision is a major cause for human rights concerns, whereas male circumcision is rarely addressed in the context of human rights. This raises the question whether practices of female circumcision are really that different from forms of male circumcision. There is at least some evidence that there are more similarities between male and female circumcision than commonly perceived. Taking this as a starting point, on the basis of facts, figures and rationales, we distinguish three types of circumcision: the ‘African’, the ‘American’ and the ‘Abrahamic’ type. Whereas male circumcision may fulfil the characteristics of any of these three types, female circumcision seems to fit only the African type. The typology allows for an analysis of the frames used in the debate to justify or delegitimise male and female circumcision. Frames that feature in the debates on male circumcision are a ‘medical/health frame’ and a ‘cultural/religious frame’, both with an ‘accessory human rights frame’. The debate on female circumcision (mostly referred to as female genital mutilation or FGM), on the other hand, is predominantly a ‘women's rights frame’. The differences in normative framing as well as the consequences thereof for the human rights protection of men and women do not seem entirely justified by the differences between the practices of male and female circumcision. We discuss three forms of bias – related to culture, religion and to gender – that may help explain the diverging normative framings. Irrespective of one's normative assessment of the compatibility of circumcision practices with human rights norms, the universality claim of human rights requires the application of the same standards to similar practices, regardless of sex.

Pattern of Female Genital Mutilation among Adolescents Attending Secondary Schools’ in Enugu Metropolis

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Awoere T Chinawa ◽  
Josephat M Chinawa ◽  
Edmund N Ossai ◽  
Ann E Aronu ◽  
Godwin E Ozokoli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Schools ◽  
Cultural Values ◽  
Female Genital Mutilation ◽  
Female Circumcision ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
Female Adolescents ◽  
Genital Mutilation ◽  
Major Complications ◽  
A Minor ◽  
Female Genital

Abstract Background Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a public health menace and it study among adolescents is not exhaustive. Objectives The aim is to study the prevalence, pattern, cultural values, health implications and consequences of FGM among adolescent females attending secondary schools in Enugu metropolis. Methods A descriptive study involving female adolescents aged 13–21 years recruited by multistage sampling in three Girls Secondary Schools in Enugu Metropolis. Results Four hundred and fifty (450) questionnaires were distributed and four hundred and fourteen (414) were retrieved. The parents with moderate value for culture and tradition had the highest circumcised respondents (7.8%) (p = 0.056). Majority of the respondents, 93.7% were aware of female circumcision. The major complications of female circumcision according to the respondents were painful urination and menstrual problems. The prevalence of female circumcision among the respondents was 9.4%. A minor proportion of the respondents, 5.8% were of the opinion that all females should be circumcised. Respondents whose fathers attained tertiary education were three times less likely to be circumcised when compared with those whose fathers attained secondary education and less (adjusted odds ratio  = 0.3; 95% CI: 0.3–1.5). Conclusion Prevalence of FGM among adolescents aged 13–21 years in Enugu metropolis was 9.4%. Majority of the respondents had good knowledge of FGM, and major complications noted were painful urination and menstrual problems. Fathers education level is a very strong reason for this high awareness of FGM among female adolescents.

Christ's Salvific Message and the Nandi Ritual of Female Circumcision

2002 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
pp. 579-600 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Nyangweso
Keyword(s):  
Female Genital Mutilation ◽  
Female Circumcision ◽  
Traditional Practices ◽  
Genital Mutilation ◽  
Initiation Rite ◽  
The Many ◽  
Gospel Message ◽  
Female Genital

[Female initiation rite is one of the many traditional practices found in some African communities. The many rituals during this time of initiation include female circumcision/female genital mutilation, a socially justified mark of maturation, dramatizing the break with childhood and incorporation into adulthood. This practice has received much criticism because of sexist, health, and human implications for woman's integrity. Christian missionaries to Africa condemned it as a barbaric practice, unnecessary for its believers. In spite of condemnations and various efforts to stop the practice, female circumcision persists among a number of Africans including Christians. The author here examines the gospel message, especially what Christ's salvific message means to the Nandi culture, and especially how the practice of female circumcision can be reinterpreted in the light of this message.]

scholarly journals The Applicability of Behaviour Change in Intervention Programmes Targeted at Ending Female Genital Mutilation in the EU: Integrating Social Cognitive and Community Level Approaches

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine Brown ◽  
David Beecham ◽  
Hazel Barrett
Keyword(s):  
Behaviour Change ◽  
Female Genital Mutilation ◽  
Female Circumcision ◽  
Behavioural Change ◽  
Community Change ◽  
World Health ◽  
Female Genital Cutting ◽  
Genital Mutilation ◽  
Female Genital ◽  
The Eu

With increased migration, female genital mutilation (FGM) also referred to as female circumcision or female genital cutting is no longer restricted to Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. The European Parliament estimates that up to half a million women living in the EU have been subjected to FGM, with a further 180,000 at risk. Aware of the limited success of campaigns addressing FGM, the World Health Organization recommended a behavioural change approach be implemented in order to end FGM. To date, however, little progress has been made in adopting a behaviour change approach in strategies aimed at ending FGM. Based on research undertaken as part of the EU’s Daphne III programme, which researched FGM intervention programmes linked to African communities in the EU (REPLACE), this paper argues that behaviour change has not been implemented due to a lack of understanding relating to the application of the two broad categories of behaviour change approach: individualistic decision-theoretic and community-change game-theoretic approaches, and how they may be integrated to aid our understanding and the development of future intervention strategies. We therefore discuss how these can be integrated and implemented using community-based participatory action research methods with affected communities.

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