Female Genital Mutilation in Sudan
Imagine giving a 4 to 10 year old girl the option to have her genitals mutilated; if she were to go through with the procedure a party will be launched in her name, she’ll receive presents and be the center of attention. What child can resist saying “no” when proposed with a party in their honor and the promise of gifts? But does a young girl have the capability to fully understand or judge the practice she agrees to when making her decision?
Female genital mutilation is a practice undertaken all over Northeast Africa (except Ethiopia). Under the name infibulation, the practice refers to the partial to complete taking of the outer female genitalia whereby there are different degrees in the mutilation. The so-called Pharaonic circumcision is the most extreme procedure and “involves cutting away most external female genitalia and almost completely closing off the vaginal opening”[1]. Even though this practice has been forbidden by law since 1945 in Sudan, it is still widely undertaken [2]. Those who undergo this practice are subject to extreme pain and in some cases, death. It leads to dangers during pregnancy and can even prevent a woman from having children. In some cases, women are re-infibulated after giving birth so that their husband can have the feeling of taking their virginity again. Besides these horrifying physical aspects, the psyche of the girls who endure this practice is negatively affected as well [3].
Omnia Sabil, a feminist and Sudanese woman currently enrolled in MA studies at the Department of International Relations at CEU (Central European University, Budapest), told me stories about the practice of female genital mutilation in her country. In most cases, it is not the men wanting their daughters to be infibulated, but their mothers and especially their grandmothers. In her case, it was her father who was strictly against this practice and would not allow to have any of his girls to be infibulated. Just like him, his daughter is strongly against that practice. She told me the story her teacher had proudly told his students in class, referring to his open mindedness regarding that topic. The teacher gave his daughters the “choice” whether to be infibulated or not, asking them at 6 years old if they wanted to have a infibulation, saying to them if they chose to to have it done they would have a party and get lots of presents. The grandmother did the last part in persuading the girls and this way the practice was undertaken because the “girls decided to”. Omnia was really angry when she told me this story, because young girls at that age are unable to understand the life-changing decision they are taking.
According to Rose Oldfield Hayes, the practice has not changed for centuries and the “legislation against the practice has failed because the custom functions positively with respect to other components of … the Sudanese familial complex (i.e., marriage practices, modesty code, family honor, women’s social roles and life patterns, and the patrilineage, which is fundamental to Sudanese society)” [4].
As can clearly be seen from the Sudanese example, female genital mutilation is a form of gender-based violence hardly generable by law as the practice is deeply rooted in culture. To achieve an abolition of the practice requires a change in mentalities. People like Omnia or her father who come from within the culture are an example of those who can make a proactive change from within. Though this change will be a long process, it is one that can only happen from within the culture. I ask Sudanese women and men, and people from all other countries around the world where infibulation is still a common practice, to advocate for a change in mentality and begin a community dialogue. As constant dripping wears away the stone, this change will come.
Follow the link from the World Health Organization to learn more about actions undertaken by Sudan to fight Female Genital Mutilation: https://www.who.int/features/2018/female-genital-mutilation-sudan/en/.
References
[1]Hayes, Rose Oldfield. “Female Genital Mutilation, Fertility Control, Womens Roles, and the Patrilineage in Modern Sudan: A Functional Analysis.” American Ethnologist 2, no. 4 (1975): 617–33. doi:10.1525/ae.1975.2.4.02a00030.
[2] Ibid. p. 617
[3] Furtner, Christina. “Weibliche Genitalbeschneidung und ihre Bedeutung für die Soziale Arbeit in Deutschland” (BA). Katholische Hochschule für Sozialwesen Berlin.
[4]Hayes, Rose Oldfield. “Female Genital Mutilation, Fertility Control, Womens Roles, and the Patrilineage in Modern Sudan: A Functional Analysis.” American Ethnologist 2, no. 4 (1975). p. 618.
