You have watched the video on Masai women and evaluated the relevance of Hartmann’s theory of patriarchy for Masai culture. You have also listed to the power point on FGM. Now I would like to hear your thoughts about whether this practice should be stopped among the Masai–if not, why not; if so, why and how. Here is some background information from a Masai activist, Ledama Olekina:
The type of circumcision that the Maasai perform is called clitoridectomy, in which the entire clitoris or part of the clitoris, and at times the adjacent labia, is removed. The primary reason female circumcision is practiced among the Maasai is that it is considered a rite of passage. Circumcision is a cultural practice in the Maasai community, not a religious practice.It elevates a girl from childhood to the status of adulthood, and is necessary for a girl to be considered a complete woman. Another important belief among the Maasai is that the rite has an ability to reduce the woman’s desire for sex, making her less likely to engage in pre-marital sex or adultery.
At the Nairobi International Conference on Female Genital Mutilation in September, attendees from nations where female circumcision is practiced urged states to adopt political, legal, and social measures to eliminate the tradition. But the activists leading this movement have failed to understand the cultures behind the practice, and their ignorance is dangerous. Legislation, particularly the criminalization of FGM, and other external pressures that do not take local culture into account can have deadly consequences.
Many Maasai families cannot afford to give their children formal schooling, so to protect their daughters from lives of poverty they choose to marry them off at a young age. Because Maasai girls are traditionally considered children until they are circumcised, it is seen as imperative for a Maasai girl to undergo the circumcision rite before she is married. This strongly ingrained cultural belief propels families to go to great lengths to complete the circumcision. Over the past 10 years, I have witnessed people in my Kenyan Maasai community being arrested for practicing female circumcision. I have seen young Maasai children nearly starve to death because their parents were sent to jail. Most painfully, I have heard of girls from my community as young as 10 years old undergoing circumcision and being married.
Representatives of many non-Maasai organizations come to my village and talk about how young girls are mutilated. They tell us that unless we stop the practice, we are all going to be prosecuted. In most cases, these forceful approaches have not succeeded. Many families are now circumcising their girls at extremely young ages, before outside organizations have a chance to get suspicious and take action against them.
Under these circumstances, what do you think should be done, if anything. Please comment or respond to the comments of your classmates.
I think that female genital mutilation should be limited to operations done in a hospital setting by a professional due to the very high risk for infection and illness. I don’t necessarily think it should be outlawed because it is so culturally ingrained and the fact male circumcision happens every day, even though it is harder on women and can cause issues in the future. I would outlaw the crude cutting or scraping of female genitalia and offer sanitary places for cultures that practice this act. As a western woman, these operations make me cringe but I am trying to accept that this is normal for many cultures and it would be wrong of me to judge their actions because it is different from mine. Along with sanitary places for these women, I think it would also be imperative to educate these societies on potential health risks as well as the ends and outs of women’s genitalia. There should also be education on young women and how these operations can affect them physically and mentally before they have completed puberty and the risks of mutilation at a young age for marriage. To me, this is difficult because I don’t want to tell other cultures what to do or to change but some things about female circumcision definitely need to change.
I agree with you on the last line, especially, because who am I to tell a group of people in a culture what they cannot do or what is wrong. I don’t think that FGM is wrong, but I do know that it is not a practice I would take part in. I think that the Masai have this tradition within their culture because of women from many many years ago. This act symbolizes the maturing from girl to woman, which is a big step in a girl’s life. Even in American culture, young girls and happy to become young women and them finally adult woman. I also agree that if the procedure is to be done it needs to be performed in more sanitary conditions, with professional operators, to ascertain that there will be little to no infection and to make this experience as painless as possible for these young girls.
Though this practice can lead to infection,and even worse death and is extremely painful among young women, I do not think that female circumcision should be eliminated, or stopped. My reasoning behind this is that this practice is within the culture of the Masai. It has been done for years upon years, and it is a part of the Masai people. They are used to doing this time after time to the young girls among the groups, so I think they might be lost without the tradition. However, I do believe that there are more sterile conditions that this procedure can be done under. I think that there should be hospitals, with sterile operating rooms, where the procedures can be done. Also,with sterile tools and proper anesthesia. This is to ensure that these young girls do not have to go through a great deal of pain, suffering and possibly infection from being cut.
On another note, I think another way to keep the practice alive but not force young girls to have to get cut is to simply ask them if they would prefer the circumcision or not. I think that a lot of girls, if given the choice, would still choose to get “cut” because, again, it is within their culture and their minds. They know that it happens among the other women in their societies, so they wouldn’t be against it. However, I think it is fair that all girls get a choice in the matter.
But do you think young girls can really make an informed decision? We don’t allow children in the US to make medical decisions for themselves. Seems like the cultural pressure would make it tough for them to ever decide against and parents might over-ride their desires. I think it is a difficult dilemma between cultural respect and women’s rights. That’s why I probably favor trying to work from within the culture to come up with alternatives.
I believe that young girls can make an informed decision about getting the procedure or not. Barriers are broken all the time, so I believe if there is one girl who strongly doesn’t want to have the procedure done, she can choose not to. Yes, it’ll be a shock to the Masai culture if a girl were to decide against the cutting and she may be pressured into or even forced to change her mind. And this may break her confidence/spirits, but she still had the strength to go against it in the first place, so that’s actually great. But as in my earlier comment, I feel that majority of young girls wouldn’t go against cutting anyway, because it is engrained in them to be cut at a certain age to truly enter womanhood. I agree that it’s best to leave the issue of FGM within the culture(s) it belongs because we don’t know exactly why it means to them or how it benefits them.
I agree that at the end of the day as long as it is the women’s choice and procedures are done in a sterile matter who I we to tell a culture what is wrong from right? However, I believed education is key. Women and men should be educated on what happens in the procedure and the consequences. Especially young girls who are oblivious to the procedure. Women who do not do the procedure should also not be outcasted. I believe that force should never be practiced and people should not be outcasted for making their own decisions.