|
An
international conference on female circumcision that was held in Nairobi, Kenya
from 16 to 18 September ended with participants declaring that laws alone will
not adequately address the issue.
Delegates
resolved that public information, education and information should be undertaken
so as to involve many people in strategies and activities aimed at the
abandonment of the practice.
The
conference, which is the first of its kind to be held in Africa, attracted more
than 700 participants from governments, civil society, religious communities,
the media, medical practitioners and aid organizations. It was organized jointly
by the Kenyan government and an international advocacy group called No Peace
Without Justice.
A
Rite of Passage
Speakers
at the conference, which also addressed the negative aspects of female
circumcision, referred to the practice as a human rights violation.
“Though
often associated with culture, female circumcision is in reality a widespread
sign of women’s greater economic, social and political repression,” they
said.
In
female circumcision, also referred to as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), part
or all of a girl’s or woman’s genitalia are removed. The practice is usually
performed as a rite of passage into adulthood.
The
United Nations estimates that two million girls undergo the rite every year in
Africa. In total, 130 million girls and women worldwide have undergone the rite,
a figure that translates to 6000 a day.
The
Kenyan Minister for Home Affairs, Linah Kilimo, pointed out that 38 percent of
Kenyan women have undergone the procedure, although the figure can rise to 90
percent in some parts of the country. “Age old practices and beliefs are hard
to change,” says Kilimo. “Those attempting to do so often meet with great
resistance. We need to intensify awareness campaigns for these people to know
that the practice is harmful and life threatening,” she said.
Participants
to the conference also said that female circumcision is a complex issue, and
requires a sensitive, innovate and multi-dimensional solution that relies on the
empowerment of girls and families to participate in the decisions affecting
their lives.
Multifaceted
Approach
Common
reasons for practicing female circumcision include it being a ‘good
tradition’ that ensures cleanliness and that it prevents promiscuity
among girls
|
|
Moushira
Khattab, Director of Egypt’s National Council for Childhood and Motherhood,
said her country employs an integrated approach, where religious and traditional
leaders as well as academicians and human rights activists are involved in
addressing the issue.
During
the conference, women were encouraged to support programs aimed at combating the
practice.
Delegates
also noted that high rates of female circumcision would undermine efforts to
meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The goals were agreed upon in the
year 2000 with the aim of reducing poverty and underdevelopment around the world
by 2015 through reducing national mortality rates and tackling other problems
associated with poverty.
A
Valued Practice
Apart
from being a rite to womanhood, other commonly evoked reasons for practicing
female circumcision are that it is a ‘good tradition’ which ensures
cleanliness, that it prevents promiscuity among girls, preserves virginity,
offers marriage prospects and that it facilitates child birth by widening the
birth canal.
Moreover,
other reasons highlighted as to why it is performed are that it is thought to
reduce a woman’s desire for sex and thus her capacity for infidelity.
Health
Concerns
Participants
decried the manner in which the procedure is carried out, although it varies
widely according to region and economic circumstances. Sometimes the operation
is carried out by unskilled operators who use crude and blunt surgical
equipment, often without anesthesia.
This,
it was pointed out, could lead to a variety of physical complications that can
even result in death. They range from complications in childbirth, possibilities
of HIV transmission, anxiety, psychological illness, hemorrhage that can lead to
anemia, and wound infection that can cause tetanus.
A
Global Campaign
In
spite of the fact that in some instances female circumcision is available under
sterile conditions that involves less ‘cutting’ in an effort to lessen
health complications, the World Health Organization (WHO) and many other
agencies are opposed to it. According to WHO, “the rite threatens the mental,
physical and psychological health of women and girls and violates human rights
standards.”
Other
organizations that call for eradication of female circumcision include the
United Nations Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against
the Girl Child (CEDAW), UN Convention on the Rights of a Child, the African
Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, among others.
Role
of Governments
The
conference resolved that member countries of the African Union (AU) “enforce
the Maputo Protocol forbidding female circumcision.” The Protocol, which the
African Union’s 53 member states are in the process of signing, was adopted in
July 2003 in Maputo, Mozambique and stipulates that female circumcision should
be prohibited and condemned.
Delegates
asked African countries and those affiliated to the Arab League to enforce
legislations prohibiting female circumcision. They said counseling of those who
have undergone the rite and public education programs should be formulated and
undertaken.
Governments
were also called upon to recognize the knowledge and expertise that academic
institutions can offer on the implementation of a social and political
environment for eradicating the practice.
Kenya’s
Foreign Affairs Minister, Chirau Ali Mwakwere, who officiated the conference’s
closing ceremony, said that the issue of female circumcision calls for joint
efforts among stakeholders. “It is neither the government’s nor the civil
society’s problem. It concerns all of us.” He concluded that it is important
for the issue to be openly discussed without fear in order to address it
effectively.
Sources:
1.
International Conference on Female Circumcision
2.
www.stopfgm.org
Wanzala Bahati JustusFemale Circumcision: A Culture in Need of Change
is a freelance journalist based in Nairobi, Kenya. Your emails will be forwarded to him by contacting the editor
at: ScienceTech@islam-online.net.
|
