Tuesday July 31, 2007, 9:24 am
A
VIOLATION

Tuesday July 31, 2007, 12:43 pm
Girls' desires to conform to peer norms may make them eager to undergo circumcision, since those who remain uncut may be teased and looked down on by their age mates. In addition, the ritual cutting is often embedded in ceremonies in which the girls are feted and showered with presents and their families are honored. A girl's wishes, in any case, are often irrelevant; it is her family--often the father or elder female relatives--who decide whether she will undergo circumcision. According to one Yacouba father, "[My daughter] has no choice. I decide. Her viewpoint is not important

Tuesday July 31, 2007, 12:47 pm
I saw a youtube interview of a group of people in Africa. The old woman was showing a mock preparation for the girls who were to be next to be cut. The woman showed how to hold the girls legs and arms. The young girls she was talking to were probably 14, 15...they were laughing and going along with the mock preparation.
The old woman said we do this it is a part of our culture. Why would we give it up. It is a right of passage for the girls. She also said it keeps babies from dying, and is good for marriage. It was really weird to see how these women just welcomed this practice.

Tuesday July 31, 2007, 12:53 pm
This was a very good informational article. It really talked much about the culture of this is. I think it will probably take generations for this practice to end. Just as it took several generations for American women to win the rights and freedoms that we have as women, it will probably be the same way with other cultures. Modernization/education/changing laws is key also.

Tuesday July 31, 2007, 1:30 pm
J S Bauter
This is a great fight!
we must educate and educate. This is the more efficient arm against FGM

Tuesday July 31, 2007, 3:54 pm
Noted, well documented, Thanks.

Wednesday August 1, 2007, 12:54 am
this is a very good article.

"Second, in societies in which few women remain uncircumcised, problems arising from female circumcision are likely to be seen as a normal part of a woman's life and may not even be associated with circumcision"

i note that the article mentions several times the fact that girls and women in this region know little of anything other than what they are exposed to by their family and community. i think it will take some time of exposure to ideas, which is easier in the presence of a better economic life and prevalence of education and internal stability, to generate a desire to move away from the practice, or at least an awareness. if there is a homegrown reformist/modernisation movement (which should not be initiated or imposed from outside!) the actual change can be made in one or two generations. sometimes things reach the right critical mass, and then you wonder why it was so difficult to initiate the change in the first place.

although, i'm very glad i was born where i was. life is so difficult for so many women. :( i wish things could be changed quickly, but i guess that is really unrealistic.

Wednesday August 1, 2007, 7:43 am
yes.
I agree with you!