October 11, 2011
The Star
Wambua Kavila
The Kenya Council of Imams and Ulamaa has castigated Female Genital Mutilation saying it is against the Quran teachings and will fully support implementation of all FGM related laws. Islamic scholars Sheikh Ibrahim Lethome and Mohamed Swalihu under KCIU called upon mosques and Muslim institutions to fight the practice. "There is no authentic or relevant Islamic evidence allowing FGM in all its forms and the practice is harmful and violates freedom, privacy, health and dignity of the Muslim woman," KCIU said in the statement.
They added that Quran teachings and practices of the prophet are against any practice that causes any form of harm to human beings and FGM interferes with the Muslim woman’s full realisation of her ‘ibadah’ (total worship of Allah). The consensus building meeting held at Garden Hotel in Machakos brought together Muslim scholars and leaders from Tana River, Nairobi, Kajiado, Machakos, Wajir, Garissa, Maragua, Isiolo and Moyale.
They resolved to collectively support and strengthen the national advocacy campaign in order to enable delivery on key interventions to stop the practice. "To this end, KCIU undertakes to mobilise resources over the next five years to support advocacy and other interventions and call upon development partners to continue supporting us," they said.
They added that they will embark on a continuous awareness program to educate the community on FGM and its adverse negative effects on girls, women and other members of society. Though illegal, FGM is still practiced in many areas of Upper Eastern and North Eastern provinces predominantly Muslim areas.
To read the full article on The Star website, click here
Showing posts with label religious leaders. Show all posts
Showing posts with label religious leaders. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Female genital mutilation in Pakistan, and beyond
August 18, 2011
The Express Tribune Blogs
Aneka Chohan
According to the World Health Organisation, female genital mutilation (FGM) is defined as all “procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.”
The process is carried out for a wide number of reasons, none of which have positive health implications. As a social cause, young girls and their families are pressurized to surrender to the tradition of FGM that has been carried out for generations.
People who practice female genital mutilation are motivated by the belief that by mutilating the female genitalia, a girl will feel no difficulty in resisting “illicit” sexual acts. Moreover, the fear of experiencing pain that comes with the opening of the stitches of the narrowed/covered vaginal opening is said to prevent further “illicit” relations amongst women and men.
However, women who have been through the ordeal of FGM have clarified that the practice has not benefited them in any way. In fact, it is the source of incredibly painful ordeals throughout pregnancy, childbirth and intercourse.
The sad reality, however, is that although FGM is widely common in African countries, most people are unaware that this brutal practice is in Pakistan too.
What happens in Pakistan
In Pakistan, the act of FGM is practiced amongst select areas and communities – one example being the Bohra Muslims. There are roughly about 100,000 Bohra Muslims in the country, mostly in the southern regions of Pakistan, such as Sindh. In recent years, due to a rise in strict sect religious compliance by the Bohra Muslims, the practice of FGM has increased. Unless the Bohra chief, known as Dai, issues a decree to forbid the act, the practice will remain firmly rooted in the people’s culture and will continue to be practiced.
Countless news reports from all over the world have provided sound proof to support the immense damage that FGM can cause.
Take, for instance, the news report about a girl who went through the traumatic ordeal of FGM at the age of six – a fact uncovered at age 12, when doctors were investigating what they thought was a cyst. However, the girl had become infertile due to years of menstrual blood being blocked, prevented from leaving her body due to the stitching of her vaginal opening.
Another report mentioned a story of a woman who went for a check-up. The midwife was examining her and suddenly ran out of the room, retching and crying after she saw the state of the patient’s genitals.
It is not just the young women of Pakistan but also British girls of Pakistani origin who are subjected to this procedure. Young British girls pack their bags with their favourite outfits, books and toys and jump with joy at the thought of six weeks of holiday with their relatives. However, many young girls are unaware that their parents are taking them to Pakistan to carry out the FGM procedure.
What clerics say
Since the State of Pakistan is an Islamic country, let’s take a look at what Islam says about the practice.
To begin with, the Holy Quran does not bear even a single mention of female circumcision. In addition to this, there is no Hadith that mandates this practice. However, some have argued that one Hadith, although not requiring it, appears to accept the practice:
“Circumcision is a commendable act for men (Sunnah) and is an honourable thing for women” (Makromah).
This Hadith is criticised on the grounds that a distinction is made between male circumcision, which is described in a stronger way, whilst a weaker explanation is offered for female circumcision, which is not required religiously.
But ask yourself: how is cutting or partially/completely removing parts of the female genitalia an honourable thing for women? What is it that makes it honourable? Is it the pain or the abnormal sight of a mutilated body?
The glaring fact is that this practice leads to a tremendous amount of pain, infections, a battle with child birth, infertility in women, and in severe cases, even death.
Sheikh Talib, Dean of the Faculty of Shariah of Al Azhar, has said:
“all practices of female circumcision and mutilation are crimes and have no relationship with Islam.”
This statement is supported by the fact that the procedure of FGM pre-dates the life of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and the beginning of Islam.
FGM is not something that “purifies” a woman or preserves their virginity. It is a practice that mutilates a woman’s body and damages her in the most appalling of ways. Parents who hold their daughters’ arms and legs down, forcing them to go through this terrible crime, are not maintaining their family’s honour. They are, in fact, severely reducing the chances of their daughter’s bearing children. They are, thus, eliminating opportunities that may bless them with future generations and eventually, they will have no trace of themselves on earth.Once again, from an Islamic perspective, God creates men and women alike, in the best design possible. Surely, it is wrong to alter the design that God has put together in the human form. Everyone has the right to respect their body and demand the same respect from everyone else. No one, regardless of whether they are parents or so-called health professionals, has the right to destroy a woman’s ability to bear children or damage her body. FGM is, hence, a crime, sitting at the top rung of immorality.
Perhaps, a young girl is screaming in pain right, at this very moment, as you read this article.
However, it is not too late – we can still make a difference.
We can rise up, and raise our voices for those innocent girls whose families have FGM in plan for them. One voice may not be loud enough but when an entire assembly of voices resound together, it makes a difference and causes peoples’ heads to turn. Let us, thus, rise up together, and put a stop to this torture.
The Express Tribune Blogs
Aneka Chohan
According to the World Health Organisation, female genital mutilation (FGM) is defined as all “procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.”
The process is carried out for a wide number of reasons, none of which have positive health implications. As a social cause, young girls and their families are pressurized to surrender to the tradition of FGM that has been carried out for generations.
People who practice female genital mutilation are motivated by the belief that by mutilating the female genitalia, a girl will feel no difficulty in resisting “illicit” sexual acts. Moreover, the fear of experiencing pain that comes with the opening of the stitches of the narrowed/covered vaginal opening is said to prevent further “illicit” relations amongst women and men.
However, women who have been through the ordeal of FGM have clarified that the practice has not benefited them in any way. In fact, it is the source of incredibly painful ordeals throughout pregnancy, childbirth and intercourse.
The sad reality, however, is that although FGM is widely common in African countries, most people are unaware that this brutal practice is in Pakistan too.
What happens in Pakistan
In Pakistan, the act of FGM is practiced amongst select areas and communities – one example being the Bohra Muslims. There are roughly about 100,000 Bohra Muslims in the country, mostly in the southern regions of Pakistan, such as Sindh. In recent years, due to a rise in strict sect religious compliance by the Bohra Muslims, the practice of FGM has increased. Unless the Bohra chief, known as Dai, issues a decree to forbid the act, the practice will remain firmly rooted in the people’s culture and will continue to be practiced.
Countless news reports from all over the world have provided sound proof to support the immense damage that FGM can cause.
Take, for instance, the news report about a girl who went through the traumatic ordeal of FGM at the age of six – a fact uncovered at age 12, when doctors were investigating what they thought was a cyst. However, the girl had become infertile due to years of menstrual blood being blocked, prevented from leaving her body due to the stitching of her vaginal opening.
Another report mentioned a story of a woman who went for a check-up. The midwife was examining her and suddenly ran out of the room, retching and crying after she saw the state of the patient’s genitals.
It is not just the young women of Pakistan but also British girls of Pakistani origin who are subjected to this procedure. Young British girls pack their bags with their favourite outfits, books and toys and jump with joy at the thought of six weeks of holiday with their relatives. However, many young girls are unaware that their parents are taking them to Pakistan to carry out the FGM procedure.
What clerics say
Since the State of Pakistan is an Islamic country, let’s take a look at what Islam says about the practice.
To begin with, the Holy Quran does not bear even a single mention of female circumcision. In addition to this, there is no Hadith that mandates this practice. However, some have argued that one Hadith, although not requiring it, appears to accept the practice:
“Circumcision is a commendable act for men (Sunnah) and is an honourable thing for women” (Makromah).
This Hadith is criticised on the grounds that a distinction is made between male circumcision, which is described in a stronger way, whilst a weaker explanation is offered for female circumcision, which is not required religiously.
But ask yourself: how is cutting or partially/completely removing parts of the female genitalia an honourable thing for women? What is it that makes it honourable? Is it the pain or the abnormal sight of a mutilated body?
The glaring fact is that this practice leads to a tremendous amount of pain, infections, a battle with child birth, infertility in women, and in severe cases, even death.
Sheikh Talib, Dean of the Faculty of Shariah of Al Azhar, has said:
“all practices of female circumcision and mutilation are crimes and have no relationship with Islam.”
This statement is supported by the fact that the procedure of FGM pre-dates the life of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and the beginning of Islam.
FGM is not something that “purifies” a woman or preserves their virginity. It is a practice that mutilates a woman’s body and damages her in the most appalling of ways. Parents who hold their daughters’ arms and legs down, forcing them to go through this terrible crime, are not maintaining their family’s honour. They are, in fact, severely reducing the chances of their daughter’s bearing children. They are, thus, eliminating opportunities that may bless them with future generations and eventually, they will have no trace of themselves on earth.Once again, from an Islamic perspective, God creates men and women alike, in the best design possible. Surely, it is wrong to alter the design that God has put together in the human form. Everyone has the right to respect their body and demand the same respect from everyone else. No one, regardless of whether they are parents or so-called health professionals, has the right to destroy a woman’s ability to bear children or damage her body. FGM is, hence, a crime, sitting at the top rung of immorality.
Perhaps, a young girl is screaming in pain right, at this very moment, as you read this article.
However, it is not too late – we can still make a difference.
We can rise up, and raise our voices for those innocent girls whose families have FGM in plan for them. One voice may not be loud enough but when an entire assembly of voices resound together, it makes a difference and causes peoples’ heads to turn. Let us, thus, rise up together, and put a stop to this torture.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Uganda: Churches Join the Fight Against FGM Practice
July 7, 2011
The Monitor
Steven Ariong
Several churches from Kapchorwa and Bukwo districts have joined hands with the Inter African Committee Uganda (IACU), a Non Government Organisation(NGO) based in Kapchorwa and Reproductive, Educative Community Health (REACH) another area NGO to fight Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in Sebei and Pokot regions.
Pastor Francis Sawenge Kotil of deliverance church in Bukwo district said, the practice of female genital mutilation is a covenant and the blood that a woman bleeds after undergoing through the practice is a curse. "We claim it's our practice but biblicalically it's wrong, therefore the churches must come in full to fight against it," he said while delivering his message to the congregation in Bukwo last week.
Mr Geoffrey Sande, the Programme coordinator, Inter African Committee Uganda(IACU) believes that the fight against the FGM practice in Sebei will now succeed since the churches have also come openly to support the fight. "We have taken long trying to eradicate this practice in Sebei because we were not fully supported by churches but now since the church leaders have also come in to join us, it will help us now to fight the practice," he said.
Ms Beatrice Chelangat, the director of REACH programme in Kapchorwa, which also fights the practice said that the practice may take a while to die in Kapchorwa and Pokot because of the on going practive in neighbouring Kenya. She said most parents sneak with their children into Kenya to carry out the practice and return. "We are experiencing that challenge because in Uganda the law is becoming hot, now the rest of the parents cross to Kenya," she said. She appealed to the Kenyan government to help and reject the practice so that if the Sabiny from Kapchorwa or the Pokot of Amudat cross into Kenya to practice,they must be arrested.
Female Genital Mutilation is the partial or total removal of the female clitoris. Authorities say the number of girls mutilated in 2011 increased from 550 to 820 in 2008, lending credence to the fact that the practice is still alive despite its ban in 2010. Offenders of the practice face 10 years in prison, but if the girl dies during the act, those involved get life sentence.
The Monitor
Steven Ariong
Several churches from Kapchorwa and Bukwo districts have joined hands with the Inter African Committee Uganda (IACU), a Non Government Organisation(NGO) based in Kapchorwa and Reproductive, Educative Community Health (REACH) another area NGO to fight Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in Sebei and Pokot regions.
Pastor Francis Sawenge Kotil of deliverance church in Bukwo district said, the practice of female genital mutilation is a covenant and the blood that a woman bleeds after undergoing through the practice is a curse. "We claim it's our practice but biblicalically it's wrong, therefore the churches must come in full to fight against it," he said while delivering his message to the congregation in Bukwo last week.
Mr Geoffrey Sande, the Programme coordinator, Inter African Committee Uganda(IACU) believes that the fight against the FGM practice in Sebei will now succeed since the churches have also come openly to support the fight. "We have taken long trying to eradicate this practice in Sebei because we were not fully supported by churches but now since the church leaders have also come in to join us, it will help us now to fight the practice," he said.
Ms Beatrice Chelangat, the director of REACH programme in Kapchorwa, which also fights the practice said that the practice may take a while to die in Kapchorwa and Pokot because of the on going practive in neighbouring Kenya. She said most parents sneak with their children into Kenya to carry out the practice and return. "We are experiencing that challenge because in Uganda the law is becoming hot, now the rest of the parents cross to Kenya," she said. She appealed to the Kenyan government to help and reject the practice so that if the Sabiny from Kapchorwa or the Pokot of Amudat cross into Kenya to practice,they must be arrested.
Female Genital Mutilation is the partial or total removal of the female clitoris. Authorities say the number of girls mutilated in 2011 increased from 550 to 820 in 2008, lending credence to the fact that the practice is still alive despite its ban in 2010. Offenders of the practice face 10 years in prison, but if the girl dies during the act, those involved get life sentence.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Ban on female genital mutilation passed
June 23, 2011
AK News
Hemn Hadi & Patrick Smith
For the first time in Iraqi Kurdistan women are protected by a new law against some of the traditions most harmful towards them.
Yesterday the regional parliament ratified a bill banning female genital mutilation and domestic violence. This is a landmark law in a region that is more steeped in such practices than surrounding countries.
Female circumcision, where the clitoris and hood, and sometimes the labia, are cut away, is particularly commonly in rural areas. A German-Iraqi study conducted in 2007/08 showed more than 77 percent of female interviewees aged 14 and over in the Kurdish province of Sulaimaniyah had undergone the procedure.
The new law lays out the penalty for encouraging female genital mutilation as 3 to 6 years imprisonment or a IQD 1 million ($860) fine. Those who carry out the operation will be sentenced to 3 to 5 years or a fine equal to IQD 5 million ($4300). If they are medical practitioners they will be banned from working for three years.
The demanding of dowry payments, forced marriage, arranged marriages for young women to men many years their elder and forcing women into prostitution are also outlawed by the new law.
It is not clear how a law, seeking to stop a practice, such as genital mutilation, that is not carried out though official means, will be enforced.
Kurdistan's health minister, Taher Hawrami, said authorities are distributing posters to promote awareness, but he said religious leaders should do more to end the practice.
"The clerics should take on the main role. People need to have better understanding of religion in order to give up this phenomenon."
There are also many issues that are not covered by bill. Payman Abdul-Kareem, a member of the parliamentary committee for women and children’s affairs said: ‘When a woman is divorced, she does not have anywhere to go and is often mistreated.
“There ought to be social welfare safety nets to cope with this.”
Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a report last year that showed there are at least four factors driving the prevalence of genital mutilation: a link to Kurdish identity, a religious imperative, social pressure, and an attempt to control a woman's sexuality.
The practice is often carried out at home and by people without medical training. When not done properly the girls, who are often as young as ten, can have lasting damage and in extreme cases die from loss of blood or infection.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Somali religious leaders and high-level officials join hands to put an end to all forms of FGM/C
June 3, 2011
Unicef Somalia
Charity Koronya
Seventy religious leaders and some of Somaliland’s highest officials participated in a public gathering in Hargeisa to declare their support and commitment to the abandonment of all forms of the practice of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C).
While presiding over the occasion, Somaliland’s First Lady Amina Waris mentioned that men are the key perpetuators of FGM/C while women are the ones who have to suffer the consequences including complications during child birth. "Men are the ones who insist on marrying circumcised girls, so if men don't change their attitude towards FGM/C, the practice will never die out" she said. "I am pleased to see that respected religious leaders have decided to publicly declare the abandonment of all types of FGM/C in Somaliland because people listen to them. Let us put the interest of our daughters first and ensure that they remain intact as they were created by Allah".
There is still a deep belief among Somalis that FGM/C has its roots not only in local culture, but also in Islamic doctrine. Given religious leaders’ strong influence and status and their ability to reach different levels of society, UNICEF and UNFPA have started working with them in 2009 through a project that initiated dialogue and engaged Somalia’s religious leadership with revered international Islamic scholars to reach consensus that FGM/C is not a religious obligation.
This approach of creating consensus among religious leaders aims to facilitate the development of a high-level policy and legal framework as well as to create awareness among communities to ultimately trigger behavioural change.
The dialogue in which Sheikhs and Imams have participated during 2010 has culminated in the form of public declarations held by religious leaders in both Somaliland and Puntland during May this year.
The Minister of Religious Affairs and prominent religious leader Sheikh Khalil addressed the gathering in Hargeisa saying that "it is very clear that the holy Quran does not support FGM/C in any way. I call upon all the religious leaders wherever they are to join hands to protect our daughters and women from having their organs cut".
The Minister informed the participants that the Ministry of Religious Affairs will support all activities aimed at FGM/C abandonment including the formation of the ‘Religious Leaders Network Against FGM/C’. Both the First Lady and the Minster called on everyone including young men who are potential husbands to the girls to ensure they are vigilant to protect the health and rights of girls and women.
During the coming months, UNICEF and UNFPA will work to ensure that these committed Sheikhs and Imams are supported to carry out awareness and dialogue sessions in the community, so that a greater number of community members, religious leaders and policy makers have an accurate understanding of the non-Islamic nature of FGM/C.
Unicef Somalia
Charity Koronya
Seventy religious leaders and some of Somaliland’s highest officials participated in a public gathering in Hargeisa to declare their support and commitment to the abandonment of all forms of the practice of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C).
While presiding over the occasion, Somaliland’s First Lady Amina Waris mentioned that men are the key perpetuators of FGM/C while women are the ones who have to suffer the consequences including complications during child birth. "Men are the ones who insist on marrying circumcised girls, so if men don't change their attitude towards FGM/C, the practice will never die out" she said. "I am pleased to see that respected religious leaders have decided to publicly declare the abandonment of all types of FGM/C in Somaliland because people listen to them. Let us put the interest of our daughters first and ensure that they remain intact as they were created by Allah".
There is still a deep belief among Somalis that FGM/C has its roots not only in local culture, but also in Islamic doctrine. Given religious leaders’ strong influence and status and their ability to reach different levels of society, UNICEF and UNFPA have started working with them in 2009 through a project that initiated dialogue and engaged Somalia’s religious leadership with revered international Islamic scholars to reach consensus that FGM/C is not a religious obligation.
This approach of creating consensus among religious leaders aims to facilitate the development of a high-level policy and legal framework as well as to create awareness among communities to ultimately trigger behavioural change.
The dialogue in which Sheikhs and Imams have participated during 2010 has culminated in the form of public declarations held by religious leaders in both Somaliland and Puntland during May this year.
The Minister of Religious Affairs and prominent religious leader Sheikh Khalil addressed the gathering in Hargeisa saying that "it is very clear that the holy Quran does not support FGM/C in any way. I call upon all the religious leaders wherever they are to join hands to protect our daughters and women from having their organs cut".
The Minister informed the participants that the Ministry of Religious Affairs will support all activities aimed at FGM/C abandonment including the formation of the ‘Religious Leaders Network Against FGM/C’. Both the First Lady and the Minster called on everyone including young men who are potential husbands to the girls to ensure they are vigilant to protect the health and rights of girls and women.
During the coming months, UNICEF and UNFPA will work to ensure that these committed Sheikhs and Imams are supported to carry out awareness and dialogue sessions in the community, so that a greater number of community members, religious leaders and policy makers have an accurate understanding of the non-Islamic nature of FGM/C.
Friday, April 29, 2011
The Economic Impact of FGM: How Female Genital Mutilation Hurts Women and Society
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is one of the most controversial rites of passage in Sudan. Here, Sudanese student Ola Faisal Hassan gives background on FGM, shares interviews with women who have been affected by FGM, and explains how it relates to the economy.
What is FGM?
Practices of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) differ, but the practice often involves excision or a clitoridectomy. This is called Khafd (reduction) in Arabic and is more popularly known in the Sudan by as Tahara (purification). It is the removal of the clitoris, with partial or complete removal of the external female genitalia to varying degrees. In some instances, the two sides of the vulva are stitched together with catgut, sutures or thorns, thus obstructing the vaginal opening except for a very small part--just enough to allow the exit of urine and menstrual blood.
FGM was declared illegal in Sudan in 1941, but the practice has continued with little interruption. Successive national surveys between 1979 and 1983 recorded that 96% of women have undergone FGM. In 1991, this percentage dropped to 89%, and in 2009 the UNICEF World Report on Children reported a drop to around 81%. This gradual shift in public attitudes toward FGM is due in large part to efforts to educate the Sudanese about the risks of FGM led by nongovernmental organizations coordination with many other autonomous organizations and individuals.
Why is FGM Practiced in Sudan?
The reasons people practice or encourage female genital mutilation stem from a mix of cultural, religious and social factors within families and communities. For decades, FGM has been a social convention, and families feel social pressure to conform to what others do and perpetuate the practice. Local leaders, including religious leaders, community leaders, and even some medical personnel, can perpetuate the practice as well. The argument that it is a cultural tradition is one of the most prevalent in terms of continuing FGM.
FGM is often motivated by beliefs about what is considered proper sexual behavior, linking procedures to premarital virginity and marital fidelity. In many communities, FGM is believed to reduce a woman's libido, and thereby is further believed to help her resist "illicit" sexual acts. When a vaginal opening is covered or narrowed, the fear of pain of opening it, and the fear that this will be found out, is expected to further discourage premarital sexual intercourse among women with this type of FGM.
In Our Own Words
I conducted several peer investigations among women in Sudan who were subjected to FGM, as well as uncircumcised women. Here are some excerpts from my conversations with them.
---
Mona is a middle aged housewife. She was circumcised as a young girl and is now the mother of an uncircumcised girl.
"I've made the vital decision not to subject my daughter to the horrific FGM I've gone through. I have suffered the physiological and psychological effects of the FGM both before my marriage and during the delivery of my daughter. My abnormal delivery incurred a lot of costs because I had to hire a specialist and then, during delivery, check into a private clinic to avoid any health consequences.
The worst result was that during delivery, because of the circumcision of my genitals the doctor had to pull my daughter very hard. My newborn daughter's right hand was almost paralyzed because of how hard she had to be pulled during deliver. This has resulted in extremely high financial expenses in the years after her birth in trying to cure her feeble right hand. We have tried physical therapy, and we even had to travel abroad to seek a cure for her hand, which represented an added cost for our family. Her handicap has even caused her a lot of psychological problems, especially during her primary study, which I'm afraid negatively affects her education and ultimately her future."
---
Nada is a new university graduate working as an accountant in a bank. She was recently married. She was (mostly) fortunate not to experience the horrific FGM process. She attributed not being circumcised to the fact that her parents are highly educated.
"Because the majority of females in our community were circumcised at the age of seven I have felt like a freak among them, and sometimes I was persecuted. However, when I became a teenager I was totally content and resolved with the ‘odd' situation I thought I was in. I had a normal menstruation, without any of the pain or infections that circumcised girls are susceptible to.
This normal feminine physiological life proved to be an asset for me when I started my career. My female colleagues at work had to take sick leave for several days each month during their menstruation. This reflected negatively on their attendance, and therefore they were not often promoted and in fact were sometimes demoted or lost their jobs altogether."
The Economic Impacts
I believe that FGM is a burden on women, but also places an additional burden on a society's economy. Women who are FGM victims usually need more health care to deal with complications, which is a burden on the health service system run by the state. Women with FGM use a considerable share of the funds allocated for government hospitals in treating side effects caused by FGM.
Women and girls are also the backbone of the economy, especially when it comes to labor in the traditional agricultural industry that is so prevalent in rural societies in Sudan. Yet many women who have FGM experience longterm side effects, chronic infections, and pain that prevents them from participating in the economy or workforce. Therefore the side effects of the FGM and the health deterioration that follows in most case impedes economic growth in these areas. This is true for both rural settings, as well as for urban jobs as Nada described. When women are not able to participate fully in the workforce due to debilitating FGM-related health problems, it hurts the economy as a whole.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Memories of my circumcision have haunted me to date
April 16, 2011
Daily Nation
Caroline Wafula
Nominated MP Sophia Abdi Noor tends to speak forcefully on most issues she is concerned about. But when she rose to contribute on the Bill to outlaw female circumcision in Parliament last week, her voice dropped as the House went silent.
It was perhaps the first time an MP was giving a deeply personal story which contributing to debate.
Female circumcision, said Sophia, was the cause of a harrowing experience during menstruation, her first sexual experience, and the eventual childbirth.
This, she said, is the driving force behind her passionate fight against the practice, which Parliament now seeks to outlaw with the Bill sponsored by Mt Elgon MP Fred Kapondi.
She was barely eight years old when together with seven of her agemates, she was handed over to a traditional circumciser who took them through the painful process of the cut. It has been many years since, and she has accomplished so much in life, but the incident remains fresh in her mind.
The old woman who took them through the process was going blind, she says, and three of the eight who underwent the operation died due to excessive bleeding. One of them was her very close friend.
Luckily for her, the bleeding was not too much and she had a saviour at hand. Her father, who was a policeman, took her to a hospital in Garissa using a police Land Rover.
Completely changed
She was in hospital for a week and underwent a transfusion of four pints of blood. After she left the hospital, her life completely changed and her mother was also affected as she felt guilty for ‘blessing’ her daughter to undergo the rite.
The beginning of her complications was her first menstrual period, which was slow as the opening of her vagina was small, restricting the flow and her period lasted up to seven days. This would mean missing classes for the whole period and she would often lag behind in class.
Sophia does not remember her wedding day as the happy occasion it usually is for most people.
“It was a night I literally don’t want to remember,” she said. Her husband was equally affected due to the frustrations they encountered trying to consummate their union.
It took them three days before her husband could open up to friends about their frustrations of being unable to consummate their marriage.
“I was completely closed and we could not even share with our mothers who kept checking our bedsheets for blood. They got worried and asked the very young couples of our age to come and find out what the problem was,” she recalls.
More problems
She was later taken to hospital for an operation although the eventual consummation was still difficult because of the wound from the operation.
She would also have problems later as she gave birth to her first child, a baby boy. She had prolonged labour for four days and she could not undergo a Caesarean section because the child had already moved to exit position. The baby had to be removed by a vacuum, slightly injuring his head.
Ms Noor says it is this experience of her life that propelled her to launch anti-female circumcision campaigns.
“So many girls have died out of this, there is no documentation because this is done in secret, but this is killing and that is why I am talking about it,” she said.
She said it’s a very painful psychological experience. with some dying and that “there is no homestead that has no sad story arising from circumcision,” says Ms Noor.
She explains that as a child from a pastoralist community, circumcision was a compulsory rite.
“It was not a matter of consultation, it was even a taboo to talk about i. It was a very strong belief,” she says.
Everyone believed it was a religious obligation to undergo the rite, and the conviction was that a woman who was not circumcised was unclean and not fit for marriage.
It was also believed that God could not hear prayers of an uncut woman. But the MP does not blame her mother for the ordeal. She understands too well that like many other women in her community, she was brought up to believe it was a religious rite.
Going through the process meant cleansing daughters for marriage. “No one wanted their daughter to be a ‘haram’ or unfit for marriage,” she explains.
A part from the belief that circumcising the girl made her clean, it was also believed that the process protected her virginity.
“Once taken to her husband, he would know that she had been properly taken care of,” the MP explains. The third reason for the cut is that the community was scared of girls who were not circumcised, easily branding them prostitutes.
This is because it was believed not going through the cut left a woman sensitive sexually hence could easily turn to prostitution.
In one village
Her campaign started when, while working on a Unicef Programme in Garissa where she was seconded by the Ministry of Education, she came across a circumcision rite in one of the villages she was visiting.
She immediately went dizzy after memories of her childhood experience flashed back. She sat down in silence but just a few minutes later, she and her colleagues heard a cry from the hut where the rite was being conducted.
The girl had fainted from the loss of blood but she passed away on the way to hospital. That incident marked the beginning of her activism against female circumcision. It was not easy owing to opposition from especially the religious leaders. But she was not going to give up.
“I knew deeply that was not my religion,” she says.
With this conviction, she approached some sheikhs and asked them to go through the Koran to find out whether indeed the Muslim religion required that women go through it.
It was with much relief that she came to learn from the sheikhs that it was nowhere in the holy books of Islam.
“I immediately mobilised meetings with the community and would later receive support from the international community,” she says.
She founded Womankind Kenya to spearhead the campaigns. She also started a centre for orphaned girls and those vulnerable to female circumcision, which also offered education.
The centre currently has 120 uncircumcised girls, having grown from an initial number of 18. It has girls aged between six and 23.
“People talk of diseases that come naturally and cause complications and kill, but this one is a bigger disease by our own making and people just don’t talk about it,” the MP says, noting that the practice goes on in several other communities in Kenya, secretly.
She is grateful to her colleagues for passing the Bill that will boost the war on female circumcision.
Daily Nation
Caroline Wafula
Nominated MP Sophia Abdi Noor tends to speak forcefully on most issues she is concerned about. But when she rose to contribute on the Bill to outlaw female circumcision in Parliament last week, her voice dropped as the House went silent.
It was perhaps the first time an MP was giving a deeply personal story which contributing to debate.
Female circumcision, said Sophia, was the cause of a harrowing experience during menstruation, her first sexual experience, and the eventual childbirth.
This, she said, is the driving force behind her passionate fight against the practice, which Parliament now seeks to outlaw with the Bill sponsored by Mt Elgon MP Fred Kapondi.
She was barely eight years old when together with seven of her agemates, she was handed over to a traditional circumciser who took them through the painful process of the cut. It has been many years since, and she has accomplished so much in life, but the incident remains fresh in her mind.
The old woman who took them through the process was going blind, she says, and three of the eight who underwent the operation died due to excessive bleeding. One of them was her very close friend.
Luckily for her, the bleeding was not too much and she had a saviour at hand. Her father, who was a policeman, took her to a hospital in Garissa using a police Land Rover.
Completely changed
She was in hospital for a week and underwent a transfusion of four pints of blood. After she left the hospital, her life completely changed and her mother was also affected as she felt guilty for ‘blessing’ her daughter to undergo the rite.
The beginning of her complications was her first menstrual period, which was slow as the opening of her vagina was small, restricting the flow and her period lasted up to seven days. This would mean missing classes for the whole period and she would often lag behind in class.
Sophia does not remember her wedding day as the happy occasion it usually is for most people.
“It was a night I literally don’t want to remember,” she said. Her husband was equally affected due to the frustrations they encountered trying to consummate their union.
It took them three days before her husband could open up to friends about their frustrations of being unable to consummate their marriage.
“I was completely closed and we could not even share with our mothers who kept checking our bedsheets for blood. They got worried and asked the very young couples of our age to come and find out what the problem was,” she recalls.
More problems
She was later taken to hospital for an operation although the eventual consummation was still difficult because of the wound from the operation.
She would also have problems later as she gave birth to her first child, a baby boy. She had prolonged labour for four days and she could not undergo a Caesarean section because the child had already moved to exit position. The baby had to be removed by a vacuum, slightly injuring his head.
Ms Noor says it is this experience of her life that propelled her to launch anti-female circumcision campaigns.
“So many girls have died out of this, there is no documentation because this is done in secret, but this is killing and that is why I am talking about it,” she said.
She said it’s a very painful psychological experience. with some dying and that “there is no homestead that has no sad story arising from circumcision,” says Ms Noor.
She explains that as a child from a pastoralist community, circumcision was a compulsory rite.
“It was not a matter of consultation, it was even a taboo to talk about i. It was a very strong belief,” she says.
Everyone believed it was a religious obligation to undergo the rite, and the conviction was that a woman who was not circumcised was unclean and not fit for marriage.
It was also believed that God could not hear prayers of an uncut woman. But the MP does not blame her mother for the ordeal. She understands too well that like many other women in her community, she was brought up to believe it was a religious rite.
Going through the process meant cleansing daughters for marriage. “No one wanted their daughter to be a ‘haram’ or unfit for marriage,” she explains.
A part from the belief that circumcising the girl made her clean, it was also believed that the process protected her virginity.
“Once taken to her husband, he would know that she had been properly taken care of,” the MP explains. The third reason for the cut is that the community was scared of girls who were not circumcised, easily branding them prostitutes.
This is because it was believed not going through the cut left a woman sensitive sexually hence could easily turn to prostitution.
In one village
Her campaign started when, while working on a Unicef Programme in Garissa where she was seconded by the Ministry of Education, she came across a circumcision rite in one of the villages she was visiting.
She immediately went dizzy after memories of her childhood experience flashed back. She sat down in silence but just a few minutes later, she and her colleagues heard a cry from the hut where the rite was being conducted.
The girl had fainted from the loss of blood but she passed away on the way to hospital. That incident marked the beginning of her activism against female circumcision. It was not easy owing to opposition from especially the religious leaders. But she was not going to give up.
“I knew deeply that was not my religion,” she says.
With this conviction, she approached some sheikhs and asked them to go through the Koran to find out whether indeed the Muslim religion required that women go through it.
It was with much relief that she came to learn from the sheikhs that it was nowhere in the holy books of Islam.
“I immediately mobilised meetings with the community and would later receive support from the international community,” she says.
She founded Womankind Kenya to spearhead the campaigns. She also started a centre for orphaned girls and those vulnerable to female circumcision, which also offered education.
The centre currently has 120 uncircumcised girls, having grown from an initial number of 18. It has girls aged between six and 23.
“People talk of diseases that come naturally and cause complications and kill, but this one is a bigger disease by our own making and people just don’t talk about it,” the MP says, noting that the practice goes on in several other communities in Kenya, secretly.
She is grateful to her colleagues for passing the Bill that will boost the war on female circumcision.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Rural village in Ethiopia vows to stop female genital mutilation
April 12, 2011
International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics
Carla Mackenzie
A rural village in southern Ethiopia, Africa, has vowed to try and end the practice of female genital mutilation.
While it is a tradition in the village of Senbata Lencho, people are beginning to realise the long-term impact female genital mutilation can have, reports Radio Netherlands Worldwide in Africa.
Local woman Radia Ledamo told the news provider: "We, the mothers, have taught our children these hurtful habits."
"It is now our duty to prevent them from doing it and inform them of its consequences," she added.
Berhanu Tufa, director of the African Development Aid Association, said the key to eradicating female genital mutilation was getting religious leaders involved.
He said the leaders are "more influential" than any other method. When the association got them on board and they told people that female circumcision is not stated in any religious text, people were more willing to consider halting the practice.
Recently, the Kenyan parliament said it was set to debate a proposed Bill outlawing female genital mutilation in the African country.
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