There is often a thin line between imposing one’s ideals on a society and promoting universally accepted norms. Harmful traditional practices have been recognized as by the international community as a violation of basic human rights, yet there is no clear definition of what constitutes a harmful practice. Female genital mutilation (FGM) remains a widely practiced ritual in many parts of the world. Liberia is no exception.
Annually, hundreds of girls go through an initiation process that is meant to introduce them to womanhood and teach them about being a mother and a wife. Many are pulled out of regular school to attend these bush education courses. Moreover, the leaders of these practices are influential within the community and often can modify political direction and attitudes. As such, the President of Liberia during her 2005 campaign withdrew the issue of Female Genital Mutilation. As of today, the Government of Liberia has not made these practices illegal and thus, there exists no legal framework to refer to when they occur. The victims have no recourse and there are reports of coercion of those who do not wish to participate in the ritual. The fees of this type of education are also quite dear. The leaders again are to receive payment in cash or kind from the families whose daughters are to attend bush schools.
How does one approach such a sensitive issue? Targeting community elders and raising awareness within the entire population would make a difference. Public information campaigns have made a difference for rape victims and have helped change public perceptions and practices in many areas. Of course, making FGM illegal would be the first step in changing these perceptions, the hard part is convincing the government that these practices are jeopardizing the country’s future.
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Overcoming years of what the citizens of the country perceive as a normal rite of passage is also going to be hard to overcome. Many of these countries are resistent to the western world telling them what is right or wrong, good or bad. I've heard it equated to male circumcision, but that's done as a baby not a young adult.
ReplyDeleteMany times this cutting is done without anesthesia to one of the tenderest parts of a womans body. Imagine doing a circumcision to a young adult male without anesthesia. It's a horrendous practice. It also can create medical problems and difficulty for women with sex and childbearing.
I agree with you entirely. Not only is there resistance against western-imposed values, the pressure to change these practices has shown to be as something that can backfire. Namely, there are reports of increased cricumcision of baby girls, i.e. do it early so we don't have to face flack from anyone once the girl grows up. As this is frequently done by individuals with minimal medical training, these babies end up bleeding to death in some cases. Also, if a dirty blade is used, you have a good chance of infecting the child with HIV/AIDS or something equally dangerous and deadly.
ReplyDeleteI would almost venture to hypothesize whether these practices be less harmful if those performing them were trained in medicine and applied the basic safety standards while engaging in them. Basically, the same idea as legalized prostitution, drugs, teenage sex.. if people are going to do it anyway, wouldn't it be better if they did it in a safe environment?