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Quick links to products available in the Campaign for Genital Integrity . . .
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How is (Fe)Male Circumcision Trivialized?
(Both in the same manner, of course!)
NOTE: Links with a right-facing blue arrow will take you off this site.
"Circumcision
is cleanliness if used moderately and is useful to women as well as men."
[Mohammed Tantawi, leading Islamic religious scholar, quoted in the Arabic newspaper Asharq Al-Aswat, reported by Miriam Sami, Associated Press Writer in "Cleric Eases Stand on Female Circumcision, Alarming Activists," April 9, 1996]
"There
are problems of such tremendous magnitude in our society and in our lives, that it (female
circumcision) is not a primary problem to us."
[28 year old Sudanese maternity hospital resident, interview p. 155, Prisoners of Ritual: Odyssey into Female Genital Circumcision in Africa, Hanny Lightfoot-Klein, 1989]
"Our
mothers, aunts and sisters have been doing this for years and no one was
complaining."
[Dr. Munir Fawzi, Gynecologist at Cairos Ain Shams University, Dallas Morning News, 12/25/96]
Many
here dispute claims that there is any health risk associated with the age-old operation..."Circumcision
has no negative effects as (the government) claims and today, with the progress of
medicine, the operation can be done without any danger."
[Khaled al-Sharif, Abnob tribe member, quoted in news report, "Egyptian fundamentalists ignoring female circumcision ban," 6 January 1998, Agence France-Presse]
The
ruling bans circumcision unless deemed necessary for a female's health - swelling of
the labia or clitoris, for instance. "I'm a university professor and I can decide
whether a patient needs to be reduced or not. I will do it for medical reasons," he
said with a smile.
[Dr.Munir Fawzi, gynecologist, in news report, "Egypt court bans female mutilation," 7 February 1998, Associated Press]
"God
forbid!" Sakina Ibrahim, a 60-year-old village exclaimed in disbelief when she heard
of the ban. "This ruling won't work here, it won't be obeyed," she said.
..."It's an evil ruling," interjected Abdel-Maguid Hagar, 36. "It will
continue in secret," declared Hamam Mahmoud Ali, 26.
[Egyptian citizens, quoted in news report, "Egypt court bans female mutilation," 7 February 1998, Associated Press]
"How
can we leave our daughters uncircumcised? The government can do what it wants and we, too,
will do what we want. We will all circumcise our daughters, no matter what the
punishments."
[Osman Antar, mayor of Sabee (Egypt), quoted in news report, "Egyptian fundamentalists ignoring female circumcision ban," 6 January 1998, Agence France-Presse]
"I do
see a few cases (of emotional disturbance from circumcision), but when you compare their
number to that of the number of women that are circumcised, they are very trivial
indeed."
[Dr. Yahia Oun Alla, Sudanese psychiatrist, interview, p. 137, Prisoners of Ritual: Odyssey into Female Genital Circumcision in Africa, Hanny Lightfoot-Klein, 1989]
She says
that she thinks pharaonic circumcision is a good practice, and feels she has lost nothing
by her own circumcision.
[From "Interviews with Women" History #5, p. 253, Prisoners of Ritual: Odyssey into Female Genital Circumcision in Africa, Hanny Lightfoot-Klein, 1989]
She claims
there was no pain whatsoever (when she was circumcised without anesthetic at age 6). She
says she has had "no problems at all" because of her circumcision, and is very
happy about it. She feels that circumcision is a good practice.
[50-year-old Sudanese village housewife. From "Interviews with Women" History #1, p. 247, Prisoners of Ritual: Odyssey into Female Genital Circumcision in Africa, Hanny Lightfoot-Klein, 1989]
According
to a government study earlier this year, 97 percent of 14,779 Egyptian women polled had
been circumcised
Eighty percent of those circumcised said they were pleased with the
results.
[Excerpt from news report "Egyptian Court Allows Female Circumcision," Toronto Globe & Mail, June 25, 1997]
To defend
themselves from feelings of inferiority, many women deny that FGM damages their bodies or
their sexuality.
[Excerpt from booklet "FGM: A Call for Global Action," p. 37, published by RAINBO, 1995]
"Until
recently, it never occurred to me that there was anything strange about womens
circumcision."
[Ahmed, 32-year-old Sudanese veterinarian, interview, p.124, Prisoners of Ritual: Odyssey into Female Genital Circumcision in Africa, Hanny Lightfoot-Klein, 1989]
"They
(parents) do not want her to suffer the stigma of being different from other girls.
She
comes to accept that what has been done is in her best interest."
[Dr. Hassabo, 40-year-old male psychiatrist, interview, p. 143, Prisoners of Ritual: Odyssey into Female Genital Circumcision in Africa, Hanny Lightfoot-Klein, 1989]
"We
are brought up to believe that all sorts of evil things will happen to us if we are not
circumcised."
[Eclas, 43-year-old Sudanese biology professor, interview, p. 116, Prisoners of Ritual: Odyssey into Female Genital Circumcision in Africa, Hanny Lightfoot-Klein, 1989]
"Both
Islam and medicine agree on its benefits. Uncircumcised girls
are more liable to
infections and cancers."
[Dr. Saed Thabet, professor gynecology at Cairos Kasr El Aini Teaching Hospital, quoted in "Female Circumcision is Curbed in Egypt," British Medical Journal, August 3, 1996]
"It's
our religion. We pray, we do fasting, we do circumcision. For 14 centuries of Islam, our
mothers and grandmothers have performed this operation. Those who are not circumcised get
AIDS easily."
[Sheik Yusef Badry, in news report "Egyptian Court Allows Female Circumcision," Toronto Globe & Mail, June 25, 1997]
"I
did not know anything about the operation at the time, except that it was very simple, and
that it was done to all the girls for purposes of cleanliness
"
[Research worker, interview, p.165, Prisoners of Ritual: Odyssey into Female Genital Circumcision in Africa, Hanny Lightfoot-Klein, 1989]
She was
one of the first girls to be circumcised in her village, which until then had not
practiced circumcision at all. Her mother told her that this was "the new way,"
and that it would keep her clean and free from disease.
[From "Interviews with Women" History #4, p. 250, Prisoners of Ritual: Odyssey into Female Genital Circumcision in Africa, Hanny Lightfoot-Klein, 1989]
"To
the girls here (Sudan) circumcision does not mean taking away part of their bodies. It is
a normal occurrence that happens to everyone."
[Dr. Yahia Oun Alla, Sudanese psychiatrist, interview, p. 139, Prisoners of Ritual: Odyssey into Female Genital Circumcision in Africa, Hanny Lightfoot-Klein, 1989]
Question:
"Do you ever feel angry when you
realize how you have been deprived?"
Answer: "No, because that is the culture here. They do it to everybody."
Question: "Do you know other women who feel the way you do?" Answer:
"No
they feel they have to follow custom. Even educated people still do it as
before."
[Fahtma, U.S.-educated Sudanese mother of four children, interview, p. 134, Prisoners of Ritual: Odyssey into Female Genital Circumcision in Africa, Hanny Lightfoot-Klein, 1989]
She plans
to take only half the clitoris (from her daughter). She must have some sort of
circumcision, she says, or people will look down on her.
[32-year-old Sudanese practical nurse with 9 years of education in the capital. From "Interviews with Women" History #6, p. 254, Prisoners of Ritual: Odyssey into Female Genital Circumcision in Africa, Hanny Lightfoot-Klein, 1989]
"It
is done at such a young age and in no time at all they are well again and go back to
playing their games. It doesnt really sink in, what has been done, and the problems
later when you are a woman, seem to have no connection to it."
[Eclas, 43-year-old Sudanese biology professor, interview, p. 118, Prisoners of Ritual: Odyssey into Female Genital Circumcision in Africa, Hanny Lightfoot-Klein, 1989]
"With
the older women there is often the element of: If it was done to me, why should it
not be done to the young girls?"
[Dr. Saida, Sudanese physician, interview, p.127, Prisoners of Ritual: Odyssey into Female Genital Circumcision in Africa, Hanny Lightfoot-Klein, 1989]
"One
(doctor) said that he talked to every woman who came to him for this purpose (circumcision
of their daughter), explaining the consequences and saying that it was unnecessary, but
found they insisted upon having it done, so he complies. His justification was that he did
it in a hygienic way and lost nothing by it, on the contrary, he gained money. But he
overlooked the fact that he is acting unethically
instead of being a model of
enlightenment for others; one can only assume that he is simply pursuing his own
interests. The negative effect of this is that when we try to convince women that this
operation is not necessary, they immediately reply that doctors do it, therefore it must
be a good thing."
[Dr. Asma El Dareer, Sudanese physician, interview, p. 99, Prisoners of Ritual: Odyssey into Female Genital Circumcision in Africa, Hanny Lightfoot-Klein, 1989]
She
accepts it as everyone else accepts it. "Most African women have still not developed
the sensitivity to feel deprived or to see in many cultural practices a violation of their
human rights."
[O. Koso-Thomas, quoted, p. 75, Prisoners of Ritual: Odyssey into Female Genital Circumcision in Africa, Hanny Lightfoot-Klein, 1989]
Tens of
thousands of women marched in the (Sierra Leone) capital Freetown and various other towns
early this year protesting foreign and domestic campaigns against the practice (of female
circumcision).
[Excerpt from news report "Sierra Leone Army Chief Backs Female Circumcision," Tribune News, July 2, 1997]
See also:
Male Genital
Mutilation (Circumcision): A Feminist Study of a Muted Gender Issue
The
Effect of Male Circumcision on the Sexual Enjoyment of the Female Partner
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