Alternatives to
Female Genital Mutilation
in Western Africa
FGM is best understood not as an isolated phenomenon but rather
as the tip of the iceberg of asymmetrical gender relations.
-Emanuela Finke1
What is FGM?
• Female Genital Mutilation, or FGM, is the
traditional practice of cutting and/or removing
parts of the female genitalia.
• It is often viewed as a passage into
womanhood and a necessity for marriage.
• The WHO categorizes FGM into four types,
from removing a part of the clitoris to full
excision of the clitoris and cutting of the labia
minora and majora, and artificial closure of
the vagina. More information can be found at
the WHO website.
Where is FGM practiced?
Image source: http://www.who.int/reproductive-health/fgm/fig1.htm
Where is FGM practiced?
• Practiced in 28 African countries, some
others in the Middle East and Asia2
• WHO estimates 100-140 million girls
have undergone FGM
• 3 million girls per year are at risk
Why is FGM practiced?
• Tradition
• Perceived religious requirement
– (not actually required in any religion)
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Marriage eligibility
Rite of passage into womanhood
Geography and neighbors’ practices
Mark of status
Lack of knowledge about medical
consequences
Arguments for the Elimination
of FGM
• Procedure is often performed in an unclean,
unsterile environment
• Women who perform procedure are often
unskilled
• Women are at risk for serious infections and
complications
• Most convincing argument is that most
women who agree to procedure do so under
heavy influence from friends and family
A New Framework For Examination of
FGM
•Claire Chambers proposes first order and second order autonomy in order to
examine the issue of FGM.
•First order autonomy concerns the attitude one has to the rules and norms
that are a part of life
•A person is first-order autonomous if she critically examines rules and norms
and follows only those that she endorses
•Second order autonomy concerns the way that one comes to lead a particular
way of life. A person is second-order autonomous if she chooses or endorses
the overall conception of the good that she follows.
Political Liberalism
• Is inadequate in dealing with injustices
resulting from culture
• Prioritizes individuals’ ability to adhere
to even those preferences which have
been shown to be socially constructed
and thus imperfect guides to justice
• 1st order and 2nd order autonomy are
better apt to address FGM
A Closer Look: FGM in
Senegal and Gambia
The Case of Gambia
• 60% of girls and women undergo the
practice of FGM
• Only after undergoing FGM is a girl
rendered marriageable
• Other reasons for FGM: chastity, rite of
passage, social standing
• The operation distinguishes those who
have undergone the operation from those
who have not.
The Case of Gambia (con’t)
• Studies have proven centrality of
nuclear family/extended family in
decision to undergo ceremonial cutting
• Assumption that any girl who chooses
to perform this practice is most likely
second order autonomous
Responsibilities of the State
• Claire Chambers argues that state has a right
to intervene on behalf of affected girls and
women
• She argues that FGM is a right infringement
because girls and women are afforded little
autonomy in which to decide whether or not
to undergo the procedure
• Argues that practice is unjust and unequal
Fig. 1
Tostan in Senegal
• Started in 1997 in Senegal as a
community empowerment program
• Not initially meant to stop FGM, but has
since been successful in over 2000
communities
• Implements a 4-pronged education
approach:
– Women’s health, problem solving, hygiene,
and human rights
Tostan in Senegal
• Relies on community rather than
individual decision-making
• Uses traditional teaching methods:
drama, music, discussions
• Public “abandonment” ceremony with
multiple villages hold communities
accountable for their decisions4
Implications
• Tostan is successful because it teaches the
skills and knowledge to create social change
in the community, rather than applying
Western ideals to African society
• The FGM-abandonment program was
conceived of by women in Tostan’s first
education program - Tostan facilitates and
supports their curriculum
• Knowledge and choice makes the program
effective, more than any other characteristic
References
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Finke, Emanuela. Genital Mutilation as an Expression of Power Structures: Ending FGM through
Education, Empowerment of Women and Removal of Taboos. African Journal of Reproductive Health,
Vol. 10, No. 2, August, 2006, pp. 13-17
Tostan. Tostan Resources on Female Genital Cutting.
http://tostan.org/web/page/644/sectionid/548/pagelevel/3/interior.asp
WHO. Female Genital Mutilation. http://www.who.int/reproductive-health/fgm/index.html.
Diop, Nafissatou J.,Modou Mbacke Faye, Amadou Moreau, Jacqueline Cabral, Hélène Benga, Fatou
Cissé, Babacar Mané, Inge Baumgarten, and Molly Melching. The TOSTAN Program: Evaluation of a
Community Based Education Program in Senegal. August, 2004.
Chambers, Claire. Sex, Culture and Justice. University Park: The Pennsylvania State University Press,
2008
Gehring, Verna V., ed. The Ethical Dimensions of Global Development. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield
Publishers, Inc., 2007
Female Genital Mutilation in Gambia.2002
Zuhur, Sherifa. Gender, Sexuality and the Criminal Laws in the Middle East and North Africa: A
Comparative Study. Istanbul: Women for Women’s Human Rights (WWHR), 2004.
Omeje, Kenneth, ed. Reproductive Health in South-Eastern Nigeria. Enugu: Institute For Developmental
Studies, 2000.
Gachiri, Ephigenia W. Female Circumcision. Limuru: Kolbe Press, 2000.
Denniston, George and Marilyn Fayre Milos, ed. Sexual Mutilations. New York: Plenum Press, 1997.
Lockhat, Haseena. Female Genital Mutilation. Enfield: Middlesex University Press, 2004.
Worton, Michael and Nana Wilson-Tagoe, ed. National Healths. Portland, 2004.
“Figure 1”
http://www.statehouse.gm/kids/girlchild/index.html