According to the World Health Organization (WHO), over 200 million women and girls today have experienced female genital mutilation. Female genital mutilation (FGM) is the practice of removing parts or altering women’s genital organs for non-medical reasons. WHO has classified FGM into four different levels based on what the circumcisers remove. Most girls have FGM procedures between infancy and 15 years old. While FGM is a global issue, it isn’t taking place in entire countries or continents. Its practice is more communitarian, mainly taking place in northeastern and western countries in Africa, as well as parts of the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
Public awareness in the U.S. regarding female genital mutilation has surged recently, despite the fact that FGM has actually decreased worldwide. The reason the public is so interested in this topic is because it’s sensationalized through the media, Sanjukta Mukherjee, a professor of transnational feminism, said. Dating back to the colonial era, Europeans have long viewed the nature of Africans and Middle Easterners as “exotic,” often perceiving their practices as “brutal” and “savage,” Mukherjee said. When entering the discussion of female genital mutilation, it is imperative that Westerners understand the context in which this practice takes place.
In some communities, FGM is universally-accepted as normal. Mothers may choose to cut their daughters’ genitalia so they won’t grow up getting harassed or excluded from society. Some women even choose to cut themselves, a dangerous gamble, but a way of proving one’s womanhood and purity. It is argued that cutting dissuades women from seeking sex, thus keeping them pure until marriage. It is also believed that cutting increases marriage fidelity because women won’t want to seek sexual pleasure outside their husband.
Oftentimesesterners blame FGM on “barbaric” religious practices.
“I feel like people in Egypt try to justify it as an Islamic issue when in fact it is a tribal practice that dates way back in Africa,” Shourouk Abdalla, a DePaul student who is from Egypt, said. While some religious leaders condone the practice, many are working to eradicate FGM. Abdalla said that FGM is “100 percent not permissible” in Islam, noting that the Grand Mutfi, a Muslim legal expert who gives rulings on religious matters at Al-Azarah, a prominent Islamic university in Egypt, has ordered a ban on FGM practices.
Another reason FGM is still readily practiced is due to the economic power it holds. Circumcision is a job for many people living in these communities. Amateur circumcisers typically make $15 to $30 per session. Additionally, local authoritarian control and coercion can play a role in upholding this practice.
While FGM is internationally recognized as a human rights violation, much work is still needed to enforce its eradication. UNICEF and UNFPA joined together with WHO in 1997 to counteract FGM. Since then, many organizations have joined the fight.
A big push for action has come from feminists, because the practice is a pressing women’s rights issue. However, Mukherjee said that Western feminists often assume the “savior complex” when dealing with this issue. This arises from an “us versus them” notion, in which Western feminists perceive their culture and values as being radically different and even superior to foreign cultures. Western feminists often feel the need to “save” these women from FGM without understanding the larger context.
This is why transnational feminism is so important for this topic. Jerica Arents, a peace justice and conflict studies professor, defined transnational feminism as “the need to organize movements for solidarity across identity and nation-state.”
In contrast to traditional feminism, transnational feminism goes “beyond do-gooder white saviorism,” Arents said. In this case, transnational feminists should honor the work locals are doing, rather than imposing their own beliefs on a society.
WHO reinforces this notion with research proving that “if practicing communities themselves decide to abandon FGM, the practice can be eliminated very rapidly.”
Additionally, Western feminist voices can often overshadow voices of women who have experienced FGM.
“You want to listen to individuals’ voices, rather than making assumptions about it,” Mukherjee said. Most of these voices are not exposed in mainstream media, but Hibo Wardere, a survivor of FGM, has been sharing her story in the U.K. Hibo, a Somali native, experienced “type three” mutilation, or surgically repositioning labia to narrow the vaginal opening, when she was six years old. Four years ago, Hibo shared her experience after several years of silence. Now she is an avid activist, leading workshops in communities in the U.K.
On the local level, women resist FGM every day. Groups like Abandon the Knife in Kenya and Sini Sanuman in Mali work to eradicate FGM in their communities. With the support of international coalitions and transnational feminists, these organization can be even more powerful in bringing about change.