Religious Sexuality
This paper reviews the practice of female circumcision and its number of cultural reasons why it occurs, most importantly how does this religious ritual affect women's sexuality, and how female bodies are controlled by a male-dominated social order and the health impacts surrounding the psychology of female sexuality and the functioning of female sex organs."When girls of my age were looking after the lambs, they would talk among themselves about their circumcision experiences. Every time the other girls talked about their infibulated genitals, I would feel ashamed I was not yet circumcised. Whenever I touched infibulated girls, they would tell me not to touch them since I was [still] "unclean."... One day I could not stand it anymore. I took a razor blade and went to an isolated place. I tied my clitoris with a thread, and while pulling at the thread with one hand I tried to cut part of my clitoris. When I felt the pain and saw the blood coming from the cut I stopped.... I was seven years old." (Abusharaf, 1998).The above account describes an overwhelming urge to conform to socially constructed symbols. Social labels in countries where circumcision is practiced are strong enough to cause a seven- year old to mutilate her-self
Sources:Abusharaf, Rogaia Mustafa "Unmasking tradition: a Sudanese anthropologist confronts female "circumcision" and its terrible tenacity. Female circumcision was described, as just 'a tradition' that has little to do with Islam. Circumcised women said the health care they received during pregnancy and childbirth was poor while the law failed to take account of the experiences of the Somali people. On the other hand showing how the consequences of not undergoing the ritual are extreme. She realizes that making the practice illegal will not stop it. These are all symbols girls are taught to associate with circumcision at a very young age. Abusharaf also discusses the origins of FGM, and lists ways that we can put an end to this practice. Ahlberg, Beth Maina It's Only a Tradition': Making Sense of Eradication Interventions and the Persistence of Female 'Circumcision' within a Swedish Context. People tend to make quick judgment upon hearing genital cutting without trying to understand the burdens and benefits of female circumcision. It is based on interviews with diverse groups and individuals in the Somali community, mostly refugees in Sweden. The woman tells about her traumatic experience with the midwife, and the pain that she felt during and after the procedure. Genital cutting is an essential part of a woman's identity in these cultures. She believes that Westerners cannot condemn the practice because we do not understand the cultural implications that go along with FGM. " The Sciences, March-April 1998 v38 n2 p22 (6): Abusharaf begins her article with a story of a Sudanese woman who was circumcised when she was six years old.
Common topics in this essay:
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Sciences March-April,
North America,
Sweden Paradoxes,
Krantz Gender,
Swedish Context,
female circumcision,
Mustafa Unmasking,
eradication interventions,
Persistence Female,
Beth Maina,
beth maina,
religious ritual,
emotions politics,
genital cutting,
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Acceptance Essays
