Female genital mutilation (FGM)
There is one Somali practice, however, which has done more than any other to promote an image of female oppression, and that is female genital mutilation (FGM) - also known as female circumcision. Until recently, every girl, sometimes as young as six, endured the operation in which all or part of her genitals were cut away. In the most extreme version, that of infibulation, the clitoris, labia minora and much of the labia majora are excised.The sides of the wound are then tightly stitched together, leaving a hole the size of a matchstick at the lower end of the vulva for the escape of urine and menstrual blood.With clitoridectomy, it is the clitoris and part of the labia minora which is taken out, while the least severe form, Sunna circumcision, removes the clitoral hood, or inflicts a small cut to the clitoris sufficient to draw blood. In urban areas in Somalia, the operation may take place in hospital, so avoiding the worst infections that can result from traditional excisers, using blunt unsterile instruments. But the long-term effects of infibulation - the potential complications surrounding urination, menstruation, pregnancy, childbirth and a variety of other health hazards, are the same, whilst all forms of FGM radically affect a woman’s sexuality.
Women are seen as the repositories of family honour, and the rationale for FGM, beyond the weight of ‘tradition’, is the preservation of a young woman’s purity - her virginity and her symbolic cleanliness.Although serving a patriarchal system, FGM is perpetuated by women themselves.An uncircumcised girl would have been unable to find a husband and so become a social outcast – a fate any mother would want to avoid.The practice is now being questioned in Somalia, but is still near universal (McGown, 1999: 148).
In the UK, research indicates that there are still Somali mothers or grandmothers who feel that the daughters of the household should be excised - 36% of Emua Ali’s sample of women defended the practice (2001: 200-202). She estimates that this has affected some 5% of girls (ibid: 28), who have been circumcised either at the hands of an operator in the UK or whilst on a visit to Somalia. Tradition dies hard - in spite of the pain it causes, generations of women have seen circumcision as intrinsic to their adult identity and they resent an important part of their culture being branded as child abuse. But now this taboo topic is beginning to be broached in public, and many Somali women and men in the UK say that the practice should
be abandoned, particularly in its most extreme form. McGown (1999: 150-151) found that 52 out of her 60 interviewees of both sexes said that the procedure should be stopped. A key argument by campaigners is that contrary to popular belief, FGM is nowhere sanctioned by the Koran. It is not a religious obligation.Although few would dare admit it, this knowledge has encouraged some infibulated single young women to have the operation reversed, while many will now seek surgical help before their wedding night.
In 1985, the Female Circumcision Act made the practice illegal in the UK, and in 1991 directions for the implementation of the 1989 Children Act authorised investigation by local authorities in suspected cases. On the 3rd March 2004 the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 (Commencement) Order 2004 was enacted,
which “makes it an offence for the first time for UK nationals or permanent UK residents to carry out female genital mutilation (FGM) abroad, or to aid, abet, counsel or procure the carrying out of FGM abroad, even in countries where the practice is legal.To reflect the serious harm that FGM causes, the Act also increases the maximum penalty from 5 to 14 years’ imprisonment”.145
But still more effective than legislation is the hard campaigning that lies behind both legal and community change. In contrast to some western feminists’ condemnation of this ‘barbaric practice’, organisations such as the Black Women’s Health and Family Support (BWHAFS) take a holistic approach to Somali women’s problems.146 A promotional CD-ROM launched in the summer of 2003 explained that “We believe in empowering women, through education and consciousness- raising, and locating the issue of FGM within the context of black women’s rights”.147 BWHAFS offer a range of support services to women, including advice on FGM.Through contact with health, education, and social work professionals, together with religious leaders, they carry out an educational programme on the topic, and by means of research, literature, conferences, official representations, and outreach work, they aim to influence not only a British but also an international audience.
The energetic director of BWHAFS, Shamis Dirir, is but one of a number of women who have founded Somali organisations in the UK. She has retained her position - in some other groups, men have taken over leadership, and women have been relegated to lesser ranks or voluntary workers. But in whatever capacity, women as well as men have sought to better their community through Somali associations.As a Somali proverb says,‘you can only quench your thirst by lifting water with your own hands’.
http://www.icar.org.uk/somalicommunityreport.pdfJune 2004
Topic: Council Of Muslims declares FGM ' Un-Islamic