International Day Against Female Genital Mutilation (15)
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Dear Michael Banda:
Abstracting from the pain and trauma of male circumcision -- maybe I
should call it 'Male Genital Mutilation' or MGM -- and Female Genital
Mutilation, my question is does FMG convey any benefits to the fe-
male? Who benefits and in what form? At least recent research shows
that male circumcision conveys significant degree of protection
against HIV/AIDS. On a benefit cost basis my vote goes to male cir-
cumcision.
On a related issue, does anybody know of a study showing the geo-
graphic distribution of FMG cases as proportions of the female popu-
lation? If we present the findings of such a study in a geographic
information systems format, classified according to income, educa-
tion, and religion, how will it look like? I will take a guess at the
risk of being criticised. I do not mean to offend anybody or group of
people. The significant variables you will find in such a model are
unlikely to be income and education. I do not know about other Afri-
can countries but I will bet anybody that in Ghana the proportion of
females undergoing FMG is unlikely to exceed 25%. And where it ex-
ceeds this very high percentage the practice is likely to be corre-
lated with religion, rather that income, education or any socio-
economic variable.
This presents a problem if true. Because you cannot eradicate it by
educating the practitioners if the main benefit is religious. How do
you change religious practices without causing a civil war? If the
practice conveys no quality of life benefits or only marginal bene-
fits to the woman, unlike male circumcision, why is it still being
done in high proportions in some areas of the world? Any attempt to
discuss this topic quickly degenerates into irrational shout-outs and
defensive arguments due mainly to cognitive dissonance. People hide
under cultural determinism while the main variable, in my opinion, is
religion. But we are all too afraid to mention it at the risk of ap-
pearing insensitive. Let us find a way to address this issue without
screaming at each other, ladies and gentlemen.
Edward Mensah
Associate Professor
University of Illinois at Chicago, USA
mailto:dehasnem@uic.edu
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