Female circumcision is a cultural right

Apr 14, 2007

I wish to respond to Joseph Lule’s article in The New Vision of February 19 titled, “Female circumcision hurts women’s dignity.” To many Africans, particularly Ugandans, our cultural practices have become outdated and dangerous.

S. Kadokech

I wish to respond to Joseph Lule’s article in The New Vision of February 19 titled, “Female circumcision hurts women’s dignity.” To many Africans, particularly Ugandans, our cultural practices have become outdated and dangerous. This is because we look at things through the lenses of foreigners who do not have cultures of significance. For example, the UN officials who claim that female circumcision is violence against women do not belong to communities which have that practice. And women who have undergone circumcision are not complaining.

Female circumcision is comparable to other cultural practices like “pulling” of the labia which is common among the Bantu tribes of Uganda. What is the difference between a Muganda lady who has “pulled” and a circumcised female Sabin? Female circumcision can also be compared to the Islamic and Jewish practice of male circumcision, which even Jesus Christ consented to.

Our cultural practices give us identity. The Masai in Kenya cut many parts of their bodies while other tribes remove the fore lower teeth. Indians notch their noses and put rings and pins on it. Even whites notch their navels and fix rings there. I have not heard the UN condemn this.

Lule raised the issue of privacy and dignity. However, it is not true that circumcised women are exposed for public viewing.

People have the right or freedom to choose what to do with their bodies. There would be a problem if exercising that freedom would pose a danger to the health and well being of the people. In such case we would talk about ‘how’ and not ‘whether’ to undergo circumcision.

Our failure to appreciate that as Africans we have our own understanding of life has led us to accept everything European, without any critical analysis of the alien ways. Consequently, we have bought into words like ‘genital mutilation’ which are meant to portray the practice as bad.

Every culture in African societies is of value to the concerned people, and this explains why cultures are preserved and transferred from generation to generation. The issue is to improve the methods so as to reduce supposed pain, the danger of spreading disease, and death.

The writer is the Director of Budaka Community
Development Initiative

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});