This video addresses the extremely controversial practice of female genital mutilation. In this video, two Kenyan girls are featured who are resisting this practice. It shows their parents' reactions to their resistance and how embedded FGM is in their culture. The parents worry that if their daughters aren't cut, then they will not be able to marry and thus, the parents will not receive a dowry for marrying their daughters off. The daughters argue that they do not want to be cut and that they want to be able to go off and pursue an education.
A growing resistance to FGM is now present in Kenya, primarily led by a self-help group known as Abandon the Knife. This group is trying to talk with men and women about FGM and the negative effects associated with it. They meet with the parents of these two Kenyan girls in an attempt to persuade their parents that allowing their daughters to pursue an education will result in far greater benefits than receiving a dowry. They have also began a new rite of passage ceremony for girls who are resisting FGM in which they provide education to these young girls about FGM and what all it entails and then they have a ceremony that marks these girls passage into womanhood, but without having to undergo the cutting.
I found this to be a very interesting video on FGM and would recommend it to anyone interested in this issue. From my Western mindset, I have always viewed this practice with a lot of disgust. However, I have also tried to understand it in its cultural-specific context and realize that it is such an ingrained cultural practice signifying a woman's readiness to get married. It's a very difficult issue for me to not bring in my Western bias that this practice is fundamentally wrong. I know that for many women it is part of their culture and they want to have it done because it prepares them for marriage, but it is difficult for me to accept this and to not bring in my own cultural values and belief in basic human rights, which I believe this practice violates. Thus, the fact that the younger generation is beginning to resist this practice and gain support for this resistance is a step in the right direction. I think this video does a really good job of showing the growing resistance, particularly among teenage girls, against FGM and the ways in which long held cultural beliefs are starting to be changed.
Danielle,
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting this video!
I have also tried to look at my own cultural biases when thinking about FGM, but I can never quite make it to justifying it. This is one of those issues that, as a woman, I feel strongly about because it is only by chance that I wasn't born into a country that practices FGM. I want to scream at the barbarity of it, but I know that my voice isn't the one that needs to scream.
Generally, change needs to come from within a culture for it to be effective. I'm so glad these girls are taking a stand against FGM, but am also concerned about their futures within their society. Will they be accepted in the future or will they forever be outsiders because of their decisions? Hopefully they will be role models for other girls.
I also become very conflicted when it comes to the issue of FGM. While it is a horrifying practice in the views of many Westerners, it is a strong practice that has roots in many African cultures and I think we always need to be careful and hyper-aware when we criticize another culture.
ReplyDeleteI agree that if change is to occur, it has to come from within a culture and not from any outsiders, especially Westerns, who typically do not understand the cultural meaning and value of the practice. Like the group featured in this video, actions towards change must come from people who understand the practice and can then utilize that knowledge to appeal to the community and women who continue to believe in the importance of FGM.
I am not as well versed in the cultures of other societies as I should be. I have heard of FGM before, but realize the full extent of it until after watching this. It is so encouraging that there are girls within the society that are resisting the practice even though it is the culturally accepted norm.
ReplyDeleteMy thought through the video is how can it be changed, but then seeing how the people within the culture are changing it was also very encouraging. I agree that we cannot be the ones to bring the change to these communities. It must be their own people that stand up and resist what was accepted as normal. I hope that this movement continues to be successful and that young women continue to gain the grounds to say no to this practice.
Human rights issues have continually been challenged by "cultural relativism," the belief that one culture's practices may be deemed a violation against HR because another culture says so who doesn't practice it. Therefore, people have challenged the adjective of "universal" added onto the HR agenda, stating that many of these so-called "rights" are "Western" in nature and cannot be applied to certain non-Western cultures. However, this is not the way that the adjective should be understood, particularly for the issue of FGM.
ReplyDeleteInstead, advocates for human rights must see the 'universal' in particular localities, focusing on local pressing needs, and recognizing the capacity of humans to shape the social worlds they have constructed for themselves. In other words, we cannot merely translate universal rights into a cultural agenda...the path towards the enjoyment of human rights must involve individual citizens who can make claims for themselves based on certain particularities. In other words, while practices may be unique to certain cultures, women as human beings still maintain the right to safety, dignity and security. Sure, FGM is typically found in non-Western states, but that doesn't mean the OPPOSITE of FGM is "Western."
Instead, let's look at eliminating FGM not as a "human rights goal," but as a mechanism for women to ultimately achieve the human rights they deserve. It's not the end goal, but its a means to the enjoyment of human rights.
Ultimately, when human rights are viewed not as an end point or goal, but as a way to define a particular agency (with regard to locale, time, history, justification), we can reach fundamental universal terms that are more appropriate.