Abusharaf, Rogaia Mustafa

Canadian Woman Studies / les cahiers de la femme (E-Journal, York University)

Rethinking Feminist Discourses on Female Genital Mutilation The Case of the Sudan Gt artick fait unc contrc-proposition au discours fhninistc traditionnel sur ks mutikations ghrituks ak jhmcs. D kpds lirutnrre, k discours fiministc Women i human traditionncl nc thu- sit pas b saisir ks tkhts continue to raisons & ccttepra- occupy the back seats tique Parcc quh lquivalant necisison of S d n e s e  politics. pan*s ghriMb ~ t ~ ~ n ~ - ~ -  k, ils 'Cloigncdcscon- textcs socio-politiqurs et iconomiqws qui permetint &plus grandrs vioka- tions dcs droits humains dcs&mcs. Female genital mutilation (FGM) as a violation ofthe human rights ofyoung girls and women, is a subject that in recent years has been under serious scrutiny by the media and the medi- cal community, as well as by feminist scholars. In the United States the practice of female infibulation was brought to the scene by the case of a Nigerian migrant who appealed her deportation order on the grounds of her well founded fear of human rights violations upon returning home. This migrant argued that her daughters would be forced to undergo circum- cision or infibulation if they were to return to their village of origin in Nigeria. As a corollary, a new legisla- tion was introduced by Con- gresswoman Barbara Schroder to pro- hibit the practice especially among immigrants who thrive to keep it alive in the diaspora. While this article is not intended as a detailed or exhaustive account on feminist work on female genital mu- tilation, it is in cssence an attempt to provide an alternative approach to studies that fail to capture the reality of why this practice persists. Beyond stressing exotic cultural otherness, and by addressing how the practice curbs women's sexual pleasure, feminist representational discourses tend (with some exceptions) to ignore the contextuality of the forces within so- ciety that pertain to, and regulate female sexuality. By emphasizing the implications and barbarity of the ex- cision of women's genitals on their sexual satisfiction, these studies con- stantly distance themselves from the socio-political and economic contexts ofwider violations ofwomen's rights. Female genital mutilation: a dosu look In the Sudan the practice is alive and well, especially in Northern Su- dan, despite efforts and legislation since 1946 to end it. Indeed the exci- sion of female sexual organs repre- sents an extreme act ofviolence against children between four and ten years of age (Tobia), as well as against women who are forced to undergo reinfibulation after each childbirth. FGM in the Sudan ranges from ex- treme excision and incision (known as Pharonic circumcision) to a milder form of cliterdectomy known as Sunna circumcision. Pharonic cir- cumcision, widely practiced in rural Sudan, involves the total removal of the female's clitoris, labia minora, and the labia majora. The other type, Sunna circumcision, is practiced among urban residents. It is consid- ered a milder form of excision since it involves only the removal of the clito- ris. Often, this surgery is performed by untrained midwives with no knowledge of anatomy and surgical techniques and with no anesthesia (Tobia). The health risks to women and girls range from temporary prob- lems to life-long complications such as difficulty in passing urine and menstrual blood, infection, and hemorrhage as well as a wide range of obstetrical complications (Tobia). In my visit to El Obied town in Western Sudan, I was told that that an eight- year-old girl lost her life during the operation performed by an untrained midwife. Ironically, this extremely violent act is always accompanied by ceremonies and festivities surround- ing the young girls' rite ofpassage and initiation into womanhood and mar- riageability. The politics of PGM and the status of women in the Sudanese society It is evident that violations ofwom- en's bodies through female infibulation is intended to reprcss sexuality in a manifestly political agenda. As Foucault argues, human sexuality is not merely a natural unproblematic attribute, but rather a product of social forces, constructed around those aspects ofhuman sexual behavior that are perceived as prob- lematic by the power structureswithin a society. To understand the politics of female sexuality and female infibulation in the Sudan, a thorough - scrutiny of particular institutional- ized ideologies is required. Those ide- ologies represent a plethora of com- plex notions of male authority, social honour, and economic power. Un- derstanding the latter, that is eco- nomic power of men over women, is the first step to problematize and contextualize this violent practice within the framework ofsex roles and economic dependence. In the Sudan, women's human rights continue to occupy the back seats of Sudanese politics. As Ibrahim correctly argues, discrimination against women is rampant and insti- tutionalized in the Sudanese society. In virtually all spheres of life women are denied qua l  participation as Su- danese men. Family laws continue to strangle women in all aspects of their lives. Furthermore, while illiteracy among women has reached unrea- 52 CANADIAN WOMAN STUDIESlLES CAHIERS DE LA FEMME sonable proportions, even women who are able to attain some educa- tion are denied equal opportunities in promotion and training. The cur- rent political situation represents a conspicuous setbackand astumbling block fbr the women's movement and currently, women's status is hin- dered by the military oppression. The threat from the fundamentalist re- gime is real. Restriction of women's mobility is manifested in their dis- missals in every branch ofgovern- - ment while limit- Genital mutilation can ing their ,ahur be seen r@ctiue of force participa- women 3 inferoritv in tion OccuPa- J J tions such as nun- other spheres of lfe. ing and teaching, deemed appro- priate by the mili- tary male dominated extremist gov- ernment. Asa result, women through- out the country suffer extreme pov- erty. Few alternativesexist andwomen are thus forced to surrender to the tyranny of matrimony. Genital mutilation can be seen as reflective of women's inferiority in other spheres of life. The rationale behind FGM is to suppress a young girl's sexual drive by removing her most sexually sensitive parts, believ- ing that this will ensure her chastity and thus protect the honour and integrity of the family (Lightfoot- Klein). As long as FGM is equated with female modesty and premarital vir- ginity, it is unlikely that the practice will cease to exist. We have to remind ourselves, however, that women are not merely subordinatedbecaw their genitals have been excised, in other words not because of the practice itself, but because of the values, ide- ologies, and the politics attached to the practice.  he question remains why do women who undergo an ostensibly harmful and in some instances a fital procedure, depending on the circum- stances, tend to safeguard and per- petuate their own mutilation? Why do women violate their own right to "bodily integrityn to prove to their prospective spouses their subservient respectability? These questions should be explored at length at the social structural level. As Grenbaum has stated: "in countries where dterna- tives are lacking women may surren- der their unrdized rights to bodily integrity to further their socio-cco- nomic interests" (2). Thus, at one level we need to consider how female gender indoctrination prompts women to keep FGM alive and at an- other level we need to situate the perpetuation of the practice within the framework ofwomen's economic dependence. The two levels of andy- sis interact. Understanding gender socialization is an aid in understand- ing female dependency. FGM becomes the logical outcome ofa specific mode of thinking when we remember that the social relations between the sexes are mediated by pre-imposed notions that men are responsible for the great work of society while women are merely devoted to unproductive do- mestic activities. From childhood fe- males are told that the practice of circumcision is what will prepare them for marriage and an entirely different set of responsibilities attached to and revolving around marriage, includ- ing child bearing and rearing. Let us examine the institution of marriage in the Sudanese woman's life. To get married and have chil- dren, which on the surface fulfills gender expectations and the repro- ductive potential of females, is, in reality, a survival strategy in a society plagued with poverty, disease, and illiteracy. Women's responsibility for procreation makes them dependent on their husband's wages. Societal pressures also make it difficult for women to strike out on their own. The socio-economic dependency of women on men affects their response to female circumcision. Infibulation is merely a response to economic pres- sures. When asked about why they engage in the practice, women con- stantly report that marriage prospects and satisfying their husbands are fac- tors in their decision to infibulate. Among women who depend com- pletely on their husbandswages, sexual pleasure does not count as a priority. Sudanese women's experience of fe- male genital mutilation should thus be looked upon fiom the perspective of the role they play in society. I believe it is counterproductive to separate the battle against infibulation from the battle against institutional- ized modes of oppression and patriar- chy as a system of social relations between men and women which, ac- cording to L e a d ,  governs the pro- duction and reproduction of people and their gender identities. Attention must be drawn to the fact that fkmi- nist discourses on female genital mutilation should overcome the ten- dency to emphasize sexual pleasure as the main predicament for women undergoing the practice. By stressing only the barbarity of FGM, feminist scholars will continue to produce apolitical feminist scholarship inca- pable of capturing the experience of women in its entirety. How do m eliminate PCM? Efforts to ban FGM can be traced back to 1946 during the British colo- nial administration ofthe Sudan. This legislation, however, by no means managed to eliminate the practice entirely since it only prohibited Pharonic circumcision. Given the political instability in the Sudan it is no wonder that efforts of eliminating FGM were far from successful. In view We need to situate the practice within the framework of women 3 economic dependence. of the failure of such legislation, an- swers of how to abolish this practice should proceed fiom a fundamental alteration of the social relations be- tween the sexes, specifically through the empowerment of women. I do not believe, as many advocate, that FGM should be abolished by state im- posed legislation that can only be a partial solution for a social custom. VOLUME 15, NUMBERS 2 h 3 Women will not follow a law they believe will eventually lead to their own material insecurity. Over the yevs they have betome a m  that crossing certain boundaria entails questioning male authority which, in turn, will result in undesirable conse- quences, socially and economically. Elimination of FGM without address- ing the inferior status of women in Sudanese society will not, therefore, succeed through state imposed legis- lation nor through intervention by international organizations. The battle against FGM is a political one. Breaking the chains of depend- ency and the hereditary forms of power is imperative for women across the world that are bound together with the string of subordination. What we need to build is a consen- sual oppositional consciousness to demand that the state first and fore- most consolidate women's education and training, provide the opportu- nity for equal labour force participa- tion, access to health and birth con- trol services, access to legal rights and political participation. Once these demands are met, women will be able to halt the practice of female genital mutilation. This paper war presented at the Inter- national Workshop, Vomen i Rights are Human Right: Focus on Youth "at York Univmiiy, Centre fir Feminist Rcseurch, Toronto, March 6-8, 1995. Rogaia M1~1fi  Aburharaf compkted her doctorate in anthmpology at the Univmiiy of Connecticut in 1994. She is researching the diarpora and migta- tion fiom the Sudan to the nnu work Foucault, Michel. TheHistoty ofSmu- ality. VoL E An lntroductron. New York: Vintage Books, 1980. Gruenbaum, men. 'Women's Rights and Cultural Self-Determination." Paper presented at the American Anthropological Association An- nual Meeting, Georgia. 1994. Ibrahim, Fatima. "Women Struggles in the Sudan." M*Eartcm Tima Interview, Toronto: JulyIAugust 1994. Leacock, Eleanor ed. Women i Work: Dcvclopmcnt and Division of La- bour By G&. South Hadey, Mass.: Bergin and Garvey Publish- ers, 1986. Lightfoot-Klein, Hanny. A Woman i Odyury into Afica: Tracks Across a Life. New York: Haworth Press, 1992. Tobia, Nahid. "Female Circumci- sion as a Public Health Issue" in Nnu EnglandjournalofMedicint 1 (1994): 712-716. My mother, her rail of a body flat on her back. My father put her there again. The red and white tiles next to her still glisten. She polished the floor on Mon- day, it is Wednesday night and upstairs Don Messer' S Jubilee is playing on the CBC. My father and my brother wrestle with vicious determination. Their angry footsteps mark the shiny floor, flip the handmade rug with the golden viking ship trapped in the embroidered centre, Eric the Red standing at port side. VIRGINIA ADAMSON Pledge to Mother My father's arms, are skinny next to his potbelly body, and scramble and punch at my brother and mother. The smell of his sweat coats the walls. My brother pushes back a tear a tiny trickle. My sister trembles, her soft white skin turns crimson against her silk hair. She and I sit on the frozen stairway, our numb eyes watch and that winter Wednesday I make a vow a silent pledge- I will never be a victim, I promise you mother! My brother, like a frightened monster slips away into his cave. The lonely television is playing Hockey Night in Canada and my father retreats upstairs. We collect ourselves off the steps, my sister and I, and drag our mother like a huge rug to the bedroom. Pulling at her beanpole arms, her hair rubs the floor, dusts like a mop, wipes up a familiar despair, soaks up the tears that fell from my brother's eyes and the sweat that dripped from my father's forehead. Virginia Adamson Ziaes in Toronto in a large co-op with two wonderful cats. CANADJAN WOMAN STUDIESILES CAHIERS DE LA FEMME 

Rethinking Feminist Discourses on Female Genital Mutilation: The Case of the Sudan

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Rethinking Feminist Discourses on Female Genital Mutilation: The Case of the Sudan

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Canadian Woman Studies / les cahiers de la femme (E-Journal, York University)