« Jesus and shopping | Main | More photos from Burkina Faso »

March 20, 2005

Female Genital Mutilation

FGM, 0therwise known as female circumcision, involves cutting the labia, and often cutting out the clitoris. The practice is usually performed on girls under the age of 7, and leaves physical and psychological scars for life. The stories are horrible:

"The lips of her vagina were cut and then stitched together, leaving just a small hole to allow urine and menstrual blood to escape. Then the old women made Kady jump over a fire, telling her it was part of the cure to ease the pain."

Burkina Faso is one of only 16 African states to have outlawed the practice. The Burkina government has had a major campaign against FGM over the last 10 years, supported also by the churches and many Muslim leaders. The campaign has been relatively successful. Statistics suggest that the proportion of girls being circumcised in this way has dropped from about 70% to about 40% in the last 10 years. The government is aiming to completely eliminate FGM by 2010, with the support of the UN.

It is a big struggle. Deeply ingrained social customs in remote, conservative villages are difficult to change. There is huge social pressure, which comes from traditional worldviews and values. Srangely enough, women themselves often become the enforcers of the practice. There are fathers who are distraught when their wives go behind their backs to have their daughter circumcised. When asked why she did it, the wife replies that her own mother and aunts convinced her it was the right thing to do.

Thank God that, in Burkina, at least, things are changing. A combination of effective legislation, education, and a telephone hotline called SOS Circumcision, is bringing about change in this, the third poorest country in the world.

Posted by Keith at March 20, 2005 08:56 AM