Female Circumcision Is Controlled and Supported by Women: More Men Than Women Oppose It

Use our professional PDF creation service at http://www.htm2pdf.co.uk!
UNICEF Connect
Programmes
For Debate
Insider
About
Visit UNICEF.org
Contact
BY UNI CE F G UE S T CONT RI BUT OR ON 11 FE B 2014 ( 2 COM M E NTS )
Five Things You Didnt Know About Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting
More than 125 million women and girls in 29 countries in Africa and the Middle East have experienced Female Genital Mutilation or Cutting (FGM/C). UNICEF released a report on FGM/C last year that revealed some thought-provoking attitudes about the practice. Here are five things about FGM/C that might surprise you. Click on the numbers and links for visualizations of the data. 1. Boys and men state strong support for stopping the practice. Its
often presumed that men condone FGM/C and that it is one of the ways that they keep women subservient. This appears not to be the case. In fact, in countries such as Guinea, Sierra Leone and Chad, substantially more men than women want to see FGM/C end.
2. Girls and women consistently underestimate the proportion of boys and men who want FGM/C to end. In many countries, a large percentages of both women and men are unaware of what the opposite sex thinks about FGM/C. 3. The majority of girls and women want FGM/C to end. Girls and womens attitudes about whether or not FGM/C should continue vary widely across the 29 countries where it is concentrated. However, in most of these countries, the majority thinks that FGM/C should end. 4. The need to gain social acceptance is the most frequently stated reason for supporting the continuation of FGM/C. Social acceptance trumps other reasons like better marriage prospects, preserving virginity, more sexual pleasure for the man, religious necessity and cleanliness/hygiene. 5. Many girls who are cut have mothers who are against the practice. Though a daughters likelihood of being cut is much higher when her mother thinks the practice should continue, many cut girls have mothers who actually oppose FGM/C. Some mothers may thus have their daughters cut despite their personal feelings about the practice. So what can we learn from these five points? First, more dialogue and communication is essential. Ways have to be found to make bring to the fore the hidden voices that oppose FGM/C. Girls and women need to be empowered to speak out. Since substantial numbers of men and boys want the FGM/C to end, they can potentially be important agents of change and should be engaged in the conversation. There is clearly also a need for more open dialogue between men and women, and between boys and girls so that prevailing social expectations around FGM/C can be challenged.
A lot of progress had already been made in eliminating FGM/C. With continued effort and commitment many more girls can be spared the fate of their mothers and grandmothers. UNICEFs report on FGM/C was produced at UNICEF headquarters by the Statistics and Monitoring Section, Division of Policy and Strategy with contributions from the Child Protection Section. Claudia Cappa, Francesca Moneti, Nicole Petrowski and Cody Donahue contributed to this blog post.
Notes: This map is stylized and not to scale. It does not reflect a position by UNICEF on the legal status of any country or territory or the delimitation of any frontiers. In Liberia, girls and women who have heard of the Sande society were asked whether they were members; this provides indirect information on FGM/C since it is performed during initiation into the society, as explained in Box 4.2. Data for Yemen refer to evermarried girls and women. The final boundary between the Republic of the Sudan and the Republic of South Sudan has not yet been determined. Sources: DHS, MICS and SHHS, 1997-2012.
S HARE THIS :
Facebook
44
Twitter
143
Tumblr
LinkedIn
Google
Pocket
More
Loading...
REL ATED
What you missed this week
What you missed this week
One in three children will be born in Africa in 2050
CA T E G ORI E S : FOR D E BA T E T A G G E D A S : 5 T HI NG S Y OU D I D N'T KNOW , FE M A LE G E NI T A L M UT I LA T I ON, FG M C, G E ND E R, G I RLS , HUM A N RI G HTS
In pursuit of online youth engagement

Thursday 17 April 2014
Login Register
Apps Shop London Dating H&P Shop Property Search Offers
Search
Go
Follow Like 171k
HOME
London
NEWS
Crime
SPORT
Politics
FOOTBALL
Mayor
SHOWBIZ & ENTS

Education
GOING OUT
Health
LIFE & STYLE

UK
BUSINESS
COMMENT
HOMES & PROPERTY

Diary
Transport
Technology
WORLD
Campaigns
Frontline London
TOP JUDGES FACE BACKLASH AFTER RULING JAMAICAN KILLER CAN'T BE DEPORTED AS HE IS GAY
RIDER BADLY MOST READ Commented Shared

Woman 'terrified' after central London belt buckle attack leaves her blind in one eye TV companies help Chelsea but never Arsenal, claims Arsene Wenger Royal tour drama: two men arrested for 'acting suspiciously' just metres from William and Kate British porn stars to star in Game of Thrones
Somaliland dispatch: 'Im a cutter and Ill take a razor to my daughter in the holidays'
Fun things to do in London over the Easter bank holiday weekend (April 17-21)
No mercy: Cutter Khadija Geedi with her daughter at their home in the village of Baki in Somaliland
32
27
Send
Top stories in News

P ublishe d: 17 April 2014 Upda te d: 12:51, 17 April 2014
MARTIN BENTHAM
Three hurt after police car crashes into car outside Lewisham hospital
The Somali cutter sat with her 10-year-old daughter beside her and explained calmly why she will take a razor blade to her this summer. I am a circumciser, she declared. This young one I havent circumcised yet, but my other daughters are circumcised. I will circumcise her in the school holidays in June or July. I believe that she will not get married if I dont circumcise her. At the same time, it is important for me because Im a circumciser and people will not trust me if I dont do it with my own daughter. It would be shameful. They would say, you are doing it to our daughters, but you are not doing it to your own. I will also do it for cultural reasons because people will talk otherwise and say she has not been circumcised. The logic of Khadija Geedi, a 50-year-old cutter in Somaliland, appeared flawless but her seeming indifference to the pain she will inflict on her daughter Fihiima was unsettling, as the pair sat together on the floor of their home in the rural village of Baki. As Ms Geedi explained, however, the bloody procedure that she will carry out on Fihiima this summer is a routine task to which she has become inured after a career as a traditional birth attendant lasting three decades. I started doing this when I was 20 and I cant calculate how many I have done, she says, adding that her price for cutting is $15 a time. On average now I do 10-15 a month, but sometimes
First-time buyers in stamp duty trap
Gangs use 'antique' guns loophole to import deadly weapons into London
FROM AROUND THE WEB
Ads by Google
ITT Tech - Official Site
it can be 30 or 35. In towns I do it mainly during the school holidays. In the rural places it depends when they have enough girls ready to be circumcised. I use a blade, some material to stop the bleeding and some local anaesthetic. I go to the local health centre to get them. Before I used to remove all the clitoris and all the labia, major and minor, and sew them. Now I only remove the clitoris. I changed about 10 years ago. Ms Geedi says her decision to switch to the less extensive type of mutilation, known as sunna in Somaliland, followed a move by clerics to revise their religious guidance and declare the alternative pharaonic form as contrary to Islam. When I heard the sheikhs say that it is forbidden to do the pharaonic type I stopped, but I still do the sunna one. In Islam, that is okay it says that we can do that, she said. By contrast, efforts by the Somaliland government, local campaigners and aid organisations such as the charity World Vision to emphasise the damaging health consequences of mutilation have had no impact. Neither does she worry about inflicting pain on her clients daughters, insisting that her need to earn a living must prevail. The health workers gave us health advice about FGM, she said, but I dont feel any trouble doing it because it is my profession. Although I know the girl is feeling pain, it is my profession and I am doing what the mother wants. I dont have any choice. I have no other way of earning a living. I need the money to live and pay for my family. So how can I feel for the girl? Ms Geedi says the cutting should take about half an hour but admits that resistance frequently means it can last longer. Typically, the girls are aged 10 or 11. The youngest I have done was six years old, she said. It usually takes about 30 minutes if the girl doesnt struggle. If she does then we call lots of people
ITT Tech - Official Site

Tec h-Oriented Degree Programs. Educ ation for the Future.
w w w .itt-tech.edu
The 10 Most Enormous Churches

(The Richest)
Unlike His Peers, a Studio

(The New York Times)
Want To Publish A Book?

Learn How To Get Published Today With Our Free Guide To Publishing.
w w w .iuniverse.com Silva Mind Control
Download The Famous Silva Mind Centering Exerc ise... For Free
w w w .silvalifesystem .co m
10 Reasons God Exists

(TOOVIA)
George Clooney's Surprising

(Ancestry.com)
Sacked Y ahoo boss gets 34million for 15 months
Centuries of Judaica From

(The New York Times)
60% of All Stolen Cargo

(Teletrac)
Rec ommended by
TfL spent close to 500,000 on counselling 'stressed' staff
SPONSORED FEATURES
Somaliland dispatch: 'Im a cutter and Ill take a razor to my daughter in the holidays'
if the girl doesnt struggle. If she does then we call lots of people to help the mother and relatives try to force her to be still. Mostly the girls are not accepting this so they start to move around. Her determination to continue in her job is clear and with the law in Somaliland still allowing cutting, the main hope of campaigners against mutilation lies with the countrys clerics. They began reassessing five years ago what Islam says about FGM. Opinion now, while united in opposition to extensive cutting and sewing, is divided between those who advocate supposedly minor touching with a blade and a minority who support leaving girls entirely unharmed. Sheikh Elmi Ismail Mohamed, who preaches in the Somaliland town of Borama, said he believed girls should have only a small cut to the clitoris, which he claimed would not amount to FGM, and added he was determined to prevent more severe mutilation. FGM was traditional and people used to practise a very bad kind, the pharaonic type, which involves lots of cutting and destroying, he said. Now Islamic scholars are talking about another kind, sunna circumcision, which we cant call FGM because it involves only a very small cut to the edge of the clitoris. It is very little, it is not mutilation, it is not destroying. He added: It is not painful, it is not harming and it is better
Top judges face
Your credit rating explained

When you apply for a credit product such as a loan or mortgage, the lender will almost always conduct a credit check on you. Find out how it works.
Tilting letter box dubbed "leaning pillar box of Maida Vale" The it crowd Running Fjords Uniqlo Linen Bergen Denver break Win family tour London Trend #editme
EVENING STANDARD PARTNERS
Nancy Mac. Exclusive offer.

Crime prevention minister Norman Baker: well do more to stop gang violence against women
He added: It is not painful, it is not harming and it is better religiously. That is what is written in our religious books. Any cutting or destroying is very bad religiously, but this is not doing that. I preach in the mosque. People think it is shameful to talk about these things, but sometimes I talk about it and give them this message. Sheikh Elmi added that some parents, particularly in rural areas, believed that extensive pharaonic mutilation was necessary to protect their daughters from being sexually active. He said he told them instead that such cutting was wrong and harmful. The small sunna cut to the clitoris advocated by Sheikh Elmi would still amount to a crime under British law, however, and is regarded as FGM by campaigners in Somaliland and elsewhere. But another cleric, Sheikh Farah Jama, said that while sunna cutting was optional, he favoured leaving girls untouched. He added: We are starting to reduce the number of FGM cases. We discovered that both in sharia law and culturally it is against what it means to leave a person as Allah created her. I tell parents that as Allah created the woman, every organ is important. If someone has lost an organ it is important. Sheikh Farah said he would not allow any mutilation of his daughter, aged three, and that he and other clerics took part in community meetings at which they used both religious and health arguments to persuade parents and cutters against FGM. He added: Im not refusing sunna, it is optional, but I tell people not to go too far. For my girl I am not doing even sunna. In the cutters house, though, a mobile phone ring shows how much remains to be done. Ms Geedi laughs after answering, before revealing: It was someone wanting to hire me. She adds that her next job is tomorrow. Meanwhile, her own daughters genitals will meet the blade soon.
Anyone wishing to help improve childrens lives in Somaliland and other overseas countries can find out more by contacting World Vision UK on 01908 84 10 10 or at www.worldvision.org.uk .
Top judges face backlash after ruling Jamaican killer can't be deported as he is gay
SPONSORED FINANCIAL CONTENT
What's this?
Follow and copy the trades of hand-picked Currensee Trade Leaders. Get Started This free guide covers Monetary Policy, Quantitative Easing and more. Download Free Here Follow and copy the trades of hand-picked Currensee Trade Leaders. Get Started
Seventeen GP surgeries at risk of closure from nightmare cuts
This free guide covers Monetary Policy, Quantitative Easing and more. Download Free Here
We might move, say parents who missed out on primary places
Run to work for charity, star athlete Hannah and Mayor urge Londoners
Show M e Between:
Women 18 and 30
By clicking 'search' you are agreeing to our Terms of Use.
NEWSLETTER SIGNUP
Sign-up for our weekly Reader Offers email

Y our pictures: Evening Standard
A fantastic selection of offers, giveaw ays and
32
27
32
27
Evening Standard readers photograph their favourite pets
promotions.
Sign-up now
You might also like

Ads by Google
New Zest Soap for Wom en
Vote for Your Favorite Zest Video & Print A Coupon to SAVE $1 Now!
w w w .zest.com /VideoVoteSw eeps
First Look: 2014 Rolls Royce Wraith

(Brash)
Inside Matt Damon's MegaEstate -- As He Puts It Up For Sale

(Lonny Magazine)
Kate Middleton Criticized for Making Another 'Reckless' Parenting Decision

(Stirring Daily)
30 Hottest Jewish Women Under 40 Will SHOCK YOU

(Rant Lifestyle)
Curated Daily Quote
News in Pictures
Join the Delanc eyplac e Newsletter! A daily Non-Fic tion Selec tion Email
w w w .delanceyplace.com Buffett's Top Stocks
Warren Buffett's 5 Dividend Stoc ks That Could Stomp the Market in 2014
dividendsandincom edaily.com /Buffett Escape from Am erica
From around the web Kids Need Their Fathers (Teach With Joy) 10 Celebs You Didn't Know Were Scientologists (Celebrity Gossip Answers) Its the End of the World as We Know It . . . and He Feels Fine (The New York Times) These Famous Atheists/Agnostics WILL SHOCK YOU (Rant Lifestyle) Vanessa Williams DNA Test Showed
More from the Evening Standard British porn stars to star in Game of Thrones (17 April 2014) Seventeen GP surgeries at risk of closure from 'nightmare' cuts (17 April 2014) Lorry driver arrested after two dead in M26 pile-up (17 April 2014) Yahoos laughing? Sacked boss Henrique de Castro gets 34m for 15 months at internet giant (17 April 2014)
1950s pin-up: Kelly Brook models new retro swimwear range
6 Plac es to Protec t and Grow Your Wealth as US Spirals Out of Control
w w w .sovereign-investor.com
Crossword Word Scrambler Number Crunch Code Word
Chess Bridge Sudoku Kakuro
Vanessa Williams DNA Test Showed Genes From Across the World (Ancestry.com) The 1 Movie About Jesus That's Actually Worth Watching (Best Movies by Farr)
2014) Presenter Anneka Rice is still married to theatre boss Nick Allott (15 April 2014) Happy 40th Birthday Victoria Beckham! We track Posh's rise to glory... (17 April 2014)
Rec ommended by
Find us on Facebook
London Evening Standard

Like 171,719 people like London Evening Standard.
Ads by Google
3 Stocks to Hold Forever
3 stoc ks that defy Bernanke's zero- interest world and deliver c ash.
Fac ebook soc ial plugin
m oneym orning.com /Dividend_Stocks Buffett's Top 5 Stocks
These 5 stoc ks make up 75% of his firms portfolio. Free pic ks.
Fay Maschler reviews Bravas Tapas
w w w .streetauthority.com Death Records Online
1) Enter anyone's name 2) Find their death rec ord now!
ancestry.com /DeathRecords Escape from Am erica
6 Plac es to Protec t and Grow Your Wealth as US Spirals Out of Control
w w w .sovereign-investor.com
News pictures of the day
1 of 60
Londoners form human peace sign in Trafalgar Square for Peace One Day
Ne x t
Victoria's Secret extravaganza heading to London for the first time
Abbey proves her worth as new face of lingerie brand
Pictures: Party people - the stars out in London
News pictures of the day
Worst dressed celebrities: Who dressed like a dog's dinner this week? We show and tell...
Y our pictures: Evening Standard readers photograph their favourite pets
Olympic boxer Fred Evans fined for attacking club reveller over row about The Valleys
DON'T MISS
Going Out
Restaurant review
Royal tour
Airpocalypse now
Showbiz
Archive Topics Contact Privacy Cookies
Terms Code of Conduct & Complaints Promotion Rules Contributors Syndication
The Independent Homes & Property Business Connections London Live LondonViews
ES Magazine Subscription Get Listed Business Directory Brand Advertising Evening Standard Limited
ES Rentals Jobsite Free Evening Standard apps This is London Magazine This is London

Female Circumcision Is Controlled and Supported by Women: More Men Than Women Oppose It

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Female Circumcision Is Controlled and Supported by Women: More Men Than Women Oppose It

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Use our professional PDF creation service at http://www.htm2pdf.co.uk!

BY UNI CE F G UE S T CONT RI BUT OR ON 11 FE B 2014 ( 2 COM M E NTS )

Five Things You Didnt Know About Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting

Use our professional PDF creation service at http://www.htm2pdf.co.uk!

What you missed this week

What you missed this week

One in three children will be born in Africa in 2050

CA T E G ORI E S : FOR D E BA T E T A G G E D A S : 5 T HI NG S Y OU D I D N'T KNOW , FE M A LE G E NI T A L M UT I LA T I ON, FG M C, G E ND E R, G I RLS , HUM A N RI G HTS

In pursuit of online youth engagement

Thursday 17 April 2014

Apps Shop London Dating H&P Shop Property Search Offers

Follow Like 171k

SHOWBIZ & ENTS

LIFE & STYLE

HOMES & PROPERTY

RIDER BADLY MOST READ Commented Shared

Use our professional PDF creation service at http://www.htm2pdf.co.uk!

Top stories in News

First-time buyers in stamp duty trap

FROM AROUND THE WEB

ITT Tech - Official Site

The 10 Most Enormous Churches

Unlike His Peers, a Studio

Want To Publish A Book?

w w w .iuniverse.com Silva Mind Control

10 Reasons God Exists

George Clooney's Surprising

Sacked Y ahoo boss gets 34million for 15 months

Centuries of Judaica From

60% of All Stolen Cargo

TfL spent close to 500,000 on counselling 'stressed' staff

Use our professional PDF creation service at http://www.htm2pdf.co.uk!

Your credit rating explained

EVENING STANDARD PARTNERS

Nancy Mac. Exclusive offer.

Use our professional PDF creation service at http://www.htm2pdf.co.uk!

SPONSORED FINANCIAL CONTENT

Seventeen GP surgeries at risk of closure from nightmare cuts

We might move, say parents who missed out on primary places

By clicking 'search' you are agreeing to our Terms of Use.

Sign-up for our weekly Reader Offers email

Use our professional PDF creation service at http://www.htm2pdf.co.uk!

Evening Standard readers photograph their favourite pets

You might also like

w w w .zest.com /VideoVoteSw eeps

First Look: 2014 Rolls Royce Wraith

Inside Matt Damon's MegaEstate -- As He Puts It Up For Sale

Kate Middleton Criticized for Making Another 'Reckless' Parenting Decision

30 Hottest Jewish Women Under 40 Will SHOCK YOU

Curated Daily Quote

w w w .delanceyplace.com Buffett's Top Stocks

dividendsandincom edaily.com /Buffett Escape from Am erica

6 Plac es to Protec t and Grow Your Wealth as US Spirals Out of Control

Crossword Word Scrambler Number Crunch Code Word

Chess Bridge Sudoku Kakuro

Use our professional PDF creation service at http://www.htm2pdf.co.uk!

London Evening Standard

Fac ebook soc ial plugin

m oneym orning.com /Dividend_Stocks Buffett's Top 5 Stocks

Fay Maschler reviews Bravas Tapas

w w w .streetauthority.com Death Records Online

1) Enter anyone's name 2) Find their death rec ord now!

ancestry.com /DeathRecords Escape from Am erica