BEWARE: This entry is about Female Genital Cutting

Female Genital Cutting (FGC), Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), circumsition, etc. are different names for the same practice. The politically correct term is FGC, so I will use that. All over Africa FGC is practiced, not as a form of control by men, but as the beginning rite of passage into womanhood. It makes a girl eligible to be married and in a society so dependent on family, it becomes essential. Most often, I was told, this happens when the girl is about one to three years old in Senegal.

Here in Senegal, the predominant ethnicity that practices FGC just so happens to be the Pulaar people. Up North, things are extremely conservative, so the Pulaar women still cling to this practice, although it is now illegal. I was warned pre-arrival that I would probably never be able to have a conversation regarding FGC with Pulaar women due to the secrecy of the practice.

So, you can imagine my astonishment when I had a serious conversation about FGC with two young women in their early 20s, both unmarried without children, yet. One of the young women, Kadja, is studying nursing in Dakar and had different opinions on the safety and sanitation of FGC, especially now that it is illegal. The other, my sister Fati, had more traditional thoughts on the practice. Kadja mentioned that although FGC was illegal, she thought that almost 100% of the women up North had been circumsized as she put it. She then began listing the hazards of practicing FGC in secrecy. She said that girls can often bleed to death, get infections, or not heal properly, which has lead to a heightened awareness in the Pulaar community. Fati scoffed at this idea saying that it was just as safe as having the procedure done at a hospital.

When I asked if they were both circumcised, they replied, “Yes, of course.” They then asked if women in America practiced FGC. I told them that our culture didn’t practice it for girls, but most often boys are circumcised as infants. They accepted this information and moved on. No criticisms, no sly comments.

Personally, I do not support FGC as it is practiced now. I think women should have the choice, which is different from not supporting it entirely. It is difficult for us as Westerners to wrap our minds around something that is seemingly so bad. But, it’s not a black and white issue unfortunately. I say that women should have a choice because they should not be ostrasized either way, by any culture, for their decision. Some days I feel like we as the human race are a long ways off from being truly at liberty to make choices like that. But, after intelligent, real conversations like this one, I feel hope that we are making progress.