Question

1 page summary of female genital mutilation in somalia

Answer 1

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is very common in Somalia and Sudan. More than 90 percent of girls in Somalia and in Northern Sudan are subjected to the most severe form, i.e. infibulation. Factors such as religion, tradition and sexuality are used to explain and justify the practice of genital mutilation. While awareness campaigns and other efforts towards its eradication encourage changes to the practice, these have come about only at a very slow pace. Although women are accountable for upholding the practice, men carry a great responsibility. In societies where socioeconomic security is provided for women primarily through the institution of marriage, the requirement that women must be virgins to be considered eligible for marriage contributes to a continuation of the practice of FGM.

Between 80 and 98 percent of all Somali women have been subjected to infibulation, i.e. partial or complete removal of all external sexual organs, and surgical closure of the vaginal orifice. Some sources claim to have observed a transition from infibulation to sunna in recent years, however it is difficult to ascertain with any degree of certainty how extensively patterns might have changed. Sunna is common among the Benadir population in the coastal areas. In these population groups, the procedure is performed on newborns.

In Somalia, genital mutilation is not a rite of passage that marks the transition from child to adult. The practice is linked to tradition and notions about purity, virginity and control of unwanted sexuality. Girls are subjected to the procedure when they are between five and eight years old.

It is mainly traditional circumcisers, the so-called guddaay, who carry out the procedure. However, an increasing number of professional health workers perform genital mutilation. According to a World Bank survey, most members of the Professional Nursing Association in Mogadishu perform a more limited genital mutilation for a fee. They also oppose the activities of traditional circumcisers and the infibulation practice.

The ritual following genital mutilation is an event marked by festivities. Hence it is generally known in the local communities if and when a girl has undergone the procedure. Those who have not been circumcised (e.g. girls that have lived in exile) can hide the fact that they are uncircumcised until they get married.

There is no national legislation that prohibits FGM in present day Somalia, however the administration in Puntland introduced legislation against genital mutilation in 1999. Awareness campaigns against genital mutilation, initiated in the early 1980s, were ended as the regime collapsed in 1991. In the years following the civil war, international and local organisations, including the National Committee Against FGM and Save Somali Women and Children (SSWC), resumed activities in other parts of the country. However, the actual value of these projects – their scope, effectiveness, strategies and lessons learnt – might questionable at times