Magic & Ritual Abuse: Female Circumcision...in ...Africa

Magic, Ritual Abuse: Female Circumcision in Central and Western African

June 5th, 2010

They said Odu must make sacrifice. She said she would not make ebo ( an offering) because the ebo was already made. The offering for woman to receive power was made in the presence of Olodumare. They said she must not become overconfident in joy because she is capable of using these powers for a very long time. The world will not be able to destroy that which she has in her hands. The world will not know the root of her power. Odu refused to make the sacrifice. Odu departed without making ebo. _{Osa Meji}

In the ancient temples of Greece and Egypt, women were seen as the vessels of power and healing. Elaborate rituals, utilizing music, the power of drumming, and sexual energy were used to communicate with the other world and to create healing. The decline in the honoring in women’s power appears to correlate with the shift from earth based (feminine) spiritual practices to solar worship and the rise in the belief in one God versus many. ₍₁₎ With this shift came the rise in the desecration of The Womb (odu) both figuratively and literally. During the Pharonic era, woman began to be circumcised as social and ritual practice. The new religious influences of Christianity and Islam, taught the superiority of men and the need to subjugate and control the sexual activities of women. there are many theories presented to explain the origination of this practice, however many cultural and medical historians conclude that the practice originated soley “ to control the magical properties of women.” ₍₂₎ Women became as chattel property and the power of the womb was desecrated.

Origins of Female Circumcision

Rates of Female Circumcision

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The practice of female circumcision is said to have originated in Egypt 1400-2000 years ago and prior to the rise of Christianity and Islam _(3,4). The practice then spread through Ethiopia(a coptic hristian State) , among the Arab and Jewish populations and subsequently to Islam.

The Torah does not directly teach the subjugation of women. These mores surfaced more directly in the New Testament where the Apostle Paul teaches that women should submit to the rule of their fathers and their husbands. It also teaches the need for women to be chaste and pure until marriage. Women’s sexual activity becomes the dominion of their husbands. While there is no reference to female circumcision in the Qur’an, ₍₅₎ and no direct quotations of Mohammed instituting the practice _(5,6) (It is said he moderated what was already there) the practice is supported in the Sunna as a means of attenuating women’s sexual activity_(3). These cultural beliefs were absorbed among Central and West African people and enforced as religious practice.

Trans-Sahara Trade Routes

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Geographically, The practice of female circumcision spread south(3) from Egypt into Ethiopia and followed the Southern Trans-Sahara trade route West into Niger(highlighted area), Mali, Ghana and subsequently to the coast. It is important to note the pattern of the transference of female circumcision practices. With the Exception of Egypt, female circumcision is not a common practice in North Africa however in Central and Western Africa the practice is wide spread and deeply infused in the cultures of the people. There is reason to believe that the practice was spread through war and the imposition of the Muslim religion upon Black Africa. Some believe the imposition of the practice may have been an attempt at spiritual,cultural, and racial genocide. In any case, through war and or trade, the religious beliefs of Northern Africans were absorbed among Central and West African people resulting in cultural-spiritual practices that minimized, and dehumanized the female populations.

What Is Female Circumcision?
Female circumcision is the partial or total removal of parts of the sexual genitalia of women. This practice takes several forms including:

cutting or removal of the clitoral hood

removing the complete clitoris,

removing the labia major

removing the labia minor

infibulations( sewing together or fusing the labia) which narrow the vaginal orifice ₍₇₎₍₈₎

Other procedures include:

pricking, piercing or incision of the clitoris and/or labia

stretching of the clitoris and/or labia

cauterization by burning of the clitoris and surrounding tissue

introcision

scraping or cutting of the vagina or surrounding tissue;

introduction of corrosive substances or herbs into the vagina;

any other procedure that falls under the definition of female genital mutilation given above.

These proceedure are often done without anesthetic and under poor sanitary conditions. Cutting, scraping, and cauterization are considered the milder forms of circumcision and usually result in infections, pain, difficulty engaging in secual activity. The more extreme form, infibulation, often results in sterility, inability to physically transition from adolescence to adulthood, inability to engage in sexual activity, infections, hemorraging and can led to death.

Many argue that male circumcision; the removal of the foreskin of the penis, is more common in Africa particularly among the Muslim populations ( This includes a majority of Western and Central African Nations). The practice is justified as a means to: define societal status, to mark inheritance rights, maintain health and hygiene, and religious purity. While the reasons appeare noble, most medical historians conclude that the practice is , “founded almost exclusively on religious or political motives.” In addition, there is a growing body of evidence which suggests that this practice can be harmful to men (4) and there is a growing movement against this ritual.

Female circumcision is not comparable to male circumcision. It differs in its intent, and physiological and psychological characteristics. The procedure of infibulation, performed in men, would be the equivalent of complete removal of the penis and testicles. thee is no known medical benfit from this procedure. The intent of the procedure is to contol the sexual activites of women..

Some women who have had alterations to the clitoral hood or piercing of the clitoris report heightened sexual arousal. In fact, clitoral piercing is performed amongst American women as a means of enhancing sexual arousal. Again, there is no medical or sexual benefit in the removal of the labia or infibulation. In the case of infibulation, the uretha is covered and the vaginal opening is reduced to the diameter of a match stick leaving insuffient opening for the passage of menstral blood or urine. Infection and hormonal imbalance are so common place that it is perceived as a normal consequenc of being a woman rather than as the body’s reaction to detrimental procedures. Normal intercourse is impossible and the scar may be recut to allow for penetration. Normal birth process is impossible. Again, the Labia are surgically opened to allow for birth(8a) then closed again. This cycle of cutting and closing may be repeated several times through the course of a lifetime.

The Social Program
Female circumcision is supported by the women and the procedure is most often carried out by an elder woman of the community although there are numerous horror stories of the practice being carried out by men. The cultural belief systems which support these practices include making the bride suitable for marriage (chastity), and guaranteeing the dowry or bride price of the female . The bride price can be a substantial source of income and status for the family of the bride. The institution of preserving the bride for marriage is so strongly embedded in the cultural psyche that a girl who refuses the procedure can be and is killed for refusal to participate. In these instances, The family of the female is shunned resulting in the loss of lively hood, status and community. In these cases, it is not uncommon for the males in the family to kill the offending female to maintian the family social status. ₍₉₎

Why do the women uphold this institution? the choice is live or die. In societies where female circumcision is practiced the rights of the males over the reproductive rights of the women are absolute. The males have control over the women, their reproductive abilities and their children. Female s are seen as sources of children and labor_.(8) Female circumcision is a rite of passage ritual acknowledging that the girl has come of age and is ready for marriage.₍₁₀₎ In societies where the women are absolutely dependent upon the men , the route to survival is through marriage. and the imposition of these practices. “Because of their lack of choice and the powerful influence of tradition, many girls accept circumcision as a necessary, and even natural, part of life, and adopt the rationales given for its existence.” ₍₈₎.

What is Being done
Attempts by Colonial rulers to order the discontnuation of female circumcisions have traditionally met with failure. The women themselves perceive these rulings as racially motivated and violations of cultural soverinty. They stated that change must come from within and not by their colonialist goverments.

In 1984 several African women’s organizations met in Dakar, Senegal and formed the Inter African committe Against Harmful Practices (IAC) to address the issue of female circumcision at the governmental level. This organization, with national committees in over 20 countries, has banned together with international organizations such as mandelaeo Ya Wanawake in Kenya, NOW in Nigeria to eradicate the practice of female circumsicion. In addition international societies such as the American Red Cross and Red Cresecent have provided education with respect to the negative health consequences to numerous African communities. The goal is self empowerment through education and many communities have responded to eliminate this detrimental practice.
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Map: Rates of occurrence of Female Mutilation: Paula Nielson
http://cultural-anthropology.suite101.com/article.cfm/female-circumcision-in-egypt#ixzz0pcNEvVuy
AFROL News http://www.afrol.com/Categories/Women/F

Map: Trans-Sahara Trade: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans-Saharan_trade
1. ^ Emily Teeter & Douglas J. Brewer. Religion in the lives of the ancients.

2. http://web.ccsu.edu/afstudy/upd8-3.htm Widstrand traces classical references to Agatharchides of Cnidus, a second century BCE geographer (1964, p. 116), while Abdalla suggests that it was practiced in ancient Egypt as a way to “obtain control of [women's] magic power” (1982, p. 66)..

3. http://www.mtholyoke.edu/~ehtoddch/politics/religion.html

4.http://www.historyofcircumcision.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=category&sectionid=9&id=74&Itemid=53

5. Female Circumcision in Egypt: The History of Female Genital Cutting Found along the Nile http://cultural-anthropology.suite101.com/article.cfm/female-circumcision-in-egypt#ixzz0pcNEvVuy

6b. Debates About FGM in Africa, the Middle East and the Far East.
http://www.religioustolerance.org/fem_cirm.htm

7. Source: Female Genital Mutilation: Report of a WHO Technical Working Group, Geneva, July 1995. (World Health Organization: Geneva, 1996).

8. Female circumcision: rite of passage or violation of Rights http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/journals/2313097.html women cut to allow penetration,pregnancy

10. Female Circumcision: Rite of Passage or Violation of Rights? Frances A. Althaus http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/journals/2313097.html
11.http://www.ifrc.org/what/health/mch/fmg.asp

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