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Combating Female Genital Mutilation in Northeast (Horn) Africa and Its Challenges

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Combating Female Genital Mutilation in Northeast (Horn) Africa and Its Challenges Combating female genital mutilation in Northeast (Horn) Africa and its challenges Amirbahram Arabahmadi University of Tehran. Abstract: Background: This article investigates the practice of female genital mutilation as a long-held custom in the countries of North- east Africa, known as Horn of Africa, where many women in rural and urban areas are faced with different physical and psychic consequences in their future lives. Objective: To investigate the prevalence of FGM in the Horn of Africa and the traditional thinking of People about it. Methods: This study was based on descriptive analysis method. The questions of the study are (a) Why female circumcision is widely practiced in Horn of Africa; (b) What are the mental and physical consequences of female genital mutilation for the wom- en; and (c) How regional and international entities, whether governmental or NGOs, are combating this tradition. Results: This article has found out that female genital mutilation in Northeast African countries has resulted in many lifelong diseases and sexual degradation in many women and the best way to combat this tradition is to inform people by gradual (not abrupt) trainings without any insult to the beliefs of the people. Conclusion: This study reveals the Health education based on behavioral change. In doing so, the unity of policies between regional and international actors along with attracting the support of tribal elites is also needed. Keywords: Female genital mutilation; Northeast Africa; international organizations; nongovernmental organizations; gender discrimination. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/ahs.v20i4.54 Cite as: Arabahmadi A. Combating female genital mutilation in Northeast (Horn) Africa and its challenges. Afri Health Sci. 2020;20(4):1955- 67. https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/ahs.v20i4.54 Introduction these traditions as a guarantee of the stability of their The African continent contains ancient customs that oral culture. Although most of the African peoples’ form a large part of the oral culture and customary laws traditions have adapted to the realities of the contem- of the various countries. These traditions, passed down porary period, there are still a few traditions that con- from generation to generation, continue to be held in tinue to be based on some traditional beliefs and cause high esteem among the African tribes, and the People irreparable physical and psychological harm to African of this vast continent consider the implementation of women. Figure1shows percentage of female genital mutilation in different countries of Africa (2016-18) 1 Corresponding author: Amirbahram Arabahmadi, University of Tehran Email: [email protected] African © 2020 Arabahmadi A. Licensee African Health Sciences. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative commons Attribution Health Sciences License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/BY/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. African Health Sciences, Vol 20 Issue 4, December, 2020 1955 Female genital mutilation is among the many tribal tra- act of cutting part of the female genital usually without ditions which are still practiced by some African coun- any kind of sanity, only to observe old ethnic customs tries. According to the statistics of the World Health of tribes. In Horn of Africa, as well as other regions of Organization, this action is currently performed in Africa, female circumcision is often done in traditional thirty African countries 2 with nearly 92 million African styles, without using sterile and sanitary tools, accom- women, out of the total number of 200 million women panied with pain and aching. This is done by cutting a worldwide, who have experienced this practice. Each part of the girl’s genital, using cutting utensils such as year, an estimated three million girls are expected to ex- knives, scissors, ruler, blade or even a piece of glass and perience genital mutilation 3. then stitching it up with thread; thereafter, things like Female genital mutilation, sometimes also called as “fe- oil, honey, yogurt and tree leaves are applied to stop the male circumcision, “and “female genital cutting” 3 is an bleeding. 4 Figure 2 shows Traditional women's circum- cision tools in Northeastern Africa - rural areas. Figure 2 5 In these countries, female circumcision usually takes Rome empire also used to practice female circumcision; place from ages 1 to 9 and 15 to 49 6. It cannot be pre- therefore, it was not limited to ancient Egypt or other cisely said that this practice is done only on the women African countries 10. Female genital mutilation in Africa in ages between 15 to 49, yet any girl from her birthday has also a long history and hundred years before the to maturity is potentially in danger of being circum- entrance of Islam or Christianity, FGM occurred in this cised 7. While a number of female genital circumcision continent 8.This rite is recognized as a part of the old is operated with sanitary tools by trained nurses, yet still ethnic tribal traditions of Africa and has been present many other practices are done by traditional old women in Africa for at least two thousand years, and the indig- and tribal midwives or even barbers who know nothing enous population insists on maintaining it and its par- of the medical cares 8. ticular characteristics. There is no precise date attributed to the earliest prac- The Horn of Africa, a peninsula in Northeast Africa, tice of female circumcision in the world. However, ac- is home to the countries of Somalia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, cording to the famous Greek historian and geographer, Djibouti (and to some extent Sudan), and according to Herodotus (425-484 B. C.), female genital mutilation the WHO's statistics 11 is the location with the highest were common among the Egyptians1 at the time of number of female circumcisions in the world, including Ancient Egypt 9 as well as other people like Phoeni- in its most severe forms, with more than eighty percent cians, Hittites and Ethiopians who also used to do this of women in the region –from 15 to 49 ages- experi- practice since old times. However, other nations like encing this practice 12. Table 1 indicates estimated prev- alence of FGM by age in the Horn of Africa (2018) 1956 African Health Sciences, Vol 20 Issue 4, December, 2020 13 Table 1 In fact FGM has been part of the recognized tradition This paper tries to investigate historical roots of this of the ethnic groups residing in the Horn of African, simple tradition and the reasons behind its current with these practices being practiced for at least two practice. The main hypothesis is that the persistence of thousand years. The people of the Horn of Africa have the implementation of old traditions and oral cultures preserved the tradition in its full manner to the present in the Horn of Africa is the main reason behind the day. This is the key reason why this region has been continuation of FGM in the region up to the contem- chosen as the case study for this research. The table be- porary period. The main research questions addressed low (Table 2) shows the latest statistics regarding female here are (a) Why female circumcision is widely prac- genital mutilation in 2018 for women aged 15 to 49 in ticed in the Horn of Africa; (b) What the mental and Northeast Africa (although the practice may have taken physical consequences of female genital mutilation for place at any time from birth until puberty). 14 the women are; and (c) How regional and international entities, whether governmental or NGOs and interna- tional organizations, are combating this tradition. Table 2 1 No country percentage 1 Ethiopia 74% 2 Eritrea 89% 3 Djibouti 93% 4 Somalia 98% 5 Sudan 88% A literature review of this subject reveals that many Methods scholarly articles have been written on female genital This paper uses the method of descriptive content mutilation in the Horn of Africa. However, this paper analysis. Descriptive content analysis aims to identify is novel in its attempt to examine the conflict between and describe the main content of the data, chronolog- tradition and modernity in the region in the context of ically, thematically or otherwise, either subject-focused the phenomenon of female circumcision as an old tra- or researcher-focused, and involves counting, listing, dition and the duality of the new and older generations practicalizing and categorizing, as well as evaluation in preserving or abandoning it, drawing upon reliable and interpretation. 15 In this paper the phenomenon of documentation to do so. FGM in the Horn of Africa and its consequences such African Health Sciences, Vol 20 Issue 4, December, 2020 1957 as its profundity among peoples, the reasons behind it, tioning the labia minora and/or the labia majora, with the role of NGOs and international organizations to or without excision of the clitoris (infibulation). When eradicate it as well as FGM challenges in this area have it is important to distinguish between variations in in- been scrutinized based on a descriptive content analysis fibulations, the following subdivisions are proposed: framework. In addition, some of the evidence for this o Type IIIa, removal and apposition of the labia paper such as a friendly conversation with ordinary and minora; intellectuals as well as interviews with some urban la- o Type IIIb, removal and apposition of the labia dies was collected by the researcher during several short majora. journeys to the
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