Female Genital Cutting in the Context Ofislamic Bioethics by Erin Marie
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Female Genital Cutting in the Context ofIslamic Bioethics By Erin Marie Rehel Faculty ofReligious Studies and Biomedical Ethics Unit, Faculty of Medicine McGill University, Montreal June 2005 A thesis submitted to McGill University in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Arts, Bioethics Specialization. © Erin Rehel, 2005 Library and Bibliothèque et 1+1 Archives Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de l'édition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A ON4 Ottawa ON K1A ON4 Canada Canada Your file Votre référence ISBN: 978-0-494-22617-9 Our file Notre référence ISBN: 978-0-494-22617-9 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library permettant à la Bibliothèque et Archives and Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par télécommunication ou par l'Internet, prêter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des thèses partout dans loan, distribute and sell theses le monde, à des fins commerciales ou autres, worldwide, for commercial or non sur support microforme, papier, électronique commercial purposes, in microform, et/ou autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriété du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in et des droits moraux qui protège cette thèse. this thesis. Neither the thesis Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels de nor substantial extracts from it celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés ou autrement may be printed or otherwise reproduits sans son autorisation. reproduced without the author's permission. ln compliance with the Canadian Conformément à la loi canadienne Privacy Act some supporting sur la protection de la vie privée, forms may have been removed quelques formulaires secondaires from this thesis. ont été enlevés de cette thèse. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires in the document page cou nt, aient inclus dans la pagination, their removal does not represent il n'y aura aucun contenu manquant. any loss of content from the thesis. ••• Canada Abstract Female genital cutting (FGC) has received much attention since the early 1980s. Decried as both a human rights violation and a barbarie example of the patriarchal subjugation of women and girls in developing nations, FGC has oruy recently been examined within the cultural framework in which it takes place. This thesis will focus on the Muslim communities in Egypt and Sudan who continue to engage in FGC as a required Muslim practice. Starting from the notion that FGC has a limiting effect on a woman's overall health, this thesis will use three foundational notions from Islamic medical ethics to argue against the continuation of FGC. Specifically, it will elaborate and draw on the Islamic position in favor of organ transplantation, thus further illustrating the argument against FGC. By using principles and notions from Islamic medical ethics, this thesis will argue against FGC from within Islam. L'excision génitale féminine (EGF) a reçu beaucoup d'attention depuis le début des années 1980. Exposée comme étant une violation des droits de la personne et un exemple barbare de la subjugation patriarcale des femmes et jeunes filles venant de nations en voie de développement, cette pratique n'à été examine que récemment dans le milieu culturel ou elle a cours. Cette thèse se concentrera sur les communautés Musulmanes d'Egypte et du Soudan qui continue à utiliser l'EGF comme une pratique Musulmane obligatoire. En se basant sur le fait que l'EGF affecte grandement la santé de la femme, cette thèse mettra de l'avant trois notions de l'éthique médicale islamique pour contester la continuation de la pratique de l'EGF. Plus spécifiquement, cette thèse élaborera, et s'appuyera sur la position islamique en faveur de la transplantation d'organe. Par conséquent, elle renforcera les arguments contre l'EGF. En faisant appel aux principes et notions de l'éthique médicale islamique, cette thèse contestera l'EGF à l'intérieur même de l'islam. Acknowledgements While there are many individuals who deserve many thanks for their support during the thesis portion of my graduate work, none are more deserving of the most sincere thanks possible than my two wonderful supervisors, Professor Robert Crouch and Professor Lisa Sideris. Robert, your attentiveness to my many concems, comments and questions, many of which extended far beyond the scope of my thesis work, helped maintain my focus throughout and contributed significantly to the final product found here. Lisa, for reading countless pages, providing comments and suggestions each and every time and then permitting me the opportunity to discuss ideas with you further, l would not have taken as much from this process without you; From proposing the idea to submitting the final copy, the unwavering encouragement l received from bath ofyou was amazing. l could not imagine a more perfect experience as a graduate student than the one l had working with both ofyou. For this, l am extremely grateful. l would further like to thank several other faculty members from across the university who provided assistance, expertise and personal support over the course of my time as a graduate student at McGill: Prof. Carolyn ElIs, Prof. Michelle Hartman, Prof. Patricia Kirkpatrick and Prof. Katherine Young. To my friends, who listened patiently, debated rigorously, discussed at length and helped make my graduate experience a positive one, many, many thanks: Julia Carlton, Bonnie De Bruijn, Shawna Gutfrend, Mark Henderson, Toni Pascale, Devorah Ritter and Jonathan Sozek. Finally, to my parents, without who none of this would have been possible. Your constant and unquestioning encouragement and support has allowed me to achieve so much, this thesis being but one of many examples. 11 Table of Contents Abstract. ............................................................................................... .i Acknowledgements .................................................................................. .ii Table of Contents ................................................................................... .iii Introduction ............................................................................................ 1 Chapter 1: Islamic Bioethics and the Islamic Position on Organ Transplantation ........... 8 Islam: Sources ................................................................................ 9 Social Justice and Islam ................................................................... 17 Basic Tenets of Islamic Bioethics ....................................................... .21 Organ Transplantation and Islam .........................................................26 Chapter 2: Female Genital Cutting in Egypt and Sudan ....................................... 34 Prevalence ...................................................................................37 Egypt and Sudan: Studying FGC .........................................................38 Types .........................................................................................43 Health Consequences ....................................... ; ..............................46 .Justification and Rationale for FGC ................................................ ; .... 50 Islam and FGC ........ ·..................................................................... 55 Chapter 3: Arguing Against Female Genital Cutting- A Case from Within Islam ......... 66 Medicalization of a TraditionaVReligious Practice ....................................67 God's Unity, Notions ofCommunity and Public Interest ............................ 72 Dignity of the Body and the Doctrine ofNecessity ...................................76 Maintenance ofHuman Life and the Imperative to Seek Remedies ........ ~ ....... 82 Conclusion .......................................................................................... 88 Works Cited ........................................................................................ 92 Introduction "Ali related mutilations- the crippling of women in a much broader sense, both physical and psychological- must be confronted ... Genital and sexual mutilations, to be sure, are the most drastic and physical form. The contempt for the female of the species, which is the basic cause of ail forms offemale mutilations, must be challenged and dealt with everywhere, and at its source. ,,] Female genital mutilation, a traditional practice that can have serious health consequences, is ofgreat con cern to the World Health Organization (WHO). In addition to causing pain and suffering, it is a violation ofinternationally accepted human rights. 2 "Arrogant perception is apparent in the West's horrified, condemnatory responses to practices such as the Indian tradition ofsati, Chinese foot binding, and A rab customs of veiling and purdah. It is apparent in Western facile insensitivity to the unfamiliar. Arrogant perception nourishes ethnocentrism even as it obscures visions of the multifaceted complexity of those characterized as oppressed 'others, ' ... 1 am convinced that the debates swirling around female circumcisionlfemale genital mutilation can and must move beyond troubling stances ofarrogant perception. ,,3 "The west has acted as though they have suddenly discovered a dangerous