let's begin today's discussion first by discussing female sexual mutilation i
wonder if i might ask you now how widespread is the practice
it's within uh... arab and african countries it's fairly widespread
there are estimates saying that eighty to a hundred and fifteen million women
are subject to
female genital mutilation wow why is it done
well it's considered to be part of the
rites of
passage
uh...
it is a element of the rights of passage that young girls go through
to achieving womanhood
and why the specific
operation is done has many different meanings in different societies
and maybe nancy could elaborate
well
part of it
is uhm
a public health issue
that uh... the women are are seen
as having
to be more hygenic
and less sexually active
so it has to do with the oppression of their libido
and let me just ask you is this to
prevent sexual desire of women
uh... yes and to
not just desire but
to prevent enjoyment of of the sexusl
act … and but the repercussions psychological and physical
are far reaching because in the process
a lot of women die
a lot of women uh...
remain emotionally scarred
later on when they are of reproductive age
there are many
medical problems that ensue from childbearing
um...
and it's not just I mean it's a rite of passage that stays
throughout
their lifetime and just about every milestone
in their
development
is impacted from having had
that particular operation
from
engaging in sexual relations from bearing children and from the
dynamic between themselves and their own children later on
so hillary clinton was correct when she stated that this process is a
violation of basic human rights absolutely
it's important though to realize it wasn't hillary who
dreamed up that concept but to give to give her credit she's been listening
to women in africa and the middle east and has really taken
onboard the lessons and she's lucky to have a certain kind of position in the
world and what she says is maybe listened to
by a wider you know range of people than others but she isn't the one who came
to this knowledge
she really has been taught by feminists in these countries let me ask you this is
the mutilation process like being raped in that it brings shame to the recipients
so that women are not willing
to talk openly about it
jessica i i i think uh...
many young girls are socialized to be quite proud
of of the procedure and
fortunately things are changing and there are many groups working at the grassroots
level in countries around
africa and in immigrant communities where the practice persists
to change the consciousness of the health issues concerned and you know the
underlying purpose of the of the practice which is really i think is important to
to put this practice in the range of human rights violations against women
because it's a form of violence that's used against women there are many forms that serve the same
purpose of subjugating women
and controlling their sexuality so we could look at lots of different practices
this is one extreme
practice but uh... i think that uh... as people become more aware
of the reality of what it means and what impact it has on on their health
what we're seeing is rapid change are african countries trying to eliminate this
practice yes in fact recently senegal just outlawed FGM
wonderful
has egypt too I think yes
uh... increasingly more and more countries
people are aware I know in nairobi
there has been a big movement I met some women in beijing
who were that was their platform you know to have that eliminated
but it's not just elimination by the state that's important
it is a practice
located within the community within uh... the villages and social context
and so therefore it's very important to change of consciousness of people
you're absolutely right so we are in fact supporting a tremendous
initiative that's happening in Gambia
where there is trying to change the rite of passage
where this particular operation is eliminated
and developing new rites of passage
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