Female Genital Mutilation - Research Paper Example

Female Genital Mutilation s I. Introduction Among all the traditional rituals, female genital mutilation (FGM) can be deservedly called one of the most controversial practices. Being the ritual with ancient yet unclear roots, female genital cutting presupposes surgical removal of external female genitalia – either some of them or all. The primary area of FGM’s concentration is around 30 African countries, a bit of Asia and Middle East as well as diaspora communities in other countries. In these countries, FGM is carried out “for non-therapeutic reasons” (WHO, 2008, p.4) and with no authoritative medical prescriptions; “FGM is usually carried out by an older woman in the community, […] without using anaesthetic, analgesia, aseptic technique or antibiotics (Terry & Harris, 2013, p.41). Girls of varying age – from birth to puberty (UNICEF, p.30) – are subjected to this practice to be put at risk of further complications, pain, infections, bleeding and other consequences. The practice of female genital cutting is believed to be the product of traditions descending from ancient times and preconditioned by development of patriarchal society and thus need to control women’s sexual behavior, though the methods and possible health effects make this practice highly criticized: lack of sterility (cutting of genitals in African communities is often carried out with help of knives, razors, rocks or even fingernails (Kelly & Hillard 2005, p.491), painful nature of the procedure, rare involvement of qualified health care workers and general violation of women’s rights. Nowadays, many international health organizations and feminist movements are opposing FGM practice and trying to eliminate it, yet it still exists in many communities and is considered normal. These controversial perceptions make the topic worth consideration. II. Why the Event Occurred: Theory I The first theory we can address to try to explain existence of such phenomenon as female genital mutilation is theory of gender identity and gender socialization. As a part of socialization theory, gender socialization theory implies that gender roles are those learned by children beginning with their early years from immediate surrounding and other sources. Carter (2014, p.244) states that “from the moment that a baby enters the world it is inundated with symbols and language that shapes its conception of gender roles and gender stereotypes”. Ahan (2012, p.9) describes gender socialization as learning one’s gender through communication with the surrounding environment and culture. Particularly, culture affects the way people see traditional gender differences. It is clear that these perceptions are entrenched in minds of community members and differ across cultures. In African communities preserving traditional practices of female genital cutting, people learn specifics of biological difference between genders through the lens of FGM: cutting external genitals is seen as a way to initiate a woman and demasculinize her. “In FGM practising countries the removal of the clitoris, which is believed to be male parts, makes a woman feminine” (Moges, n/a, p.5). In other words, the perspective of gender socialization explains the phenomenon of female genital cutting as the integral part of gender learning and complying with peculiar culture’s perceptions of the way a ‘normal’ woman should look like, because “the body is the embodiment of society or culture that you live in” (Ahan, 2012, p.9). Women in African countries like Yemen, Nigeria, Somalia and Guinea have the standard of female appearance planted in their minds and being justified by different factors such as honor, good marriage prospects, preserving chastity, or enhancing hygiene and aesthetics. As a result, women internalize circumcised genitalia as a necessary attribute of their gender and come to support this practice. III. Why the Event Occurred: Theory II The second theory that can help us understand the practice of FGM is planned behavior theory suggested by Icek Ajzen. According to this theory, an individual’s behavior is preconditioned by a set of beliefs that at the same time define the level of probability that he/she will engage in a certain type of behavior. The stronger behavioral, control and normative beliefs are, the higher probability of acting according to a particular pattern is. In our case, to support the practice of FGM and to give consent for one’s daughters being cut, an individual has to be sure about the probable outcome of the behavior, about the way others will react to this behavior, and about factors that can control performance of the behavior. The beliefs connected to the given type of behavior include “and maintenance of patriarchal control, family honour and women’s social identity and economic security” (Ilo 2012, p.2). Brown et al. (2013), for example consider the theory both to justify extensive practice of female genital mutilation and to elaborate on interventions for eliminating this practice. Viewing the given phenomenon from the perspective of the planned behavior theory, it is possible to say that this painful and unnecessary (from religious and medical viewpoints) practice has been preserved for such a long period of time in certain cultures, because the immediate participants of the procedure and community members hold positive beliefs about it. As girls’ parents are sure that FGM will result in better socio-economic prospects for their children, that other community members will approve the procedure and that there will be no impeding factors, they have positive behavioral intention towards carrying out FGM. Therefore, we can assume that altering or eliminating the practice would be possible through changes in the set of beliefs held by the members of practicing communities. IV. Analysis Basic Perceptual and Cognitive Processes  From the viewpoint of social psychology, an individual’s behavior is influenced by a variety of social factors. Theoretical framework of social influence implies that people are subjected to certain norms existing within a society or a culture. Thereby, one’s actions, attitudes and feelings are affected both when other society members are present and when their presence imagined or implied. Social influence gives rise to numerous social psychological processes such as obedience, compliance, peer pressure, identification, internalization and others, which reflect the character of one’s existence within a community. The case of FGM illustrates compliance to the norms existing in the society, for practice of female genital cutting is mainly a part of traditions kept in African countries. The traditions that have existed for centuries make women want to comply with the standard held in their culture, particularly, for fear of being excluded from the social or cultural group and being condemned. As far as most females experiencing genital mutilation are too young to make decisions, adult family members give their consent for the procedure, thereby demonstrating compliance. Moreover, there are the psychosocial processes of internalization and identification, when women themselves are the proponents of FGM, either being sure (internally embracing the idea) that this practice is justified and necessary or being influenced by the respected members of the community such as older women, traditional circumcisers etc. In this respect, the study examining psychosocial preconditions of FGM survival in Nigerian communities shoes that women there is the psychosocial mechanism supporting the practice, and women themselves internalize the idea of being circumcised (Oyefara 2014, p.82). Within this framework, it is stated that a person needs to undergo certain psychosocial transformations through a variety of steps in order to reject the practice and – with help of multiplier effect encourage others to reject it. Generally, it could be stated that the abovementioned psychosocial processes and the social identity factor contribute to persistence of FGM. Particularly, social identity theory helps us understand that, in these African cultures/social groups, FGM is considered a normal element of women’s social identity. V. Analysis the Dual Process Model Dual-process reasoning theory implies that moral judgments, stereotypization and categorization can be carried out via two types of processes – controlled (and conscious) and uncontrolled (nonconscious) – due to two different memory systems. These are the processes deploying different methods of decision-making, whereby uncontrolled perception occurs automatically when an individual receives information and controlled process occurs with conscious consideration of information and without considering emotional component. Female genital mutilation is the phenomenon requiring moral evaluation and decision-making process that would affirm its moral acceptance or non-acceptance. The behavior of FGM proponents can be placed in the framework of dual-process model, and thereby the way they justify this practice can be understood. As the aforementioned theoretical framework indicates psychosocial processes governing FGM traditions, we can assume that the decision concerning acceptance of genital mutilation in African communities is taken via uncontrolled reasoning process, for it is based rather on collective perceptions and compliance with the cultural norms adopted by the given community (for instance, in Nigeria). Members of the communities preserving FGM traditions decide on having the procedure performed over their children, being led by such ‘automatic’ implicit reasoning method. Thereby, these people are motivated by the factors such as compliance with the cultural norms, preserving community and gender boundaries, and even aesthetic standards imposed by the community. In other words, the behaviors of the FGM proponents is directed automatically, by the culture they live in; therefore, women who – themselves – support genital cutting and organize procedures for girls make their decisions based on emotional, unconscious, system of reasoning. On the other hand, there is non-emotional, controlled system of reasoning to be opposed to the previous one. Scientific and entirely practical perspective of the civilized society is guided by conscious and rational reasoning pattern. Opponents on FGM worldwide are, however, also partially motivated by emotional factors such as violation of human rights. Nevertheless, even cultural and religious aspect is considered rationally: articles of Kalev (2004) and Abdulcadira et al. (2011) both lay stress on the fact that this practice has no clear religious justification or roots in the communities preserving it. Moreover, the stance of these people is reasoned with help of arguments about negative impact on physical and mental health as well as absence of medical necessity to perform FGM. As a result, there is an opposition between advocates of the practice and its opponents, which arises due to difference in reasoning systems typical for the parties. VI. Alternative Conclusions Female genital mutilation as an extensive practice in some of the world’s cultures and especially in African communities is a result of certain biases and heuristic rules that are, however, not proved by means of rational reasoning. For instance there is biased attitude to circumcised and uncircumcised women, with the former being a standard and treated positively and the latter being marginalized in a way. On the other hand, functionality of this bias lies in its necessity to support the practice; but on the other hand, it is problematic in terms of virtual requirement of compliance from women. Moreover, socio-economic reasons for FGM as well as view of FGM as a means to preserve chastity and eliminate chances of infidelity are also controversial. They also support the practice and create a kind of mental setting in the community members’ minds, though their practical value is arguable, because, for instance, a circumcised woman actually can (hypothetically) engage in adultery. In alternative circumstances, the practice wouldn’t have survived. Cultures of this type – virtually underdeveloped and belonging to developing societies – lack rational component in reasoning, while developed cultured wouldn’t have allowed the practice like this to flourish, at least out of scientific considerations. This is particularly the reason the civilized world opposes FGM practice vigorously. Reference list Abdulcadira, J., Margairazb, C., Boulvaina, M. & Irionet, O. (2011).  Care of women with female genital mutilation/cutting. Swiss Medical Weekly, 6(14), PubMed. Retrieved July 17, 2015 from http://www.smw.ch/content/smw-2011-13137/ Ahan, F. R. (2012). Theories on Female Genital Mutilation. Department of Cultural Anthropology, Uppsala University. Retrieved July 17, 2015 from http://poseidon01.ssrn.com/delivery.php?ID=609118119089000102089000126095116002032050073078086039018100070073095127119007071070057009021101116003110066090081105069078105009059069023087025017081122020065031124027041076084096104026123120086095123000098105104105003123016105064029116067071026115&EXT=pdf&TYPE=2 Brown, K. Beecham, D. & Barrett, H. (2013). The Applicability of Behaviour Change in Intervention Programmes Targeted at Ending Female Genital Mutilation in the EU: Integrating Social Cognitive and Community Level Approaches. Obstetrics and Gynecology International, Volume 2013. Retrieved July 17, 2015 from http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ogi/2013/324362/ Ilo, C. I. (2012). Components of theory of planned behaviour as predictors of intention to abandon female genital mutilation among parents in enugu state, nigeria. Thesis, The Department of Human Kinetics and Health Education. Retrieved July 17, 2015 from http://naulibrary.org/dglibrary/admin/book_directory/Thesis/10963.pdf Kalev, H. D. (2004). Cultural Rights or Human Rights: The Case of Female Genital Mutilation. Sex Roles, Vol. 51, Nos. 5/6, pp. 339-348. Kelly, E. & Hillard, P. J. A. (2005). Female genital mutilation. Current Opinion in Obstetrics & Gynecology, Volume 17 - Issue 5, pp. 490–494. Retrieved July 17, 2015 from http://journals.lww.com/co-obgyn/Abstract/2005/10000/Female_genital_mutilation.9.aspx Moges, A. (n/a). What is behind the tradition of FGM? African Women Website. Retrieved July 17, 2015 from http://www.african-women.org/documents/behind-FGM-tradition.pdf Oyefara, J. L. (2014). Ritual Female Genital Mutilation: A Psychosocial Analysis of a Flourishing Rather than a Dying Tradition in Oworonshoki Community, Lagos, Nigeria. IFE Psychologia, 22(2), 72-83. Terry, L., & Harris, K. (2013). Female genital mutilation: a literature review. Nursing Standard, 28(1), 41-47. UNICEF (2013). Genital Mutilation/Cutting: A statistical overview and exploration of the dynamics of change. Retrieved July 17, 2015 from http://www.childinfo.org/files/FGCM_Lo_res.pdf WHO (2008). Eliminating Female genital mutilation. Retrieved July 17, 2015 from http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2008/9789241596442_eng.pdf Read More