In the African tradition, culture is the most respected and valuable treasure. It has been said several times that a man without a culture is like a tree without roots!
Cultures have many rituals, norms, dos and donts attached to them. Respecting and treasuring the cultural norms and traditions in many African communities is not debatable and failure to comply is punishable both socially and traditionally.
I keep asking myself whether this is a fair treat. I mean between our traditions and us.
• Were these cultures God sent or they were formed by our ancestors?
• Is it in our best interests to live a life that our cultures have predefined even when we are quite sure that our destiny lies somewhere else?
• Do we need to respect our cultures even if it means dictating our lives? Or should our cultures respect us in the same way?
• How can we say NO to cultural practices that are unfair to us and our counterparts?
• What if our cultures are the only option? How will we ever know?
• How will we ever know that we belong to the cultures we respect and put before our personal lives considering the enormous numbers of different cultures across the whole world?
Female genital mutilation is a liability in cultures where it is being practiced today. It is a norm, ritual, and cultural practice which involve cutting female genitals in a process which can also be termed as circumcision. This is done traditionally using a sharp blade, ash (to reduce friction on the genitals before they are cut) then urine is applied on the cuts/wound to heal. Apparently girls majority under the age of 15 are vulnerable to this cultural practice. They go through a lot of pain in the process of cutting their genitals and they are offered no medication to enable them heal in the shortest time possible. Instead they are advised to be strong and face the live pain without any kind of sterilization.
In a third world country like Uganda (where female genital mutilation is practiced), this cultural practice imposes a big threat of spreading STDs, HIV/AIDs, not mentioning cancer. There are no safety precautions taken as the ritual is performed traditionally! Other health implications vary from girl to girl considering the personal hygiene and body immunity (ability to heal without medical care).
The girls suffer silently without hesitation because it is the only way to prove that they can take all their traditional responsibilities as women in their societies; say get a man to marry and have children. “To them this is more of a stage in their traditional life cycle!” Before a girl performs this ritual she is not regarded as a woman, she cannot marry, she earns no respect and she is regarded as a coward.
These communities have the so called “chosen people” to perform this ritual. They say that these people are chosen by spirit/ ancestors to perform the ritual. When time comes for a girl to perform this ritual, her family pays to the person who performs the ritual a given price which varies in relation to the girl’s family economic position in the community. In most cases the price is in terms of hard cash, plus other material possessions like a goat, a cow or even a plot of land. The ritual is performed only upon full payment of the agreed price to the chosen person.
Question is, if FGM is a vital and mutual cultural benefit then why isn’t it free? To the chosen people its good business but do they feel sorry for the little girls they are hurting day after day, year after year?
While some people are not decided on whether female genital mutilation (FGM) is a good or bad practice, a couple of nongovernmental organizations in Uganda have carried out research on FGM and are currently running sensitization campaigns against it. They are using print media, radios, and the web to reach out a wider audience and to sensitize the cultures in Uganda and around the world. Even though these NGOs have put in a lot of effort, some cultures have on several occasions been hostile to them and prevented them from achieving their goals.
I met a multimedia student in August last year who was working on a film about FGM with the title “SHOMILU” (in his own words it means “See How Much I Love You!”).
When I asked him why he had chosen that project in particular he said “I have sisters and it hurts me so much when I see a girl going through such pain.” In his short clip of about 4 minutes where he was one of the actors, a girl is circumcised and a few hours later a man rapes her when she is in the shower room. Eventually the girl is found dead because of excessive bleeding.
“I directed this film and I would like to do a bigger project around female genital mutilation but I would like to do more research and collect information from organizations and then I can shoot the real movie”,
he concluded.
Friday, February 6th is the International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). This day was set aside to promote the rights of women with the aim of eliminating Female Genital Mutilation.
Question remains; what should be done about Female Genital Mutilation?
I must acknowledge the role of our cultures and traditions in our social and moral upbringing. Probably if it was not for our cultures and traditional societies pulling strings on us, the world would not have been a better place. I respect my culture and will always respect it for as long as it respects me.
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