Chapter 1. Introduction: The Custom in Question

Abusharaf, Rogaia Mustafa

doi:10.9783/9780812201024.1

Cited by 9 publications

(12 citation statements)

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“…Indeed, many authors converge by highlighting the fact that criminalising practices of FGC may have unintended adverse effects, such as the risk of clandestine practice of FGC within host countries, alternate practices such as a ritual nick or that parents send their girl child to the home country to undergo these practices in unsafe conditions [6,9,15]. …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The fear of stigmatisation within the host society cultural norms in regards to the integrity and rights of girls’ and women’s bodies as well as the overt perceptions that FGC is a deviant practice that requires criminalisation has been documented as inadvertently limit women and men from accessing needed quality health services [7-9]. In addition, intercultural communication difficulties stemming from linguistic and other cultural barriers have been identified as key deterrents for many immigrant women and men in accessing health services [29-32].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The implication within this terminology is that FGC is practiced as an act of intentional violence against female children, adolescents and women. Those who do not understand FGC as such an act, but as a valued cultural tradition, may experience the language of “mutilation” as alienating [7,9-11]. The delicate challenge of reconciling respect for cultural values associated with these practices and addressing their perceived harmful effects on health is evident in this discrepancy between the intent and impact of language.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Female genital cutting (FGC) and the ethics of care: community engagement and cultural sensitivity at the interface of migration experiences

Vissandjée

Denetto²,

Migliardi

et al. 2014

BMC Int Health Hum Rights

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BackgroundFemale Genital Cutting (FGC) anchored in a complex socio-cultural context becomes significant at the interface of access of health and social services in host countries. The practice of FGC at times, understood as a form of gender-based violence, may result in unjustifiable consequences among girls and women; yet, these practices are culturally engrained traditions with complex meanings calling for ethically and culturally sensitive health and social service provision. Intents and meanings of FGC practice need to be well understood before before any policies that criminalize and condemn are derived and implemented.FGC is addressed as a global public health issue with complex legal and ethical dimensions which impacts ability to access services, far beyond gender sensitivity. The ethics of terminology are addressed, building on the sustained controversial debate in regards to the delicate issue of conceptualization. An overview of international policies is provided, identifying the current trend of condemnation of FGC practices. Socio-cultural and ethical challenges are discussed in light of selected findings from a community-based research project. The illustrative examples provided focus on Western countries, with a specific emphasis on Canada.DiscussionThe examples provided converge with the literature confirming the utmost necessity to engage with the FGC practicing communities allowing for ethically sensitive strategies, reduction of harm in relation to systems of care, and prevention of the risk of systematic gendered stigmatization. A culturally competent, gender and ethically sensitive approach is argued for to ensure the provision of quality ethical care for migrant families in host countries. We argue that socio-cultural determinants such as ethnicity, migration, sex and gender need to be accounted for as integral to the social construction of FGC.SummaryWorking partnerships between the public health sector and community based organisations with a true involvement of women and men from practicing communities will allow for more sensitive and congruent clinical guidelines. In order to honour the fundamental principles and values of medical ethics, such as compassion, beneficence, non-malfeasance, respect, and justice and accountability, socio-cultural interactions at the interface of health and migration will continue to require proper attention. It entails a commitment to recognise the intrinsic value and dignity of girls’ and women’s context.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Female genital cutting (FGC) and the ethics of care: community engagement and cultural sensitivity at the interface of migration experiences

Vissandjée

Denetto²,

Migliardi

et al. 2014

BMC Int Health Hum Rights

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“…FGM/C is one of the many practices that are imposed on women, and has been suggested to be a strategy that exploits female sexuality for the sexual pleasure of men (Abusharaf, 2006;Hilber et al, 2012;Rahman & Toubia, 2001). Various authors have postulated that marriage (Rahman & Toubia, 2001), religion (Leval, Widmark, Tishelman, & Maina Ahlberg, 2004), culture (Jones, Ehiri, & Anyanwu, 2004), ethnicity (Idowu, 2008), maternalism (Berggren, Salam, Bergström, Johansson, & Edberg, 2004), patriarchy and social pressures (Abusharaf, 2006) operate to support the continuance of this procedure. Additionally, community attitudes towards the continuance of the practice are reported to slow and frustrate measures designed to address and potentially end it (Livermore, Monteiro, & Rymer, 2007;Newland, 2006).…”

Section: Why Does Fgm/c Occur?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting: A Conceptual Discussion

Ndasi¹,

Adusei‐Asante²

2019

ASSRJ

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Female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) is a dangerous practice that predates all religions and perpetrated on children for various reasons in various cultural and global contexts, causing adverse lifelong health consequences including sexual, physical and psychological problems for the survivors. Even so, there appears to be no documented work that brings together the major conceptual blocks on FGM/C, a gap this paper seeks to begin to fill. This paper summarises some major concepts on FGM/C as a resource and evaluates key evidence on the practice. While the practice of FGM/C is highly concentrated in Africa, the practice is spread out globally with a shift towards its medicalization among migrant communities and traditional settings. A focus of this paper is to propagate awareness and polarise debates to bring to an end to the practice of FGM/C globally.

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“…Furthermore, descriptions of female circumcision based in this model have been criticized for disregarding crucial aspects of these practices that are of high worth to the women involved. In dismissing the female actors' point of view, it reflects an attitude that is patronizing and treacherous to basic feminist values, some feminist scholars argue (for example Abusharaf 2000Abusharaf , 2006Ahmadu 2000Ahmadu , 2007Nnaemeka 2005;Obiora 1997aObiora , 1997b. In addition, it is said, the whole enterprise of Westerners saving Africans in global campaigns fighting "female genital mutilation" reflects neocolonialist values (Boddy 2007;Morsy 1991;Njambi 2004;Shweder 2005).…”

Section: Patriarchal Control: the Feminist Explanationmentioning

confidence: 99%