Child protection and harmful traditional practices: female early marriage and genital modification in Ethiopia

Abstract

This article explores divergent perspectives on female early marriage and genital modification in Ethiopia. It contrasts international norms and research evidence with local understandings, the latter focusing on the part these practices play in securing family social heritage, wellbeing of girls, and their transition to adulthood. The article explains persistence of these practices in the face of campaigns to eliminate them and questions assumptions behind the international child protection model. It points to unintended adverse consequences of interventions that do not pay sufficient regard to local meanings and social relations, and suggests how policy might be approached differently.

Frequency-dependent female genital cutting behaviour confers evolutionary fitness benefits

“…Responding to the majority behaviour could, for example, enhance the 'mate value' of women by increasing their desirability in the marriage market which may translate into higher fertility and/or improved child survivorship 47 . Studies linking FGC status with early age at first marriage 36,48 and age at first birth 49 are supportive of this. Further, if FGC status provides entry into social networks with enhanced access to resources and support this may also improve fitness outcomes such as the health of women and their offspring 30 .…”

Why are current efforts to eliminate female circumcision in Ethiopia misplaced?

“…In our study, the most common justification for its continuance by far was that it confirms a girl's social place by proving her readiness for marriage and adulthood (Boyden, Pankhurst, and Tafere 2012;Gruenbaum 2005, 436). This suggests that for many people social considerations outweigh any concerns they might have about the possible health consequences or risk of punishment.…”

“…Caring for siblings and household chores absorbed the largest share of children's time, especially among girls and in rural areas. Second, marriage is a central strategy for building alliances and accessing resources outside the kin group, arranging a daughter's marriage during her childhood or adolescence having traditionally been seen as guaranteeing both her economic security and the family's economic and social heritage (Boyden, Pankhurst, and Tafere 2012). Unsurprisingly, then, parents are preoccupied with safeguarding a daughter's marriage prospects.…”

What Inequality means for Children

“…Perceptions of social risk result in further constraints for girls Camfield, and Tafere, 2011). Marriage is still a defining factor in Ethiopian girls' lives from the onset of puberty (Boyden, Pankhurst and Tafere, 2012), although beliefs are in rapid flux. While some parents view completing school as the best way for girls to secure their future livelihood, for others, extended schooling is viewed as a potential risk to girls' economic and reproductive futures (for instance by perceptions that more-educated girls might be less marriageable).…”