HEALTH INTERACTIVE WITH DR. AMINU MAGASHI

Female Genital Mutilation and Our Societies

healthinteractive@hotmail.com

 

In September last year (2005), one of the days I used do my recordings for my weekly Hausa Programme ‘Tsarabar Mata that addresses Maternal and Child Health being aired by Radio Freedom, a private owned station in Kano, as I was entering the premises of the station, someone told me that I had some visitors from the Traditional Barbers Association and they were in the station twice and could not found me. My uninvited visitors had to do with a programme I did on Traditional Practices and their health effects on Children and in that programme I discussed various aspect of the practices ranging from Circumcision ( Female and Male ) , removal of Uvula ( a loose structure that hangs within the mouth of babies ) , traditional cutting of Umbilical Cord to mention but few .

 

My intention was to inform the listening public the health hazards attach to such practices without necessarily condemning the entire practices. I laid emphasis on the risk of spreading HIV/AIDS, Tetanus , Hepatitis and Staphylococcus Infections as well as the risk of severe bleeding which may lead to severe shock and if not control will lead to death . I witnessed a child my self when I was a House officer at Emergency Pediatric Unit of Murtala Mohd Specialist Hospital, he was rush  with Severe Anaemia due to some injury incurred  during the Process of Removal of Uvula and lost a lot of blood. The child was already in Irreversible Shock and could not be resuscitated and died on the spot. These are some of the issues I raised in my programme and called the attention of Parents and Traditional Barbers to be careful while implementing such practices

 

Unfortunately, my message was wrongly interpreted as someone who was bent on frustrating people’s source of Livelihood and what they inherited from Fore-Fathers. Before I arrived the scene , one of my unexpected visitor had already vowed that I would not live to see the next day and after my arrival I was besieged by all the Five of them in the Station’s Conference Room .  The A.G.M Operation of the Station, Mallam Umar Sa’id Tudun Wada attended the meeting and made the first attempt to reduce tension in the room and all of us listen to the recorded cassette of the programme and gave me the chance to explain further. I took my time to provide answers to some of the questions raised and also re-iterated my intention of linking what they are doing with Health Hazards and the best way to halt such risks. At the end of our peace meeting, I strongly believe that , their perception was that my program has tampered with their business, what they cherished and also undermined their source of income and survival .

 

I brought this scenario due to the fact the 8th of April of every year is declared as Women’s International Day and all over the world there are lot celebration, commemoration and also taking a stock of the progress so far with respect to observing the Rights of Women globally and also involving them in all decision making. On that day, I received an Email from an organization based in United Kingdom ‘Woman Being Concern International wishing me all the BEST on International Women's Day. And the message also reads ‘The World remain helpless in the fight against Female Genital Mutilation (FGM/FGC). Send a message of hope today to millions of young girls and women who continue to be agonized by this experience. The sender also encouraged me to visit their Website ‘http://www.womanbeing.org/womenday.html and of course I did.

 

Two things interest me from the website, one was a research done by the organization, and it says that: Woman Being Concern International has just concluded a Knowledge, Attitudes and Practice (KAP) Survey among African Men Living in the UK, the initial results from the survey indicates that men’s attitudes and beliefs are changing.

  • Over 90% of respondents believe that FGM is not done for Men.

  • Nearly 85% of respondents believe that there are no social or economic benefits of FGM to societies where it is practiced

  • Nearly 95% of respondents believed that the practice must stop.

 

My concern is the issue of the majority of the respondents that believe there is no economic gain, of course there is, at least in the angle of those who practice the Female Genital Mutilation. The reader, based on my narration of a personal encounter with Traditional barbers will see the angle of economic gain and that could be an area of Intervention, if we must stop Female Genital Mutilation.

 

Another issue I did read from the website, which I found very interesting is a paragraph that reads: Genital cutting is seen as a way of ensuring that a woman is clean, chaste, and ready for marriage; uncut women are associated with promiscuity and lack of social respectability. Deadening the woman's sexual pleasure is a way of guaranteeing her virginity and fidelity. Because it is a valued social rite, most girls are willing to succumb to the pain and the subsequent health problems. But whether they wish to be excised or not, the choice is not theirs. LIVING IN A STAUNCHLY PATRIARCHAL WORLD, THEY ARE DEPENDENT ON MEN FOR SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC SURVIVAL. (Emphasis Mine)

 

The word ‘Patriarchal World’ if my women folks will forgive me is used countless time by women activists to express their dissatisfaction over the attitude of men , they put a very uncompromising posture on that to the extent that it led to failure of so many good projects that aim to alleviate the suffering of women . What we need in this world is not a fight between Women and Men, but to work together, understand the nature of a problem and address it. Women activists will agree with me that they stand to record good result and success story in any intervention concerning women when they work with Men of like minds.

 

I remember when in July 2005 I attended a Three Week African Course in Lagos , Nigeria on Sexuality, I had a difficult tasks convincing a female participant from Egypt concerning issue of Female Genital Mutilation (FGN). I told her that , when you enter a society to do an intervention , no matter your passion and desire to help them abolish such  practices , don’t begin by using the phrase ‘Female Genital Mutilation , may be you can use a softer phrase : Female Genital Cutting and when you attack the entire practice from beginning , you are bound to fail , so why not begin by discussing all the Health hazards attached to the practice , convince them to be going to hospital to do it under Aseptic Condition and with Anesthesia, just like how it is happening in some areas of Egypt . Through that means one is reducing the Agony female folks undergo. That way , one can now focus on the health workers and train them as Counselors and Agent of Change and they can begin to engage parents when ever they bring their children for that practice and enlighten them about the benefit of not doing that ,which of course has out ways the benefit of doing it from the angle of  Female Children . Another project can also go side by side is  to educate the Traditional Herbalists and Barbers other economic options and alternatives should in case they abandon such practices.

 

Looking at the Practice it self, from available literature, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is still practiced in over 28 countries in the world, mostly in Africa. Young girls and women continue to be agonized by this experience and act of horror while the world stands watching.

 

According to the World Health Organization, 85 million to 115 million girls and women have undergone some form of female genital mutilation. Today, this practice is carried out in 28 African countries, despite the fact that it is outlawed in a number of these nations.

 

The Mutilation could be in the form of excision of the Skin surrounding Clitoris, or removal of the Clitoris it self or in some cultures, it extends up to removal of the Labia Minora and Majora, the skin folds that cover the Vagina. At times it is accompanied by public celebrations and is often a source of pride for the girl. For some it also carries religious significance. Usually performed on girls between the ages of 4 and 12, but also on teenagers, it is performed by a female elder or a barber using a razor, knife, or piece of glass, usually without anesthetic, while several women hold the girl down. Agonizingly painful, there is evidence of lack of sexual pleasure and frequently causes medical problems, including severe bleeding, Infections such as Tetanus and HIV/AIDS, Urinary Incontinence and Fistula between the Vagina and the Bladder if the cut has extended up to urinary pathway.

Quoting from the Womebeing International Website:  Genital mutilation is practiced in 28 countries in central Africa, ranging from Somalia on the East coast and stretching westward to Senegal. The rite is believed to have originated more than two thousand years ago in Egypt or the Horn of Africa (what is now Eritrea, Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Somalia). The World Health Organization estimates that more than 130 million women have undergone the procedure.

 

Countries Practicing Genital Mutilation include; Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo and Uganda

 

In conclusion, I will like to mention that in addressing Female Genital Mutilation, a lot of variables have to be put in to consideration, Health, Economy and Social Well being of Women and I am of the opinion that we need to work with Religious Leaders too  due to their influence on the society as well as finding a lasting solution to the practices

 

Dr Magashi is the Executive Director of Community Health and Research Initiative, Kano , Nigeria and can be reached at  healthinteractive@hotmail.com