Female Circumcision Case Studies

FEMALE CIRCUMCISION AND KENYAN LAW: A CASE STUDY Michael A. Stanfield Bioethics Program Iowa State University

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction Introductory Materials Activity Activity Schedule Interest Groups Maendeleo Ya Wanawake Organization (MYWO) Resource 1: Female Genital Mutilation in Kenya Resource 2: Alternative Rite to Female Circumcision Resource 3: Girls Flee Circumcision in Kenya Kenyan Government Representatives Resource 1: Female Genital Mutilation Cases Rise Resource 2: Minister Wants Tougher Anti-FGM Action Resource 3: Alarm over FGM in Private Clinics Resource 4: Murugi Proposes Life Term for FGM Culprits African Women are Free to Choose (AWA-FC) Resource 1: Statement by AWA-FC Individuals Opposed to Criminalization Resource
For the purposes of this assignment, students will imagine themselves as a free association of diverse individuals including scholars, religious leaders, lobbyists, and private citizens. Whether or not members of this group support female circumcision practices, they realize that the practice is deeply embedded in culture, and eradication has very real personal, physical, socio-political, and religious implications, not all of which may be desirable. Given the complex nature of the female circumcision question and the sensitivity required to discuss the issue with circumcising communities, members of this group promote alternative rites of passage, and may speak against circumcision; however, they also see criminalization of circumcision as a very dangerous option that has negative consequences for individuals, particularly young girls, as well as families and communities. Members of this group will argue that strict penalties for practicing female circumcision do more harm than good, by instilling fear in communities and requiring circumcisions to be done in secret, an often dangerous option, and particularly one which may cause continued violence, and even death. For more information, see:
The new rite is known as 'Ntanira na Mugambo' or 'Circumcision Through Words'. It uses a week-long program of counseling, capped by community celebration and affirmation, in place of the widely criticized practice also known as female genital mutilation (FGM). Next month, residents of some 13 villages in central Kenya will celebrate the fourth installment of this increasingly popular alternative rite of passage for young females. The first Circumcision Through Words occurred in August 1996, when 30 families in the tiny village of Gatunga, not far from Mount Kenya, ushered their daughters through the new program. Some 50 families participated in the program in December followed by 70 families this past August. Circumcision Through Words grows out of collaborations between rural families and the Kenyan national women's group, Maendeleo ya Wanawake Organization (MYWO), which is committed to ending FGM in Kenya. It follows years of research and discussion with villagers by MYWO field workers with the close cooperation of the Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH), a nonprofit, nongovernmental, international organization which seeks to improve the health of women and children. Headquartered in Seattle, PATH has served as technical facilitator for MYWO's FGM program, providing the methodologies and other inputs to