Female Genital Mutilation: A Humanistic Approach

Abstract

“He is a barbarian and thinks that the customs of his tribe and island are the laws of nature.” - George Bernard Shaw Humans often take absolute responsibility of things done in the name of religion and most importantly customs! Upon a closer view, one can identify different shades of the archaic customs deep rooted in our society and in mind of the people. Any tradition or custom, once found to be in contravention to human rights, are no longer associated with a country, but transform into a global concern. One such issue kept camouflaged in the name of tradition or custom is the of Female Genital Mutilation (hereinafter referred to as FGM), which has been a prevalent circumciser practice in Africa, Middle East and Asia. The procedure comprises of partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or causing other injuries to the genital organs for non-medical reasons. This practice is not territorial in nature, extends beyond borders, some immigrants in the United States and Western Europe still practice it, by sending their daughters back to their homeland to undergo this procedure. FGM, in India has been modelled in Bohra Muslim community from centuries of patriarchy, as “khatna” or “khafz”. The Act is regarded as a human rights violation by the UN, but surprisingly there are no laws in India for banning it. WHO admitted FGM to be a major concern, and issued a joint statement against the practice of FGM together with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). Several programs and workshops have been conducted to accelerate the abandonment it. As humans, every generation has witnessed different folds of mankind, developing over a period of time, especially in the variety of practice, intricately related to complex social orders and to traditional codes of behaviour. In this transition, several practices causing harmful effects, have been gradually abandoned while some practices including FGM still remain. The author through the medium of this paper desires to bring to throw light on the existing forces that drive humans to still believe and succumb to this brutal act of female circumcision, especially in the age of modern technological advancement and knowledge.