Abstract
In every society where non-therapeutic female circumcision (FC) occurs, so too does non-therapeutic male circumcision (MC). In the past few decades, the norm in Euro-American societies has been to distinguish between the practices: FC is banned, while MC is condoned or encouraged. We explored Somalis’ post-migration perceptions of FC and MC, while considering that they once lived in a society where both practices were widely accepted and now live in a society where there is a legal ban on FC alongside acceptance of MC. Eighteen individual interviews and seven focus group discussions were conducted with Somali men and women in three Swedish cities. There seemed to be a continuity of values across male and female forms of genital cutting concerning being a good Muslim, not inflicting harm and upholding respectability. Following migration, however, a renegotiation of how these values relate to MC and FC resulted in a conceptual split between the two: MC was perceived as an unquestionably required practice, but FC was viewed as a practice that can be adapted or abandoned. In a new cultural context after migration, perceptions of ideal male and female genitals, and what kinds of inscriptions on the body are desired, seem to have changed.
Highlights
Female circumcision (FC), called female genital mutilation or cutting,1 refers to various modifications of girls’ external genitalia for non-medical reasons and is mainly practised in parts of Africa and some countries in the Middle East and Asia
The data analysis resulted in the identification of one main theme: male circumcision (MC) is a required practice while FC is not required and can be adapted or abandoned
Many Swedish Somalis in this study described how interactions with other Muslims in Sweden who do not practice FC but MC, made them revalue the religious imperative of FC while strengthening their support of MC
Summary
Female circumcision (FC), called female genital mutilation or cutting, refers to various modifications of girls’ external genitalia for non-medical reasons and is mainly practised in parts of Africa and some countries in the Middle East and Asia. 200 million girls and women are circumcised. Most have had parts of their external clitoris (an erectile organ), labia minora and/or labia majora (which protect the urethral and vaginal orifices) removed, while about 10% are infibulated, meaning that the vaginal orifice has been narrowed by cutting and appositioning the labia. Minora and/or majora, with or without removal of the external clitoris. Some have been cut without the removal of tissue (so-called ‘pricking’ or ‘nicking’) (Moore and Agur 2007; UNICEF 2013). FC is associated with both short- and long-term health complications, including haemorrhage and urinary tract infections (Berg et al 2014)
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