Abstract

IntroductionThe practice of female genital mutilation (FGM/C) in traditional African societies is grounded in traditions of patriarchy that subjugate women. It is widely assumed that approaches to eradicating the practice must therefore focus on women’s empowerment and changing gender roles.MethodsThis paper presents findings from a qualitative study of the FGM/C beliefs and opinions of men and women in Kassena-Nankana District of northern Ghana. Data are analyzed from 22 focus group panels of young women, young men, reproductive age women, and male social leaders.ResultsThe social systemic influences on FGM/C decision-making are complex. Men represent exogenous sources of social influence on FGM/C decisions through their gender roles in the patriarchal system. As such, their FGM/C decision influence is more prominent for uncircumcised brides at the time of marriage than for FGM/C decisions concerning unmarried adolescents. Women in extended family compounds are relatively prominent as immediate sources of influence on FGM/C decision-making for both brides and adolescents. Circumcised women are the main source of social support for the practice, which they exercise through peer pressure in concert with co-wives. Junior wives entering a polygynous marriage or a large extended family are particularly vulnerable to this pressure. Men are less influential and more open to suggestions of eliminating the practice of FGM/C than women.ConclusionFindings attest to the need for social research on ways to involve men in the promotion of FGM/C abandonment, building on their apparent openness to social change. Investigation is also needed on ways to marshal women’s social networks for offsetting their extended family familial roles in sustaining FGM/C practices.

Highlights

  • The practice of female genital mutilation (FGM/C) in traditional African societies is grounded in tradi‐ tions of patriarchy that subjugate women

  • This paper provides qualitative data from field based study to explicate the gender dynamics of female circumcision in the Kassena-Nankana district of northern Ghana, a locality of northern Ghana that is known to have a high Female genital mutilation (FGM/C) prevalence [20,21,22,23]

  • Since the practice of FGM/C is grounded in customs perpetuating the subjugation of women, it is widely assumed that male preferences and FGM/C beliefs are the decisive influences sustaining the practice of FGM/C in traditional societies

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Summary

Introduction

The practice of female genital mutilation (FGM/C) in traditional African societies is grounded in tradi‐ tions of patriarchy that subjugate women. Gender determinants are typically emphasized by feminist commentators who argue that FGM/C is rooted in the need for men to control women’s sexuality, prevent promiscuity, ensure premarital virginity, marital fidelity and male sexual satisfaction [10]. While this discourse is neither monolithic nor unidimensional, FGM/C is widely recognized as a consequence of patriarchal oppression and the subjugation of women. Type 1, known as Sunna or “circumcision”, is defined as the partial or total removal of the clitoral glands and/or the prepuce/clitoral hood This practice typically represents only a small proportion of women who undergo FGM/C and only a few ethnic groups practice it. Though all the four types of FGM/C are associated with increased health risks, imminent complications can include psychological hazards including pain, trauma, and severe physical complications, such as bleeding, genital tissue swelling, urinary problems infections, or even death, as well as indirect psychological effects on women’s self-image and sexual lives [3, 25]

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