Rethinking Feminist Discourses on Female Genital Mutilation: The Case of the Sudan
Female genital mutilation (FGM) as a violation ofthe human rights ofyoung girls and women, is a subject that in recent years has been under serious scrutiny by the media and the medical community, as well as by feminist scholars. In the United States the practice of female infibulation was brought to the scene by the case of a Nigerian migrant who appealed her deportation order on the grounds of her well founded fear of human rights violations upon returning home. This migrant argued that her daughters would be forced to undergo circumcision or infibulation if they were to return to their village of origin in Nigeria. As a corollary, a new legislation was introduced by Congresswoman Barbara Schroder to prohibit the practice especially among immigrants who thrive to keep it alive in the diaspora. While this article is not intended as a detailed or exhaustive account on feminist work on female genital mutilation, it is in cssence an attempt to provide an alternative approach to studies that fail to capture the reality of why this practice persists. Beyond stressing exotic cultural otherness, and by addressing how the practice curbs women's sexual pleasure, feminist representational discourses tend (with some exceptions) to ignore the contextuality of the forces within society that pertain to, and regulate female sexuality. By emphasizing the implications and barbarity of the excision of women's genitals on their sexual satisfiction, these studies constantly distance themselves from the socio-political and economic contexts ofwider violations ofwomen's rights.
Female Circumcision: Rite of Passage Or Violation of Rights?
Female circumcision involving the partial or total excision of the external female genitalia has been practiced for centuries in parts of Africa usually as a rite of passage for young girls into womanhood and marriage. Female circumcision is currently practiced in at least 28 countries across the center of Africa north of the Equator occurring among Muslims Christians animists and one Jewish sect although no religion requires it. The operation is often performed without anesthesia under septic conditions by lay practitioners with little to no knowledge of human anatomy and medicine. However even though such genital mutilation can cause death or permanent health problems as well as severe pain the practice is perpetuated by practitioners who believe it to be part of their ethnic and cultural identity. Some even consider female circumcision to be a religious obligation. On the other hand some opponents believe female circumcision is a violation of human rights. Prevalence types of circumcision consequences of excision social context efforts to end the practice and prospects for the future are discussed. Substantial change is likely to occur only with improvements in the status of women in society.
Human coenurus infection. A report of 14 cases from Uganada.
Abstract 14 cases of tapeworm coenurus infection of man seen in Uganda are reported. Epidemiologically and clinically the cases seen in tropical Africa are different from those seen elsewhere, possibly reflecting a different species of parasite.