Regarding our discussion of cultural relativism. I'd like to talk about female genital mutilation and examine whether the practice makes sense.
What is female genital mutilation?
Amnesty International estimates that over 130 million women worldwide have been affected by some form of FGM, with over 2 million procedures being performed every year. FGM is mainly practiced in African countries.Most Muslims reject this practice in its entirety, however it remains a tradition within certain countries which was not entirely overcome by the arrival of Christianity and Islam. A lack of religious education among these people leads them to mistakenly believe this ancient tribal practice is a religious observance.
UNICEF reports that: Al-Azhar Supreme Council of Islamic Research, the highest religious authority in Egypt, issued a statement saying FGM/C has no basis in core Islamic law or any of its partial provisions and that it is harmful and should not be practiced.
In fact, this pre-Islamic barbarity runs contrary to the Islamic tenet which dictates that a man should make sure his wife enjoys their lovemaking. Coptic Pope Shenouda, the leader of Egypt's minority Christian community, said that neither the Quran nor the Bible demand or mention female circumcision. Yet, the practice continues. Why?
Some see it as a form of patriarchy. Others as political tool of resistance against colonialism. For instance, in Kenya, missionaries present in the 1920s and 1930s forbade their Christianised adherents to practice clitoridectomy. In response, FGC became instrumental to the ethnic independence movement among the Kikuyu, the most populous ethnic group of Kenya -indigenous people reacted against what they perceived as cultural imperialistic attacks by Europeans. If this is the case, the women end up suffering twice: first at the hands of colonizers, second, at the hands of their own people. Again, this is one of the unintended consequences of culture going haywire.
