By H'Rina DeTroy
Sudan has tried to eradicate female genital mutilation since 1946 to little avail. But now women's health groups have taken the crusade in their hands--or rather, their own painted hands--in an effort to subvert the practice.
NGOs are training midwives and henna artists to cooperate using a secret code communicated through henna tattoos. Called the henna technique, a special design dyed temporarily on the skin can indicate to a midwife that a mother wants to avoid genital mutilation on her daughter. The tattoos serve as a bridge to discuss what is traditionally taboo. In turn, a midwife can stage a fake circumcision.
"It's underground," said Mawahib Mohamed of the Sudan Council of Volunteer Agencies (SCOVA). "It's totally something that women would invent." She said that midwives from the eastern and mountainous Nuer region invented the technique.
Mohamed said that SCOVA supports organizations dedicated to social and health-centered initiatives, like educating midwives about hygiene, immunizations and the risks of FGM. In Sudan, midwives help deliver babies and circumcise the girls after they reach the age of 5.
Normally, NGOs train midwives on how to counsel mothers about the dangers of FGM. Now they are taking bolder steps, showing midwives how to make a bogus ceremony, without any cutting.
But training midwives wasn't enough. Organizations also started teaching henna artists how to talk to clients about FGM. Unlike a midwife, who is present only during birth and circumcision, the interaction with a local henna artist is frequent because henna is applied on the hands and feet for occasions like engagements, baby showers and weddings. Married women always wear a basic design.
If a mother confides that she's afraid or worried about circumcising her daughter, a henna painter can refer the mother to a list of anti-FGM midwives. If the mother feels shy about broaching the subject, she can rely on a henna tattoo to communicate what she can't in words.
In traditional Sudanese communities, women who speak out against circumcision can be criticized for condoning promiscuity and infidelity.
"It's the only thing that works," said Mohamed, who was born in Sudan and lives in Brooklyn. She wore henna on the tips of her fingers, with a heart just below her thumb.
Midwives and henna artists who undermine it gain popularity through referrals to others in the same dilemma. In this way, eradication is clandestine and in women-only spaces.
Generally, FGM happens to girls aged 5 to 14 because parents believe that it will preserve virginity, communicate status, and even protect them from rape. Circumcisions close to adolescence mark passage into womanhood, but are also performed as early as days or weeks after birth or as late as marriage or pregnancy.
In Sudan, the most common of 4 types of FGM is infibulation, considered the most invasive and harmful. The procedure involves removing the inner labia and clitoris, then sowing the outer labia together and leaving 2 openings for urination and menstruation. The skin fuses and intercourse or childbirth can cause breakage and subsequent re-sowing. Girls have died from loss of blood during the procedure, or from infections if the instruments weren't properly sanitized. For many, it's a life of chronic infections and pain.
The 2006 Sudan Household Survey, the most extensive population measurements to date, reflects circumcision in 75 to 80 percent of females in the northern parts of the country surrounding the capitol, Khartoum. In poorer regions, like Darfur, the survey shows that 40 to 60 percent are afflicted. The index illustrating the highest level of education and wealth translates into a higher prevalence of FGM, but also represents the group with the lowest intent to circumcise their daughters.
The procedure is not limited to a specific religion, but it is prevalent in Muslim communities in Sudan. In Kenya, FGM is common among Christians. Neither the Qu'ran nor the Bible endorses the practice.
Population surveys across the continent show three countries with a higher prevalence of FGM in Mali, Egypt and Guinea. Uganda recently launch a campaign to ban FGM.
Executive Director Taina Bien-Aime of Equality Now, a New York based group that works on FGM issues across Africa, said she had not learned of the henna technique-- but it seemed likely.
She commended any local effort to abandon the practice. She said large organizations like UNICEF have not been as effective in the past because they used one approach to fight female circumcision and applied it across Africa. She said a diverse response and customized, local approaches are key to eradication.
"If you ignore the work that's happening locally-- even though they don't produce glossy brochures, we will be trying to fight this for next 30 years," said Bien-Aime.
H'Rina DeTroy is a freelance writer and multimedia journalist studying international reporting at the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism.
Henna - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Sure there are brave people fighting the fight, but no one is moving forward with any real changes in stopping this violent crime against girls, it continues today behind closed doors, when FGM is reported (by a Doctor or health professional) it's only when there is a problem usually during child birth it is noticed, and never reported as a crime, for what reason then it's too late. Even though it against the law in this country.
A band aid is placed on the "problem" and "next please" Forgotten, it's easier to just forget.,
My 9 y.o daughter escaped FGM, she has never lived outside of Australia, the procedure was to take place here, her father, who was born and grew up in Ethiopia, explained to me it was necessary for her to go through this as it would be "good for her" and she would not end up like a slut (?)
I hope and pray that stronger women than myself can stop this from continuing altogether, the only way is to accept that FGM is here, it's a worldwide problem, and support the women who are trying their best to eradictae FGM, TALK about it , HELP the women and girls in NEED.
This is a
America is the only developed nation on earth where this bar baric Bronze Age practice still goes on in large, yet declining numbers. Thankfully, the rate is down to about 60% now and sinking.
do not even compare the brutality and long-lasting effects of FTM with male circumcision.
Also, it may drive home to some that THIS is torture. Waterboarding is not.
In re the subject matter -- what continues to astonish me is all the different ways men and male society have of subjugating, brutalizing, terrorizing and humiliating females.
I wonder when the real female revolution will come -- and whether it will be in my lifetime.
I assure you that I omitted much of my reporting – from names of the few NGOs out of hundreds that do this, to details of how the circumcisions are staged, to the appearance of this henna design—all as a precaution for the safety of those involved. I was also concerned and corresponded with sources over months about whether this story could jeopardize safety and anonymity.
Those sources, NGOs workers and advocates, encouraged me to publish this as a way to raise awareness about an issue that gets little air-play compared to the politics in Sudan or the crisis in Darfur. Their intention in sharing this information with me was to bring attention to a cruel practice afflicting girls and women everyday—and the ingenious way they are fighting back.
FGM is against the law in Sudan. These women are not trying to subvert something that is legal; the law backs anti-FGM advocacy. The prevalence of FGM in parts of Sudan has a lot to do with the fact that the government doesn’t enforce this law. Awareness and subsequent political pressure might change that.
I encourage people to continue learning about this issue. Supporting anti-FGM campaigns, and the dedicated people behind them, is one way to help bring change.
Male circumcision and female genital mutilation are not even closely related. The point of mutilation is to prevent the joy of lovemaking. The point of male circumcision has more to do with asthetics and hygiene because if a male loses the ability to have an orgasm, he has also lost the ability to reproduce.
Regardless of how one feels about male circ, to compare it to FGM is either absurdly disingenuous or shockingly ignorant.
Let's endanger women, NGO workers, midwives, just to get a story in.
Go fish for a movie production deal now.
Glad to know that networks of women are being knitted together to create lines of communication that help end the practice. They need alternatives and clear pathways around the generations-old custom.
have a code of silence like the mafia.
But the possibility of exposing this secret to the wrong authorities would be too tragic.
As horrifying as genital mutilation is, I would find it equally horrifying that any method of preventing it would be carelessly revealed and published.
Please tell me that this story is as fabricated as the myth that the Underground Railroad used quilts to leave messages for escaped slaves on clothes lines. Sounds like a good idea, but no one has ever been able to document it.
But if it is true, use your brains and get it offline.
Huff Po, please stop or debunk this story. Contact Miss DeTroy and find out what's up.
Her mother was a religious woman determined that her daughters would not be "ruined" because of culture and ignorance. A party was held. A "nurse" was hired. My friend explained that like most young girls, she knew nothing about what was going on, except that a "lady in a white uniform cleaned my private parts with what seemed to be ice cold water. It was uncomfortable. I cried. I was extremely embarrassed and refused to leave my room after that. My mother's guests acknowledged mine was appropriate behavior. They did the zaghreet and told me I was strong. But I was 18 when I realized I was never circumcised. My husband never knew. It's not like getting your ears pierced and people know it. Who else besides a doctor is ever going to see that part of your body? My sister and I love my mother so much for this. We are whole, healthy women with no scars. "
I'm proud to be a member of the female gender along side other women -- "sisters" -- who find ways to do what they believe to be right, undaunted by the biggest of obstacles. My horror stories cannot compare w/ the horrific atroc_ities described here.
Thank you for writing this post to bring these awful practices to our attention. Knowledge is power, after all, and as each of us does what we can do, there is hope for the future generations who will come behind us.