Amani Wright
4/19/11
1:50pm
Nancy, a young teen girl, though very obedient and well-behaved, has refused to undergo the routine labia and clitoris removal of her culture. This practice was started centuries ago to keep wives from straying when husbands were away. Now it is a way to prove that one is strong enough to be a part of her culture.
A teen girl, Gertrude, reports that her friends who have had the operation were all cut with the same knife. If any of them had a disease, they would all have it.
An older woman describes how teen girls bleed profusely, go into shock, and even die during this operation.
Culture is the very thing that makes us who we are before we even know who that person is. However, there are people who rebel against this predetermined identity, because they don’t agree with it. Nancy has been scared into bravery. While it is her culture to have her clitoris and labia removed, she says ‘no’; ‘No’ to possible infection, ‘no’ to the pain and blood in the name of culture. Many people all over the world have begun to rebel against certain cultural practices as a way of liberating themselves from the stronghold of something that doesn’t make sense to them.
While not going through with this mutilation will hold Nancy at a low place in society, making her ineligible for marriage, she feels it is her right not to put herself at risk of disease, and even death, and she doesn’t need to do so to achieve her life goals.
4 comments:
This article made me extremely sad. I hate knowing that this poor girl is restricted by the bonds of her culture and will suffer for refusing to participate in an awful tradition. However, I do commend Nancy for standing up for her right as a human. I think a downfall to having such strong cultural ties is that you sometimes feel restricted to what you are expected to believe and do. Although I adore my culture and the idea of embracing your culture, I do believe everyone has the right as a human to stand up and say no.
I commend Nancy for her brave efforts of saying no to a cultural tradition. I hope that she does not struggle too much in her attempt at being successful in her culture throughout her life given her choices. While many families encourage FGM, I think the biggest risk posed is the girls' health which should be considered %100 of the time.
It takes a very strong women to stand up to an issue like this. I also agree that Nancy is brave to stand up against her cultures tradition. This is how change occur when someone is different from what others do. I believe this is only the beginning for the rights of women all because one person was brave enough to say no.
Not only does this type of mutilation cause pain in a physical way, but in a psychological way as well. For a woman, this cultural tradition is degrading and dehumanizing. Good for her for resisting, but what about the other women who went through this procedure? How did it affect them?
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