The Female Genital Cutting Controversy: Finding Paths to Cultural Understanding

Background

Thirteen African countries have addressed the issue of female genital cutting by taking legislative measures against it. Chad implemented legislation against FGC in 2003 and the practice is punishable by law. In 2000, Chad ratified the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child that explicitly calls on states to “take all appropriate measures to eliminate harmful social and cultural practices affecting the welfare, dignity, normal growth and development of the child,” including FGC.

The anti-FGC efforts in Chad have received significant international attention. The United Nations supports the government in public awareness campaigns aimed at combating and eradicating the practice of genital cutting. The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has been identifying pregnant women (in refugee camps) who have undergone the practice in order to prepare for potential complications but also to specifically prevent new cases of cutting in the camps. The U.S. government, through the U.S. Embassy’s Democracy and Human Rights Fund (DHRF) supported a locally initiated multi-faceted education program to eliminate this practice during 1997-1999. International work against FGC in Chad continues.

The National Institute of Statistics, Economic and Demographic Studies estimated that 45% percent of females had undergone genital cutting, and the practice is particularly prevalent among ethnic groups in both the East and the South of Chad.  The Ministry of Social Action and Family took on the central role in coordinating initiatives to combat FGC and is the responsible institutional body to lead the nation-wide anti-FGC movement.

Problem Statement

The village of Myabe is located in Southern Chad and is inhabited by the Sara people. The Sara women have voluntarily adopted the practice of female genital cutting that historically had not been present in their area. The core underlying issue is that the government of Chad backed up by international agencies is dedicated to eradicating a practice that has been voluntarily adopted by women of Myabe. A thoughtful analysis of this problem is crucial in order to avoid conflict between the different actors in this situation that could potentially be the grounds for a value clash and the threat imposing of decisions of outside authorities.

Based on the existing national policies, it is evident that the government of Chad would likely strive to achieve full eradication of FGC in the area. Consequently, the main challenge for policy makers at Ministry of Social Action and Family of Chad is to analyze approaches that could be taken by the Ministry that would be both beneficial to the welfare of the Sara women, while retaining their right to self-determination. The challenge is to identify whether an anti-FGC intervention or relative law reinforcement in the case of voluntary acceptance of the practice is appropriate in this area, and whether there are other more effective alternatives.

The existing policy approach (dedicated to fully eradicating the practice) applied nation-wide is not necessarily the most appropriate in the case of the Sara people in Southern Chad for two reasons:

1. Women in the village of Myabe have voluntarily accepted the practice of FGC.
2. There is a certain level of risk that a forceful intervention from the government would be met by Sara people with hostility and create a conflict between the local residents and the governing bodies, undermining the possibility of a dialogue that would be essential to the achievement of understanding and the voluntary abandonment of the practice.

It is exactly for the reason that female genital cutting is a voluntary activity adopted by the Sara women, the Ministry of Social Action and Family needs to explore potential policy alternatives. The Ministry might want to adopt the following criteria in generating and choosing the most appropriate policy approach:

1. The Ministry needs to ensure that none of their activities in regards to FGC in the area restricts the woman’s right to choice and independent decision-making.
2. The Ministry needs to ensure that women in the area are not only given the opportunity to make independent and well-guided decisions but also are empowered to do so. In order to accomplish that, the Ministry needs to secure access to reliable information, education, adequate health care services, and other factors contributing to the community development and the social advancement of women.
3. The Ministry needs to comply with the existent legal guidelines set forth by the government of Chad in order to be able to work productively with both nonprofit organization and governmental institutions.