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An argumentative essay on female circumcision
An argumentative essay on female circumcision
Female circumcision essays
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Cultural Relativism as Applied to Female Genital Mutilation
"I remember the blade. How it shone! There was a woman kneeling over me with the knife. I bit her; it was all I could do. Then three women came to hold me down. One of them sat on my chest. I bit her with all my might." These words reflect Banassiri Sylla’s account of her experience undergoing female circumcision, also known as female genital mutilation (FGM), at the young age of eight in the Ivory Coast. This disturbing description of her struggle makes it hard to understand why any culture could support such a practice. Yet, it is estimated that about 132 million women and girls in about thirty African countries have undergone the same, or at least similar, cultural procedure as Banassiri. According to the World Health Organization, about two million girls undergo female genital mutilation every year and the percentage of women circumcised is as high as ninety-eight percent in countries such as Djibouti .
Despite its popularity in Africa, FGM is under scrutiny by members of the international human rights community. In 1993, female circumcision was deemed harmful by the international Human Rights Conference in Vienna . The World Health Organization, UNICEF, and the UN Population Fund have planned programs designed to “completely eliminate [female genital mutilation] within three generations” , on the basis that FGM is a human rights violation. This gives rise to the obvious question as to whether human rights activists and organizations should be sensitive to the cultural practices of the people of Africa. Some human rights activists have even professed FGM as a “knock-down counterargument to cultural relativism”, and use the practice as an example of how hum...
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Works Cited
Dorkenoo, Efua and Scilla Elworthy. “Female Genital Mutilation: Proposals for Change”. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data. (1992): 3-36.
“Female Genital Mutilation: An Overview”. World Health Organization Publications.
Geneva: 1998. Viewed 1 Dec. 2001. http://www.who.int/dsa/cat98/fgmbook.htm#2.%20Prevalence%20and%20epidemiology>
Fluehr-Lobban, Carolyn. “Cultural Relativism and Universal Rights”. The Chronicle of Higher Education. June 1995. Viewed 1 Dec. 2001. http://www.cs.org/publications/featuredarticles/1998/fluerhlobban.htm>
Reaves, Malik Stan. “Alternative Rite to Female Circumcision Spreading in Kenya”. Africa News Service. Nov. 1997. Pp 1-3.
Robinson, Simon. “The Last Rites”. Time Europe. Dec. 2001: Vol 158, No 23. 1 Dec. 2001. http://www.time.com/time/europe/af/magazine/0,9868,185799,00.html>
Hundreds across the nation watch forensic shows every day. From fictional shows similar to Criminal Minds and CSI, to nonfictional shows such as The First 48 and Forensic Files. However, these shows have something in common. Criminological programs continuously show how the crime happened, what it takes to crack the case, how investigators accumulate evidence, a...
Forensic psychology is a continually adapting sphere. It is hard to have one solid definition for the field, as there are so many aspects that interlock. Within each attribute of the forensic psychology has roles and responsibilities to sustain. The rapid growth and emerging importance of this field volumes of information will be developed in the next decade.
Female genital circumcision (FGC) is a cultural ritual that is performed to the vast majority of women within the countries of Sudan, Kenya, Mali, Benin, Togo, and parts of the Middle East. Female genital circumcision also termed as female genital mutilation is used based upon a person’s beliefs. This ritual has been highly controversial for many years especially in the western society, due to the health risks that women may have to go through. Doctor Gruenbaum, and anthropologist who studied FGC in Sudan, has researched this topic and believes that outsiders need to have an open mind about diverse cultures. I believe that this procedure should not be illegal; however, education about the risks of the procedure should be enforced in the countries where this takes place, in order to create a safer environment for the ritual to be performed in. The goal of this essay is to know what Female Genital Circumcision is and different types of FGC and why this is performed and why it is important for outsiders to not have ethnocentric views when dealing with this. This essay also deals with why it should be medicalized instead of enforcing laws to ban this years long tradition in all African countries. When challenging female genital circumcision, we are also challenging the people who perform this procedure, their culture, values and beliefs.
...problem is viewed by the public. According to the Womankind Worldwide organization, in order to achieve the abolition of FGM two things must happen: “FGM needs to be firmly [placed] on national governments’ agendas and there must be clear laws specifically criminalizing FGM” (Womankind Worldwide 32). Until those two things happen, Female Genital Mutilation will continue to be a worldwide concern. Developed nations must help the countries “lagging behind” to smooth the progress of eradicating FGM (Skaine 79). The frequency of genital cutting in individual countries makes the practice seem irrelevant in many parts of the world; however the practice is a worldwide human rights concern. A person’s body should not be deformed, unless for hygienic or medical reasons, without the individual’s permission therefore any form of Female Genital Mutilation should not take place.
words that help capture what is medieval art. The artists behind these pieces of artwork
Female genital mutilation (also known as female circumcision) is the cutting of female clitoral hood and removing clitoris. Following the cutting of female genital organ, there are many short-term and long-term health risk problems, and even death due to some complicated infections. The reasons for performing female genital mutilation are connected with socio-cultural beliefs, attitudes, values and customs, transition of girls into womanhood, tradition and cultural heritage, the fear of not having access to resources and opportunities as a young woman, perception to reduce sexual desire of females; hence, will sustain premarital virginity, and maintain marital fidelity. Actions have taken at international, national and regional levels since the past many years and have begun to bear fruits, but the practice is still undergoing in many countries in the world and highly prevalent in Africa. To continue and motivate further reduction in changing the society’s attitudes towards female genital mutilation in the countries where the prevalence has remained stable so it’s therefor...
In the Maasai society, genital cutting is a rite of passage from childhood to adulthood, and both men and women go through the process of circumcision. As society ages, opinions on cultural norms change. This is true for the Maasai society, where the views on female circumcision have and are changing. Female circumcision is classified into three categories, and defined by the World Health Organization, Type I is the removal of the foreskin on the vagina, Type II is the removal of the clitoris, and Type III is the removal of all external genitalia with the stitching or narrowing of the vaginal opening (“New Study”). Traditionally in the Maasai society, women underwent Type II or Type III circumcision. Written in 1988, “The Initiation of a Maasai Warrior,” by Tepilit Ole Saitoi, and is an autobiographical story of Saitoti’s circumcision in his initiation to a warrior. Though his story mainly focuses on the male circumcision part of the Maasai society, women’s circumcision and other basic traditions are discussed. Throughout the short story, the topic of circumcision and the rite of passage, both long- standing traditions in the Maasai society, are central themes.
Several societies place large burdens upon their women whether it is their looks, mothering skills, or other special cases. A special case that is widely known across the world is a practice that done in China several years ago. In China they had a custom where they broke girl’s feet, and tied them down so that their feet would remain unnaturally small. This practice led to the mutilation of thousands of girl’s feet, but if they did not get their feet broken they would not be able to get married. To my knowledge this practice no longer occurs in the twenty-first century, but another practice similar to it does. This practice is called female circumcision and is widely known in the United States as female genital mutilation (FGM). Female circumcision is a practice that is conducted in Ethiopia and Africa; it can have extremely harmful side effects which have led to it being banned in the United States. Anyone found practicing FGM in the United States could face a sentence of five years in prison. FGM is viewed as abuse in the United States even if the female wishes to be circumcised. However, despite the United States obvious views of female circumcision as immoral; some societies view female circumcision as a part of their culture which is why it still occurs today.
Geberth, Vernon J. (1983). Practical Homicide Investigation: Tactics, Procedures, and Forensic Technics. Elsevier Science Publishing Co., Inc.
Female genital mutilation, also known as female circumcision, is a practice that involves the removal of part or all of the female external genitalia. It occurs throughout the world, but most commonly in Africa where they say that it is a tradition and social custom to keep a young girl pure and a married woman faithful. But to some Westerners, the practice is viewed as being primitive and barbaric. We react with disgust and find it nearly incomprehensible that female genital mutilation can occur in the world today
Forensic science has been in practice for centuries; the first textbook on forensic science was printed in China during the 1200's; in the early 1800's, a technique was developed the first test to identify arsenic in the blood stream; the early 1900's lead to the development of using fingerprinting to identify victims and suspects. While these discoveries where important in criminal investigation, they were only the beginning. Only recently has forensic science significantly refined its techniques and accuracy. Today scientists can locate, identify and trace the tiniest of particles, and identify victims and suspects, beyond a reasonable doubt through DNA analysis. This evolution in forensic science is a prosecutor's dream; while a defense attorney's nightmare. Forensic science has made great strides.
The Republic of Mozambique is the official name of a county which is located on Africa; the country is bordered by Tanzania, South Africa, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi. Mozambique president is Armando Guebuza. In June 1975 Mozambique gained freedom from Portugal. It also has a population up to 23.4 million. The capital of Mozambique is Maputo and it has an area of 812,379 sq. km. In Mozambique Portuguese is the country’s official language also Swahili, English and other indigenous languages are spoken, the most common religions in Mozambique are Christianity, indigenous beliefs and Islam. The lifespan in the country is 49 years for men and 49 years for women also, the country’s main exports are seafood and cotton, its built up of coastal lowlands, moving towards the west of the country to a plateau ranging from 500 to 2000 ft. over sea level and on the western border to a greater upland 6000 to 8000 ft. with mountains in the north ranging a height of over 8000 ft. the uppermost mountains are Namuli which is about 7936 ft., Binga which is 7992 ft. and on the Zimbabwean border and there is also Serra Zuira coming up to 706 ft. in the Sofala province. The most significant rivers in Mozambique are the Zambezi towards to southeast then goes to the middle of Mozambique into the Indian Ocean, The well-known lake is the maneuverable lake Niassa. In the river valleys and deltas, the soil is wealthy and fertile but southern and central Mozambique have unworthy, poor and sandy soil and parts of the inland of Mozambique are dry. However in the next paragraphs there will be information about the history, political system, the demographic, development, conflict and perceived strengths and weaknesses of Mozambique.
In Searching for “Voices”: Feminism, Anthropology, and the Global Debates over Female Genital Operations, Walley discusses the social issues concerning female genital operations as perceived by “westerners”, as well as discusses her ethnographic account of female circumcision. Her main purpose of doing this was to lay the groundwork for “a more productive feminist and anthropological debate” capable of going beyond the binary terms in which female circumcisions are usually discussed. Since female circumcisions are known by a variety of names, such as female genital mutilation and female genital torture, and with her understanding of the negative connotation often associated with those varieties of names, Walley makes the decision to adopt the term female genital operations instead. In 1988, Walley went in the village of KiKhome, in western Kenya as an English teacher and immersed herself in the lives of the people living around the village to better understand the practice of female genital operations as an outsider. One day, some of her students invited her to assist at a female genital operation ceremony. She found out that the participants see circumcision as a rite of passage into adulthood. However, she truly wanted to know the participants’ personal views on the topic rather than the imposed views of their parents and their culture. The four women she interviewed told her that “their custom was good,” and it was something that a person needs to accept with her whole being not to feel the pain. Nevertheless, some of the women told her that they would not want their daughters to undergo circumcision, and that they themselves regretted having done the procedure. Walley finally gave up “searching for real voices,” because what t...
Some countries have banned Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) but some societies continue to perform this procedure. Likewise, coming from an anthropological perspective, I understand why cultures and societies perform Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). But as a young woman and a Westerner, I feel as though the girl should have a choice, and worry about the negative consequences of having the Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) surgery. In conclusion, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) leaves non-Westerns wondering who came up with this procedure. Works Cited Anonymous, Female Genital Mutilation.
...tunate and wealthy through some type of hardship or quest. “The Rocking-Horse Winner” begins in much of the same way. The family is stricken by debt and the mother has no place in her heart for love. Paul takes it upon himself to go on the quest for luck, and thereby attempting to bring about her love. The supernatural elements, much like Paul's ability to predict a winning horse, is very much like the magic that would be seen in a fairy tale. However, the text plays with these expectations in unexpected ways. On one hand the text does away with the rags-to-riches storyline, a complete reversal of the expected. Sure, his mother gets the money that she has always wanted, but at what price? The life of her only son. Paul gets to tell her, “I am lucky!” (Lawrence 760), but by that point, he dies. The text is a cruel twist on the phrase “Lucky in money, unlucky in love”.