Research Outline: Female Genital Mutilation

2191 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essays about ethics in research

Introduction In the world of feminist research there is an assortment of issues that can be studied, many of which are sensitive topics. An issue we chose to focus our research on is Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). We have found that more research needs to be conducted on FGM, and it should be done in a way that respects the rights of the individuals and the culture in which it is rooted and practiced. Throughout this paper we will discuss the practice of FGM, how we plan to research it, theoretical considerations, methodological considerations, ethical considerations, as well as our anticipated results. The use of the term mutilation, rather than possible substitutes (cutting, circumcision, ablation, etc.) has been a topic of debate for researchers and scholars alike. We decided to use mutilation, as we wanted to follow the World Health Organization’s (WHO) definition. The WHO defines female genital mutilation as “all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons” (World Health Organization, 2013). This broad definition encompasses four types of operations: circumcision, excision, infibulation and intermediate (Dorkenoo & Elworthy, 2006). It is common for FGM to be practiced most commonly on infant and adolescence girls; we find this to be problematic as the girls do not have the ability to choose to undergo in the ritual of FGM, it is family members and community pressure that decide. Literature has shown that FGM is most prevalent in African countries, and often in unsafe conditions. However, this act has become more of a global issue, mainly because of immigration to outside countries, including Canada (Dorkenoo & Elworthy... ... middle of paper ... ...larsportal.info.proxy.bib.uottawa.ca/tmp/4833923679252551994.pdf Braddy, C. M., & Files, J. A. (2007). Female Genital Mutilation: Cultural Awareness and Clinical Considerations. Journal of Midwifery & Women's Health, 52(2), 158-163. Crossman, A. (2013). Feminist Theory. Retrieved from: http://sociology.about.com/od/Sociological-Theory/a/Feminist-Theory.htm Dorkenoo, E., & Elworthy, S. (2006). Female genital mutilation: proposals for change (Rev. and updated ed.). London: Minority Rights Group. Resnik, D. B. U.S. Department of Health and Human Servies, (2011). What is ethics in research & why is it important?. Retrieved from National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences website: http://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/resources/bioethics/whatis/ World Health Organization. (2013). Female genital mutilation. Retrieved from: www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs241/en/

Show More
Related

  • Analysis: The Initiation Of A Maasai Warrior

    929 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • monique

    641 Words  | 2 Pages

    The women in Nampossela lack the social and economic rights to make many significant decisions about their life. Due to her simultaneous position as an outsider and a member of the group, Holloway becomes an unbiased outlet that Monique and other woman can speak with regarding their difficulties. One such difficulty amongst women in Mali that Holloway discovered was female circumcision. Holloway, prior to her visit to Mali, was aware of the practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in rural villages. However, the intense birth of Korotun’s daughter causes Holloway to question the reasoning behind the traditional cutting. In response to Holloway’s mention of FGM, Monique explains her painful experience of circumcision at nine or ten and her thoughts on the subject, “Here we say that koloboli helps girls become good wives and bear children…it does not help the baby pass through…”(114). The practice of FGM in Mali occurs often enough that Monique had never met an uncut woman prior to Holloway, whose western background does not practice FGM.

    Read More

  • Female Circumcision: Rite Of Passage Or Violation Of

    1501 Words  | 4 Pages

    It examines questions about cultural practices and why some/all people accept them and whom that might be benefitting or harming (ibid). In other words, it examines the behaviors, consequences, social factors, and above all the power structures in play. In Althaus’ article, she postulates that one reason that female circumcision is used is to increase the sexual pleasure of men (Althaus, 131). Here we can see the strong presence of a patriarchal society. Recall the purpose here is not to actually criticize this practice but rather seek the underlying interests or motivations of implementing it. The strong presence of a patriarchy indicates that women in a way are indeed used as means to serve the interests of men both sexually and also by providing a child. This brings about the winners (men) and the oppressed

    Read More

  • Analyzing Edgerton's Argument

    1094 Words  | 3 Pages

    Female genital mutilation is mostly practiced in Islamic and African cultures, claiming young girls as t...

    Read More

  • Female Circumcision As An Example Of Ethnocentrism In Western Culture

    935 Words  | 2 Pages

    Many feminists in the Western Culture have this ethnocentric idea that female circumcision is “female mutilation” portraying it as a “barbaric tradition” and “violence against women” (“Yes to Female Circumcision?”). According to Fuambai Ahmadu, a Sierra Leonean-American anthropologist, female circumcision is an initiation that symbolizes matriarchal power. The practice is “synonymous with women’s power, their political, economic, reproductive, and ritual spheres of influence” (Ahmadu, pg. 14). By having no regards to the cultures and traditions of these small-scale societies, we are invalidating their beliefs and presenting ethnocentric

    Read More

  • Reflection Of Half The Sky

    707 Words  | 2 Pages

    They are more than just household workers, caretakers of children and materials of pleasure. Women are underestimated because they show off a gentle and very caring side making others think that they can be easily fooled and that they cannot progress. The greatest challenge of women empowerment is changing the stereotypes that have existed in many cultures. For example, female genital cutting shows the discrimination of women. This practice is offensive to human rights and should be eradicated. Although it is difficult to break out of tradition, it has to be broken because it shows a wrong use of religion and tradition. The society has tolerated it for so long; it takes a special person to say that it’s wrong, someone who has great power over the people such as the leaders or other people who see the bigger picture. The female who was an expert in doing female circumcision mentioned that cutting itself is a source of income for her and she would abandon the practice if given another kind of source of income. This shows a capitalist structure in their

    Read More

  • Female Genital Circumcision Essay

    2844 Words  | 6 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Essay On Geniital Mutilation

    1241 Words  | 3 Pages

    Is female genital mutilation a cultural practice or a delinquency? Female genital mutilation better known as female genital cutting is a operation performed based on religion and cultural causes. However, entirely of the victims gone through this sacrifice explain it as a crime.

    Read More

  • Female Genital Mutilation: A Violation of Human Rights

    3259 Words  | 7 Pages

    WHO, UNICEF and UNFPA (2011), Female Genital Mutilation: A joint statement, World Health Organization, Geneva, pp. 1-5.

    Read More

  • Female Genital Mutilation

    1710 Words  | 4 Pages

    Female Genital Mutilation is believed to have started in Egypt 2,000 years ago and spread from there. Only a few years ago, FGM was considered a cultural tradition, but now the United Nations has labeled it as a violation of human rights. Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, and the United States has declared Female Genital Mutilation grounds for seeking asylum and is a punishable offense (1).

    Read More

  • Female Circumcision

    1301 Words  | 3 Pages

    Female Genital Cutting." Womenshealth.gov | 800-994-9662. The National Women's Health Information Center. Web. 15 June 2010. .

    Read More

  • Ethical Conduct in Human Research

    1461 Words  | 3 Pages

    Ethics refers to the values and customs of a community at a particular point in time. At present, the term ethics is guided by the moral principles that guide our everyday actions. These moral principles guide the researcher into deciding what is ‘right’ or ‘wrong’. The foundation of medical ethics is governed by two philosophical frameworks that are deontology, and utilitarianism. However ultimately the ethics committees need to balance the risks, and benefits for the participants and the community associated with the particular research proposal. This balance is quite important as the well being of participants is at risk.7

    Read More

  • A Stance on Abortion

    1013 Words  | 3 Pages

    Expecting to completely eliminate abortions from the face of the earth by making them illegal and getting rid of the facilities that provide them is an awfully absurd idea due to the fact that abortions will never cease to exist. Induced abortions have taken place all over the world, and “societies have [been struggling with] the issue of abortion for millennia” (Abortion). Within countries where abortions are essentially illegal, many turn to unsafe abortion methods, usually performed by unskilled practitioners (Chapter 5). These procedures are “often unsanitary… and [result] in the death or mutilation of many women” (Abortion). In areas where these services are not attainable, many women are prompted to seek out specialists to assist them in dangerous and surreptitious methods of abortion such as repeated blows to the stomach and the insertion of bizarre objects in the vagina and cervix. However, abortion-related deaths are usually quite rare in developed countries where the service is both legal and accessible. It is estimated...

    Read More

  • essay

    1246 Words  | 3 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Female Circumcision

    1200 Words  | 3 Pages

    The one question people ask themselves when thinking of female circumcision is, “is this a human rights issue?” and “how do we end this practice?”. The debate of whether female circumcision is mutilation and therefore abuse comes up right along with the topic of female circumcision. The fact that this act is

    Read More

More about Research Outline: Female Genital Mutilation

Open Document