The Politics Of Knowledge On African Sexualities And Its Effect On Women S Health A Case Of The Sabiny Female Genital Mutilation

Thesis (M.A.) from the year 2015 in the subject Gender Studies, University of KwaZulu-Natal, course: Masters, language: English, abstract: The purpose of this study was to understand ‘What knowledge matters', and ‘Whose knowledge matters' in the study of African sexuality and in particular female genital circumcision. The Sabiny peoples of Uganda practice the tradition of wonsetapkoruk or wosho as a rite of initiation for girls. This practice is elsewhere understood as female genital cutting, female genital circumcision or female genital mutilation. Discussions on African sexuality and female genital circumcision have taken either a Western perspective or an African point of view. Since the practice is understood differently, the values attached to it differ as a consequence of the wide range of opinions. In certain ways it is considered as a determinant of who has a normal sexuality or a normal body; distinguishes girls from women; confers true femininity as opposed to masculinity. Amidst these discussions, the aspect of women‘s health is peripheral and marginalized. Instead discussions seem to be limited by issues of language, naming, and standpoints by which various bodies of knowledge argue their different positions. Communication between the various sides of the debate is also minimal. Despite the claims that female genital circumcision is harmful to women‘s health attempts to eradicate it are faced by resistances. Through an African feminist approach to the politics of knowledge on African sexualities, in this study I argue that the discourses on African sexualities and in particular those on female genital circumcision affect the understanding of women‘s health. Second, the different approaches employed in the discussions of female genital circumcision evaluate the practice using different scales of values which affect the understanding of health through what they neglect or take for granted.

This book reveals the structures of poverty, power, patriarchy and imperialistic health policies that underpin what the World Health Organization calls the “hidden disease” of vaginal fistulas in Africa. By employing critical feminist and post-colonial perspectives, it shows how “leaking black female bodies” are constructed, ranked, stratified and marginalised in global maternal health care, and explains why women in Africa are at risk of developing vaginal fistulas and then having adequate treatment delayed or denied. Drawing on face-to-face, in-depth interviews with 30 Kenyan women, it paints a rare social portrait of the heartbreaking challenges for Kenyan women living with this most profound gender-related health issue – an experience of shame, taboo and abjection with severe implications for women’s wellbeing, health and sexuality. In absolutely groundbreaking depth, this book shows why research on vaginal fistulas must incorporate feminist understandings of bodily experience to inform future practices and knowledge.

"The last three decades have witnessed a proliferation of NGOs engaging in new campaigns to end the practice of female genital cutting across Africa. These campaigns have in turn spurred new institutions, discourses, and political projects, bringing about unexpected social transformations, both intended and unintended. Consequently, cutting is waning across the continent. At the same time, these endings are being disavowed by cross-continental discourses that argue that cutting has become an object of a neocolonial, racist gaze and Western interventionist zeal. What does it mean to say that while cutting is ending, the Western discourse surrounding it is on the rise? And what kind of a feminist anthropology is needed in such a moment? The Twilight of Cutting examines these and other questions from the vantage point of Ghanaian feminist and reproductive health NGOs that have organized campaigns against cutting for over thirty years. The book looks at these NGOs not as solutions but as sites of 'problematization.' The purpose of understanding Ghanaian campaigns, their transnational and regional encounters, and the forms of governmentality they produce is not to charge them with providing answers to the question, how do we end cutting? Instead, it is to account for their work, their historicity, the life worlds and subjectivities they engender, and the modes of reflection, imminent critique, and opposition they set in motion"--Provided by publisher.

The central argument is that the theological motif of the image of God invites a prophetic critique of the social environment in which HIV/AIDS thrives and calls for a praxis of love and compassion.

Master's Thesis from the year 2017 in the subject Women Studies / Gender Studies, Hawassa University, language: English, abstract: Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is recognized internationally as a violation of human rights of girls and women constituting an extreme form of gender discrimination with documented health consequences. The aim of this study was to assess knowledge, attitude and practice of women towards FGM practice. A community based cross-sectional study design was applied. Both quantitative and qualitative were employed. A total of 278 women at reproductive age (15-49) were sampled for the study from six randomly selected kebeles of Angacha woreda. The survey data was analyzed by SPSS soft ware version 20. Descriptive statistics such as mean, percentage and frequency were used for analyzing data. Binary Logistic Regression Model was used to analyze determinant Associated Factors regarding FGM. In addition qualitative data were analyzed thematically and the result was presented in narration. The result showed that 55.4% of women had good knowledge about FGM practice however 44.6% had poor knowledge. The majority of the women (50.4%) had negative attitude while 49.6% of them had positive attitude towards FGM practice. Tradition and fear of marriage were the major reasons for the continuation of this practice. From study participants 92.4%of responded that FGM was being practiced in their community and 77.7% of participants were undergone themselves. This study revealed that 79.5% of women were encountered physical health problems related to FGM and 59.7% of women were encountered psychological and sexual problems related to FGM. Bivariate and Multivariate analyses were carried out to identify determinant factors of practice. Age, family income, knowledge and attitude were significantly associated factors for FGM practice. [...]

This book provides a unique perspective on addressing issues of various forms of violence against children from scholars within their own country. Bringing together cross-disciplinary expertise, this volume addresses a vast range of topics related to child abuse and neglect in Uganda. Exploring areas from the protection of street children to cultural proverbs related to child maltreatment, this volume examines issues both specific to the Ugandan contexts as well as broadly experienced in child maltreatment work in non-Euro-American countries. This book surveys the breadth of the child protection field, covering issues of children’s universal rights, challenges of protection and ethical quandaries in researching and addressing maltreatment.

This unique volume focuses on the psychosexual and social effects of female genital mutilation, an ancient, deeply entrenched custom saturating the larger part of Africa. Over a period of six years, Author Hanny Lightfoot-Klein trekked through outlying areas of Sudan, Kenya, and Egypt, where she lived with a number of African families. What she learned by way of in-depth personal interviews and firsthand observation has enabled her to add a previously unknown and often astonishing dimension to our knowledge of ritual practices and human sexuality. This valuable book will be extremely helpful to professionals and scholars in women's studies, social psychology, psychotherapy, psychiatry, gynecology, sexology, as well as cross-cultural and African studies. It should also interest anyone who is concerned with male circumcision in the United States.