Hesperian Health Guides
Working for Change
If you are not sure how you feel about female genital cutting, weigh the risks to help you decide. Are the benefits of cutting worth the problems? Culture is always changing to meet new needs. Why not change this practice?
What you can do:
- Help everyone in your community feel valued whether they are cut or not.
- Encourage your daughters to continue their education and make their own decisions about their lives. Every child has the right to good health, education, and to decide what happens to their body.
In many communities, mothers, midwives, and community leaders have adapted traditions to mark the passage of a girl to womanhood. In some places, the several-days long ritual happens exactly as before, but with a new practice in place of female genital cutting. For example, a girl will have milk poured over her genitals to symbolize fertility. In other places, educational camps that last many days train girls in âfamily life skills.â Then there is a feast given by the families or a public ceremony to recognize the girlsâ transition to adulthood, depending on local customs.
For real change to happen in your community, people must work together to end this harmful practice.
- Encourage health workers to explain the risks of female genital cutting, promote alternatives, and get training on what to do for health problems caused by cutting.
- Educate your community about the health problems caused by female genital cutting. Find out what womenâs organizations in your region are doing. Together you can work for change.
- Discuss cutting with traditional and religious leaders. Religion does not support female genital cutting, but this is not always well understood.
- Transform rituals that mark the passage from childhood to adulthood so they do not include female genital cutting, but still include prayers, songs, and practices that do not harm women.
- Recognize how important traditional birth attendants are to community health. Since they often perform female genital cutting, educate them about its harms. Replace the recognition they get for cutting ceremonies with their participation in rituals that do not include cutting.