Cultural knowledge is the key to understanding

BMJ 1995;311:1088 (21 October)

Letters

Cultural knowledge is the key to understanding

EDITOR,--J A Black and G D Debelle's review of female genitalmutilation is superficial in its treatment of the anthropologicalcontext and the complexity of the challenges facing professionalsin child protection.² Current beliefs about the function offemale genital mutilation are diverse and include easier childbirthand the prevention of infant death. Focusing on female genitalmutilation solely as a control on female sexuality not onlymisrepresents the situation but is unlikely to enable professionalsto establish meaningful dialogues with the communities in question--anessential prerequisite to eradication of the practice. Manycommunities regard the operations performed at initiation essential,to remove the female elements of the male (the prepuce) andthe male elements of the female (the clitoris). For them, incommon with almost every group in which it occurs, female genitalmutilation is a prerequisite for a woman to be truly female.³There are many communities in . . . [Full text of this article]

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