Culture Smulture!

I think a lot of things contribute to violence against girls and women, but one of the major contributors that stood out in this week’s material was other women. Of course there are other contributors like men, the media, and our society, but I would like to focus on the women contributors. The materials on female genital mutilation were very hard for me to read and watch. Then I remembered what one if the little boys in the brothel video said when viewing a sad picture when he went to Amsterdam. It was something along the lines of how sad it is, but that we must look because it is truth. When I watched the FGM video I was amazed at what the female practitioners were doing to these little girls. Nothing in me can call it culture… it is pure torture. Culture to me is something that should be celebrated, and there is nothing about FGM that I could see to be cause for celebration. It is painful, dehumanizing, and extremely supports gender inequality. None of that describes culture. Merriam-webster.com defines culture as, “the act of developing the intellectual and moral faculties especially by education”. There is nothing intellectual, moral, or educational about what is being done to the victims of FGM. I think as an outsider I have a right to critique this practice because what is being done to these girls is harmful and unhealthy. The fact that according to the online fact sheet, “FGM is internationally recognized as a violation of the human rights of girls and women” says a lot. It is a “cultural tradition” that could lead to death due to things like infection.

I wanted so badly for the interviewer to ask the older women, who were so for the procedure, about their experiences and memories when it was done to them. I cannot visualize a little girl who has just gone through the procedure chalking it up to culture and feeling proud for participating. I’m sure it is very traumatic, emotionally and physically. I doubt the elders have good memories from it. Maybe if they were to reflect on their experience, FGM would come closer to be abolished. While all the information on the FGM fact sheet online was disheartening, a few really stood out to me. The fact sheet stated, “Procedures can cause severe bleeding and problems urinating, and later, potential childbirth complications and newborn deaths.” I have a feeling that that in these cultures, one of the main purposes that women serve is to have children. Why would they be doing a procedure that would complicate that? It doesn’t make sense. The other fact on the sheet that was very confusing was, “FGM is associated with cultural ideals of femininity and modesty, which include the notion that girls are “clean” and "beautiful" after removal of body parts that are considered "male" or "unclean"”. If these girls as females are supposed to be pure angels, why are they being tortured like slaves? In the video the older women seemed to take pride in FGM as a female right of passage. Their views are so skewed about what it means to be a female, and because of that they are not supporting safe healthy lives for the younger girls in the village.

In the brothel video I was so saddened to see the loss of hope in these children, especially the young girls. When Suchitra was asked if she saw a solution to her being forced into prostitution she replied. “No”. These children lose hope so quickly, and are so sure of their destiny. When watching the end of the video, I hated reading that many of the girls’ mothers and grandmothers did not allow them to attend school. I don’t understand why they didn’t want a better life for their daughters. In my mind, no mother wants to picture her daughter being a prostitute. This is why I say that women can contribute to violence against other females. Women and girls need to work together to empower each other and keep each other safe. We must first unite together before anyone else will unite for us. It is so necessary for us to bind together and use our strength. I felt that immense strength in Eve Ensler’s reading about surviving sex slavery. It was so moving I was crying by the end. I also saw that strength in the article about girls fighting back against dirty old men. These are amazing examples of how we need to fight back together to put some sort of end to violence against girls and women.