Men's role vital in stopping female circumcision: experts

AFP

GENEVA- The fight to stop female genital mutilation in Africa will not be won without the involvement of men, experts and field researchers agreed ahead of Saturday's international day against the practice.
"If men decide to abandon the practice, it's sure and certain that women will follow suit, because for the moment I've not seen in Mali a single woman come forward to say, 'We have to circumcise our daughters," doctor and parliamentary deputy Omar Mariko said.

Women cooking in Mali, 2007 (AFP/File/Georges Gobet)

"Who mans the barricades to say it's our tradition, it's our culture? It's the men," added Mariko, met at the headquarters of the Interparliamentary Union in Geneva.
"If you want change, you have to work with the whole community," said Elise Johansen of the World Health Organisation. "But also, in many countries it was shown that men are to a higher extent than women against the practice, so therefore by involving them more, there is a bigger chance for change."
Johansen said that sometimes mothers and grandmothers wait until the father of the household is out before taking their daughter to be circumcised.
In Mali, more than 90 percent of women between 15 and 49 years old have had their genital organs mutilated, according to the WHO, which recalls that female genital mutilation affects between 120 and 140 million women in 28 countries, mostly in Africa and the Middle East.
"The female genital mutilation or cutting poses immediate and long-term problems for the health of women and girls and violates their human rights," the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said Friday.
UNICEF pointed out that mutilation causes intense pain, sometimes bleeding, and sometimes sterility or even death.
Mariko regretted that no law bans the practice in his country, but took hope from certain targeted initiatives, like a meeting organised with 200 traditional chiefs in the brotherhood of hunters. They were shown a film to make them more aware of the practice, and then talked all night.
"The hunters then picked up their fetishes and swore never again to have their daughters circumcised," Mariko said.
"In Africa, everything that relates to sexuality is taboo," said Mauritanian anthropologist Abdoulaye Sow. "Women have been forced to cope with it on their own bodies and their daughters' bodies, and have been responsible for it, whereas men have a more distant perception on the practice.
"But once they (men) get information on the health risks and they really understand what it is, they usually get shocked and they can react more negatively," Sow said.
Nevertheless, "men play a large part of responsibility: they demand virginity on the day of the marriage." Circumcision is seen in some cultures as a guarantee of virginity.
Popular beliefs hold that female genital mutilation prevents women from having children outside marriage, which is the height of scandal, and that it inclines them to carry out their Muslim prayers.
The struggle needs to be taken on cultural ground and not just the health terrain in Mauritania, where more than 71 percent of women are affected, the anthropologist said. The theme needs to be taken up in the native language of women and by using examples from their daily life.
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Comments (2)

1. Tim Smith on 02/08/2010 7:42 AM

Female Procedure Prevents HIV/AIDS

Stallings et al. (2009) reported that, in Tanzanian women,
the risk of HIV among women who had undergone Female
Circumcision was roughly half that of women who had not;
the association remained significant after adjusting for
region, household wealth, age, lifetime partners, and
union status.

Female circumcision and HIV infection in Tanzania:
for better or for worse?
(3rd IAS conference on HIV pathogenesis and treatment)
International AIDS Society

2. Peppino P on 02/19/2010 11:11 AM

Interesting post, would like to say something important about penis health.

The penis is one of the most sensitive areas of the male body....and yet, ironically, the penis is also the recipient of some very abusive treatment, more so than any other organ of the body. Penis skin, over time, is expected to undergo many hours of touching, rubbing, penetrating and, quite often, aggressive behavior. The penis is frequently yanked, grabbed, squeezed and pumped. And, despite all this aggressive behavior, this sensitive organ can withstand any number of acts of which few are gentle. Experiencing all this activity you would think that the penis and penile well-being should not be ignored. Well, at least that is what you would expect. However, with most men, this is not the case. And for men who ignore the health of their penis, beware, because if penile health is abandoned then, with time, you can expect loss of penis sensitivity or penile blood vessel damage, erectile issues, dry, cracking, irritated penis skin to name just a few of the potential male organ health problems. Over the long term expect health issues in which your penis may not provide the performance to which you have become accustomed and of which you will no longer be proud.

Most of us sensible guys give the other parts of our bodies lots of attention through exercise, vitamin pills, minerals, nutritional liquids and diets to keep our bodies healthy in order to provide peak performance, physically and mentally. So you have to ask yourself, why do so many men ignore the health of the most sensitive and pleasurable part of their body? There is no logical answer, however, now is the time for intelligent men of action to step up and be responsible for their penis health care and do so before the inevitable penis health issues appear.

There are products available that have penis-select vitamins, minerals and nutrients that are ingredients necessary for proper penis health care. For information on penis health and penis health products visit, http://www.man1health.com And, please, act now, your penis health is much too important to ignore any longer.

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