Purpose
and Questions: The purpose with this thesis is to
explore
why
female
genital mutilation
(FGM)
persist in Ethiopia,
and secondly to explore
reverberations felt in a wider context from a
political and ethical perspective
.
The aim of this paper is not to
argue that traditional female genital
mutilation ought to be legalized, but to highlight the double standards of moral involved
.
Following
questions were used as guidance
to fulfil the purpose:
how
is the situation for women and what is the
sta
tus of FGM i
n Ethiopia
?
; a
re there legal framework mechanisms in place?
; w
hat are the attitudes on
the biggest challenges in the struggle against FGM and what are the way’s forward?
; and
w
hat
readings can be made with regards to the ‘phenomenon’ of genital alterations
in a wider
context
from a
political and ethical
perspective?
Method:
This thesis is
a
case study of the phenome
non genital mutilation
.
It has elements of a field
study with comparative elements, in terms of the ‘
phenomenon
’ of genital alterations.
The
material
consists
of
data from
fieldwork conducted in Ethiopia as wel
l as
data from
literature review
.
Results
:
The paper presents an alternative point of view on previously not so well understood
relations on the subject matter.
Ethiopia is
a poor and
highly traditional
country
, where
women lack
behind in most areas
.
The l
egal
provisions
in the Criminal Code
against FGM
are
not strong enough,
or in place
.
The C
riminal Code only restricts the practice
and doesn’
t explicitly outlaw it
.
T
he cou
ntry
is
als
o
democratically crippled, and
NGOs has been constrained (indirectly) in their work on FGM.
E
thnicity
and culture, rather than religion, seem to be
the most decisive factor
s for the practice
in Ethiopia
. However,
it
seems
as though the veil of silence
has
been partially lifted.
There seem to
be awareness in some segments of the population, however much more work is needed towards the
total elimination of
the practice
.
Awareness on the harm
as well as implementation and adherence to
the law, and thus change takes time.
Western cultural norms
however
seem to prev
ail over other
cultural norms,
and v
ario
us forms of genital alterations
undertaken due to
individual non
-
medical
reasons
might
create
skewed attitudes and
have a negative impact on the struggl
e against FGM,
from a
wider perspective.