Entre 100 et 140 millions de femmes, de petites filles et d’adolescentes sont excisées (Andro et Lesclingrand, 2007). Les risques sanitaires de l’excision sont élevés et concernent la santé reproductive, physique et psychologique des femmes. Les nouvelles migrations et l’augmentation des pays qui légifèrent l’excision ont contribué à l’internationalisation de l’excision et à la modification de son processus. On constate actuellement une tendance de l’excision à devenir une pratique clandestine et une perte de sa signification rituelle. En même temps, les mouvements de lutte internationaux, régionaux autant que nationaux prennent de l’ampleur et connaissent une période de mutation afin de contrer la nouvelle figure de l’excision. Le Burkina Faso ne fait pas exception. Le gouvernement burkinabé s’est clairement positionné en faveur du mouvement de lutte contre l’excision et met en place de nombreux dispositifs juridiques, politiques et économiques afin d’en soutenir les initiatives. En 2003, 77 % des femmes burkinabè âgées de 15 à 49 ans se déclaraient excisées. Parallèlement, on assiste à une diminution de la pratique chez leurs filles entre 1998 et 2003 et à une augmentation du nombre de Burkinabè se déclarant contre la pratique. Pourtant en 2003, environ 40 % des femmes ont excisé ou souhaitent exciser leurs filles et environ 24 % des hommes et 26 % des femmes sont encore favorables à la perpétuation de l’excision. Ce mémoire s’intéresse d’abord aux changements de pratique, de connaissance et d’attitudes par rapport à l’excision entre 1998 et 2003. Il s’intéresse ensuite aux déterminants socioculturels, démographiques et économiques favorisant la persistance de cette pratique au sein de la société burkinabé et aux obstacles rencontrés par les intervenants pour combattre l’excision sur le terrain. Pour ce faire la recherche associe méthodes quantitatives et qualitatives. Elle combine analyses statistiques des données des enquêtes démographiques de santé de 2003 et de 1998 et analyse des données d’entretiens collectées auprès d’acteurs sur le terrain entre le premier et le 10 octobre 2005. / Between 100 and 140 million women, young and teenage girls have undergone feminine genital cutting (Andro and Lesclingrand, 2007). The medical risks of excision are high and relate to the reproductive, physical and psychological health of women. New migrations and the increase of countries legislating female genital cutting contributed to the internationalization of the practice and to the changes in its process. The loss of the ritual significance of excision and the increase as a concealed practice have clearly been noticed. In the meantime, the international movements fighting it, regional as well as national, amplify and put changes together in order to counter the new figure of female genital cutting. Burkina Faso does not make exception. The Government has clearly positioned itself in favour of movements fighting excision; and has set up many legal, political and economic devices in order to support their initiatives. In 2003, 77% of Burkina Faso women aged between 15 to 49 years old were declared excised. In parallel, a reduction in the practice for their daughter between 1998 and 2003 is noted as well as an increase in the number of Burkina Faso people declaring themselves against the practice. However in 2003, approximately 40% of women have performed or would like their daughter to undergo the cut; and approximately 24% of men and 26% of women are still encouraging the perpetuation of excision. This thesis’ first concern is the changes in the practice, and the knowledge and attitudes regarding excision between 1998 and 2003. Secondly, the attention is drawn on the socio-cultural, demographic and economic determinants indulging the doggedness of this practice within Burkina Faso people and on the concrete obstacles workers encounter on the ground. Therefore this research associates quantitative and qualitative methods. It combines statistic analysis of the Demographic and Health Surveys of 2003 and 1998 data; and analyzes data collected from talks made between October 1 st and 10th, 2005 with fields’ workers.

This thesis explores the social and political relations of an international non-governmental organisation (NGO) based in Senegal. NGOs and international development have been the subject of research from a number of different perspectives, including the politics (and anti-politics) of development, post-development, structural violence and the ‘everyday lives' of NGO participants and workers (Ferguson 1990; Escobar 1995; Farmer 2004; Bornstein 2005; Hilhorst 2003). The present study builds on this scholarship through an ethnographic exploration of the networks of people involved with Tostan, an American NGO based in Senegal whose developmental objective is to engender social change among rural groups in Senegal (particularly those that practice female genital cutting), using a human rights education framework. Through identification and scrutiny of the organisation's macro- and micro-level social relations, I critically examine how ‘development' operates as a cultural and political process. I focus analytically on conceptions of knowledge and ignorance, particularly the ways in which these constructions are acted upon and utilised by different actors within the organisation. I argue that, as an NGO (and thus a ‘moral actor,' Guilhot 2005: 6) within the contemporary donor-driven development industry, a key preoccupation for Tostan as an organisation is the management of perception, or a concern for the ‘spectacle of development' (Allen 2013). Flowing from this argument is the assertion that the activities carried out by actors at every level of the organisation to produce and re-produce particular narratives through strategic knowing and unknowing are as significant (if not more so) as the formal programmatic activities implemented by the organisation ‘on the ground.' As David Mosse argues, development involves not only social work, but also the conceptual work of ‘enrolment, persuasion, agreement and argument that lies behind the consensus and coherence necessary to sustain authoritative narratives and networks for the continued support of policy' (Mosse 2005: 34). As I argue here, NGO actors work to (re)produce, project and protect particular narratives, through the strategic exercise of knowledge and ignorance, in order to access or consolidate positions of power within the politics of aid. Drawing on critical theories of development and human rights (e.g. Sachs 1992; Escobar 1991, 1995; Guilhot 2005, inter alia), within a political context succinctly described by Ellen Foley (2010: 9) as ‘the neoliberalization of just about everything,' I explore how actors across the organisation are linked in a web of cultural and political presuppositions, values, and motivations.

<p>Kvinnlig könsstympning uppmärksammades i västvärlden på 1970-talet då invandringen till väst från länder där könsstympning praktiseras ökade. När Waris Dirie gav ut sin självbiografiska bok En blomma i Afrikas öken 1999 kom könsstympning åter på tapeten. Eftersom könsstympning är en sedvänja som praktiserats i tusentals år världen över och fortfarande utövas i flera länder idag, väcktes ett intresse att ta reda på omständigheterna kring fenomenet. Vart, hur och varför uppstod denna till synes inhumana och irrationella sedvänja och hur kommer det sig att den lever kvar än idag? Vilka bakomliggande faktorer finns? Hur hänger könsstympning ihop med religion, kultur, genus, makt och så vidare?</p><p>Eftersom det verkade handla om ett mycket komplext fenomen togs beslutet att syftet skulle vara ganska brett och omfattande. Hypotesen var att könsstympning kunde förklaras och förstås som ett socialt fenomen och detta är det som undersöks, analyseras och framhålls genom denna uppsats. De sociologiska teorier som använts faller inom ramarna för socialpsykologi och som komplement till dessa teorier har även interkulturella perspektiv och genus- och etnicitetsperspektiv använts.</p><p>Metoden är kvalitativ datainsamling. Ett stort urval böcker, artiklar och internetkällor har använts. Dataanalysen har skett parallellt och integrerat med datainsamlingen. Centrala begrepp och teoretiska utgångspunkter har sedan kopplats samman med fenomenet könsstympning i analysen. Slutligen hålls en avslutande diskussion där personliga reflektioner och slutsatser diskuteras.</p><p>Resultatet visar på många olika möjliga sociologiska, interkulturella och genus- och etnicitetsrelaterade förklaringsmodeller av hur könsstympning kan förklaras och förstås som ett socialt fenomen. Det har även visat sig vara intressant att dra paralleller mellan den könsstympade kvinnan och den ”jämställda” västerländska kvinnan. Det finns ingen enkel förklaring till varför sedvänjan existerar än idag, det är många olika aspekter och faktorer som spelar in. Vad som är viktigt är att man förhåller sig till fenomenet med viss kulturell relativism och att man beaktar sedvänjans komplexa och multidimensionella natur.</p> / <p>Female genital mutilation (FGM) attracted much attention in the west in the 1970’s, when the immigration to the west from countries where FGM was practiced increased. When Waris Dirie published her autobiography Desert flower: the extraordinary journey of a desert nomad in 1999, the phenomenon got on the carpet again. Since FGM is a custom that has been practiced for thousands of years all over the world and is still beeing practiced in a number of countries today, an interest was awakened for examining the circumstances surrounding the phenomenon. Where, how and why did this apparently inhumane and irrational custom arise and how come it still exists today? What is at the bottom of it? How is FGM related to religion, culture, gender, power and so on?</p><p>Since it seemed to be about a very complex phenomenon a decision was made to keep the purpose of the essay quite broad and extensive. The hypothesis was that FGM could be explained and understood as a sociological phenomenon and this is what has been examined, analyzed and emphasizwd through out this essay. The sociological theories falls within the framework of social phsychology, and as a compliment to these theories there has also been a use of intercultural perspectives and gender- and ethnicity perspectives.</p><p>The method is qualitative data gathering. A large selection of books, articles and websites have been used. Data analysis has been done throughout and integrated with the data gathering process. In the analysis, theory is related and connected to the pheonomenon FMG. Finally there is a closing discussion in which personal reflections and conclusions are discussed.</p><p>The result shows many different sociological, intercultural and gender- and ethnicity related explanation models of how FGM can be explained and understood as a sociological phenomenon. It has also proved interesting to draw paralleles between the circumcised woman and the “equal” western woman. There is no simple explanation to why the custom is still beeing practiced today, there are many different aspects and factors involved. What is important though, is that you relate to the phenomenon with a certain degree of cultural relativism and that you pay regard to the customs complex and multi dimensional nature.</p>

Kvinnlig könsstympning uppmärksammades i västvärlden på 1970-talet då invandringen till väst från länder där könsstympning praktiseras ökade. När Waris Dirie gav ut sin självbiografiska bok En blomma i Afrikas öken 1999 kom könsstympning åter på tapeten. Eftersom könsstympning är en sedvänja som praktiserats i tusentals år världen över och fortfarande utövas i flera länder idag, väcktes ett intresse att ta reda på omständigheterna kring fenomenet. Vart, hur och varför uppstod denna till synes inhumana och irrationella sedvänja och hur kommer det sig att den lever kvar än idag? Vilka bakomliggande faktorer finns? Hur hänger könsstympning ihop med religion, kultur, genus, makt och så vidare? Eftersom det verkade handla om ett mycket komplext fenomen togs beslutet att syftet skulle vara ganska brett och omfattande. Hypotesen var att könsstympning kunde förklaras och förstås som ett socialt fenomen och detta är det som undersöks, analyseras och framhålls genom denna uppsats. De sociologiska teorier som använts faller inom ramarna för socialpsykologi och som komplement till dessa teorier har även interkulturella perspektiv och genus- och etnicitetsperspektiv använts. Metoden är kvalitativ datainsamling. Ett stort urval böcker, artiklar och internetkällor har använts. Dataanalysen har skett parallellt och integrerat med datainsamlingen. Centrala begrepp och teoretiska utgångspunkter har sedan kopplats samman med fenomenet könsstympning i analysen. Slutligen hålls en avslutande diskussion där personliga reflektioner och slutsatser diskuteras. Resultatet visar på många olika möjliga sociologiska, interkulturella och genus- och etnicitetsrelaterade förklaringsmodeller av hur könsstympning kan förklaras och förstås som ett socialt fenomen. Det har även visat sig vara intressant att dra paralleller mellan den könsstympade kvinnan och den ”jämställda” västerländska kvinnan. Det finns ingen enkel förklaring till varför sedvänjan existerar än idag, det är många olika aspekter och faktorer som spelar in. Vad som är viktigt är att man förhåller sig till fenomenet med viss kulturell relativism och att man beaktar sedvänjans komplexa och multidimensionella natur. / Female genital mutilation (FGM) attracted much attention in the west in the 1970’s, when the immigration to the west from countries where FGM was practiced increased. When Waris Dirie published her autobiography Desert flower: the extraordinary journey of a desert nomad in 1999, the phenomenon got on the carpet again. Since FGM is a custom that has been practiced for thousands of years all over the world and is still beeing practiced in a number of countries today, an interest was awakened for examining the circumstances surrounding the phenomenon. Where, how and why did this apparently inhumane and irrational custom arise and how come it still exists today? What is at the bottom of it? How is FGM related to religion, culture, gender, power and so on? Since it seemed to be about a very complex phenomenon a decision was made to keep the purpose of the essay quite broad and extensive. The hypothesis was that FGM could be explained and understood as a sociological phenomenon and this is what has been examined, analyzed and emphasizwd through out this essay. The sociological theories falls within the framework of social phsychology, and as a compliment to these theories there has also been a use of intercultural perspectives and gender- and ethnicity perspectives. The method is qualitative data gathering. A large selection of books, articles and websites have been used. Data analysis has been done throughout and integrated with the data gathering process. In the analysis, theory is related and connected to the pheonomenon FMG. Finally there is a closing discussion in which personal reflections and conclusions are discussed. The result shows many different sociological, intercultural and gender- and ethnicity related explanation models of how FGM can be explained and understood as a sociological phenomenon. It has also proved interesting to draw paralleles between the circumcised woman and the “equal” western woman. There is no simple explanation to why the custom is still beeing practiced today, there are many different aspects and factors involved. What is important though, is that you relate to the phenomenon with a certain degree of cultural relativism and that you pay regard to the customs complex and multi dimensional nature.

Entre 100 et 140 millions de femmes, de petites filles et d’adolescentes sont excisées (Andro et Lesclingrand, 2007). Les risques sanitaires de l’excision sont élevés et concernent la santé reproductive, physique et psychologique des femmes. Les nouvelles migrations et l’augmentation des pays qui légifèrent l’excision ont contribué à l’internationalisation de l’excision et à la modification de son processus. On constate actuellement une tendance de l’excision à devenir une pratique clandestine et une perte de sa signification rituelle. En même temps, les mouvements de lutte internationaux, régionaux autant que nationaux prennent de l’ampleur et connaissent une période de mutation afin de contrer la nouvelle figure de l’excision. Le Burkina Faso ne fait pas exception. Le gouvernement burkinabé s’est clairement positionné en faveur du mouvement de lutte contre l’excision et met en place de nombreux dispositifs juridiques, politiques et économiques afin d’en soutenir les initiatives. En 2003, 77 % des femmes burkinabè âgées de 15 à 49 ans se déclaraient excisées. Parallèlement, on assiste à une diminution de la pratique chez leurs filles entre 1998 et 2003 et à une augmentation du nombre de Burkinabè se déclarant contre la pratique. Pourtant en 2003, environ 40 % des femmes ont excisé ou souhaitent exciser leurs filles et environ 24 % des hommes et 26 % des femmes sont encore favorables à la perpétuation de l’excision. Ce mémoire s’intéresse d’abord aux changements de pratique, de connaissance et d’attitudes par rapport à l’excision entre 1998 et 2003. Il s’intéresse ensuite aux déterminants socioculturels, démographiques et économiques favorisant la persistance de cette pratique au sein de la société burkinabé et aux obstacles rencontrés par les intervenants pour combattre l’excision sur le terrain. Pour ce faire la recherche associe méthodes quantitatives et qualitatives. Elle combine analyses statistiques des données des enquêtes démographiques de santé de 2003 et de 1998 et analyse des données d’entretiens collectées auprès d’acteurs sur le terrain entre le premier et le 10 octobre 2005. / Between 100 and 140 million women, young and teenage girls have undergone feminine genital cutting (Andro and Lesclingrand, 2007). The medical risks of excision are high and relate to the reproductive, physical and psychological health of women. New migrations and the increase of countries legislating female genital cutting contributed to the internationalization of the practice and to the changes in its process. The loss of the ritual significance of excision and the increase as a concealed practice have clearly been noticed. In the meantime, the international movements fighting it, regional as well as national, amplify and put changes together in order to counter the new figure of female genital cutting. Burkina Faso does not make exception. The Government has clearly positioned itself in favour of movements fighting excision; and has set up many legal, political and economic devices in order to support their initiatives. In 2003, 77% of Burkina Faso women aged between 15 to 49 years old were declared excised. In parallel, a reduction in the practice for their daughter between 1998 and 2003 is noted as well as an increase in the number of Burkina Faso people declaring themselves against the practice. However in 2003, approximately 40% of women have performed or would like their daughter to undergo the cut; and approximately 24% of men and 26% of women are still encouraging the perpetuation of excision. This thesis’ first concern is the changes in the practice, and the knowledge and attitudes regarding excision between 1998 and 2003. Secondly, the attention is drawn on the socio-cultural, demographic and economic determinants indulging the doggedness of this practice within Burkina Faso people and on the concrete obstacles workers encounter on the ground. Therefore this research associates quantitative and qualitative methods. It combines statistic analysis of the Demographic and Health Surveys of 2003 and 1998 data; and analyzes data collected from talks made between October 1 st and 10th, 2005 with fields’ workers.

xiv, 246 p. : ill. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / This project is a critical and comparative investigation of Western and non-Western practices of body modification. Situated in the realm of feminist political theory, the project engages the literature and debates concerning embodiment, or the symbolic and concrete meanings of women's bodies. I specifically explore two examples of the physical construction of women's bodies: breast implantation in the United States and female genital cutting (FGC) in Senegal. I demonstrate that each of the practices molds bodies into preexisting naturalized forms. For this project, I conducted eighty in-depth, open-ended, and semi-structured interviews with women and men in twelve different locations in Senegal. Then, I carried out sixty-five in-depth, open-ended, and semi-structured interviews with American men and women from twenty-one different cities. I argue that the information that emerges from looking at body normalization comparatively allows me to make two important claims. The first is that the material that originates from interviews in this comparative study disrupts existing hegemonic discourse on sex-based body modifications. In particular, the comparative findings challenge the viewpoint that espouses a "Western women are free, African women are oppressed" binary. Second, examining FGC in Senegal alongside breast implantation in the US can uncover normalization that is invisible within social fields, or in the lives of women and men. Normalization is hard to see when in it, but easier to see if an individual steps outside of herself, her context, and her patriarchy. Thus, though many women do not recognize the normalizing structures within their own lives, they often are able to see these hegemonic structures in the lives of others. Women stepping outside of their own contexts can provide fresh, critical eyes that recognize embedded normalizations and oppression in other contexts. Further, this realization also can push them to return that critical gaze onto their own environment, which is the beginning of locating mechanisms of control within their own field. The construction of sex and the imprinting of gender norms upon bodies are manifestations of regulation and normalization that occur within socio-cultural contexts, and which individuals can potentially locate through a comparative conversation of this type. / Committee in charge: Dennis Galvan, Chairperson, Political Science; Julie Novkov, Member, Political Science; Leonard Feldman, Member, Political Science; Stephen Wooten, Outside Member, Anthropology

The practice of female genital cutting/s (FGC) has been under national scrutiny in Sweden for decades. Besides strong laws and policies enforced by the Swedish government, civil society organisations have played an important role in addressing the subject of FGC in Sweden. The purpose of this research is to examine what roles and functions civil society organisations assume as they tackle the practice of FGC. Based on semi-structured interviews conducted with employees and volunteers from civil society organisations that address the practice on a daily basis, this study sheds light on the possibilities and challenges civil society organisations face when they approach the question of FGC in Sweden. This research finds that civil society organisations carry a lot of responsibility in terms of tackling FGC in Sweden, as governmental efforts are perceived to be insufficient. Criticism against the Swedish government is first and foremost directed to the lack of knowledge and understanding on FGC within authorities and to the lack of grassroot efforts together with diaspora communities. Thus, this examination shows how civil society organisations engage and provide complementary efforts. First, civil society organisations raise awareness and shed light on the complexity on the practice of FGC within several authorities to secure that knowledge about the practice is maintained. Second, civil society organisations strive to involve, engage and empower individuals on grassroot levels by creating safe and familiar spaces to talk about FGC. Finally, local efforts provided by civil society organisations aim to empower people affected by the practice of FGC to make their voices heard and to represent themselves. In conclusion, this research demonstrates that civil society organisations hold vital complementary roles in relation to the Swedish state in terms of addressing the practice of FGC in Sweden.

Female genital cutting is a problem that has taken several dimensions and continues to be practiced despite enormous efforts and resources invested by governments,non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other stakeholders to ensure that the practice is discontinued worldwide. This study was conducted with the primary objective of assessing the views and perceptions of NGOs on the practice of female genital cutting in Nigeria. The study also examines efforts by civil society and the Nigerian government towards combating and eliminating the practice of FMC in Nigeria. Aside from the systematic literature review, a case study of ten NGOs were interviewed on the telephone. Findings indicate that girls being kept pure as virgins, protection of girls' reproductive potential, increase in fertility, aiding marriageability, traditional practice, and keeping with lineage practice are responsibile for the practice in Nigeria. Few theories were reviewed, and research questions were designed in line with the theories. The approaches include the Functionalist theory, cultural relativism, social theory and Feminism.

Background Female genital cutting (FGC) is a persistent issue of global concern that carries various healthrisks on women and girls. FGC is almost universal in Egypt and despite continuous efforts, the decline of the practice is unsatisfactory. Maternal education is considered an important determinant of FGC among young girls, and it was suggested as a key intervention to promote the abandonment of this practice. This study aimed at investigating the association between the educational level of the mother and female genital cutting among young girls aged 1-14 years in Egypt. Methods This study is an analysis of secondary cross-sectional data extracted from the 2014 Egypt Demographic and Health Survey. The study sample involved 17,573 women of childbearing age. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to assess the association between the maternal level of education and daughter FGC. This study also examined other background characteristics of the mother for association with daughter FGC. Results Of the 17,573 ever-married women, 54% had daughter FGC. Multivariate logistic regression showed that maternal education was negatively associated with daughter FGC. Mothers with primary, secondary, and higher educational levels had lower odds of daughter FGC compared to uneducated mothers. The study also showed that wealthier mothers were less likely to have daughter FGC, while mothers who were circumcised had higher odds of daughter FGC. Conclusion This study revealed that maternal educational level, among other factors was associated with female genital cutting among girls aged 1-14 years in Egypt.

Do people’s attitudes towards female genital cutting (FGC) change after they migrate from a country where the practice is common, to one where it is not? Alongside increased levels of migration, this question is increasingly being raised. This thesis aimed to expand the understanding about attitudes towards FGC held by Somali men and women in Sweden, and thereby to identify potential factors that impede or facilitate the cessation of FGC. Cross-sectional questionnaire data were collected in four Swedish municipalities to assess attitudes to FGC. To further explore perceptions of FGC, as well as the circumcision of boys, semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions were conducted. Data were collected in 2015. The findings identified an overall widespread opposition to forms of FGC that cause anatomical change. A majority (78%) expressed an opposition to the continuation of all forms of FGC, with the odds of supporting FGC decreasing with increased years of residency in Sweden. An identified 18% reported a support for the continuation of pricking (FGC type IV). A support of pricking was linked with perceiving it as acceptable according to Islam, not a violation of children’s rights, and not causing long-term health complications. Pricking was not defined as a form of FGC by 32%. Most men described a preference to marry an uncircumcised woman (76%) or one who had had pricking (16%). How the individuals perceived the support of FGC in the Swedish Somali community corresponded well with their own approval of the practice. While there seemed to be a continuity regarding the Swedish Somalis’ core values of being a good Muslim, not inflicting harm, and upholding respectability, re-evaluation of how these are applied when it comes to circumcision of girls and boys was identified. This resulted in FGC being viewed as a practice that could be abandoned or adapted. Paradoxically, based on the same core values, the circumcision of boys was continuously perceived as an unquestionable required practice. Altogether, these results suggest that a shift in convention towards no FGC is taking place. However, the identified lack of consensus on practices regarded as FGC needs further attention.