Female Genital Mutilation in the Sudan: The Complexities of Eradication

This paper explains the cultural form of FGM and the difficulties of eradicating this practice that requires girls to be cut in different forms before marriage and after birth. The practice not only brings physical pain and emotional inability to enjoy sexual relations but perpetuates a male dominated world and a social norm required by girls in order to acquire social acceptance and the role of wives and mothers. While the Sudanese state has signed international treaties banning this practice it has not ratified or enforce the end of the practice of FGM in Sudan. This paper recognises that cultural norms are slow to change but that it is possible and it suggests community involvement in educational programs and the re-employment of those practitioners who actually perform cuts on girls in the traditional setting. This is an important paper that speaks of the clash between traditional ritual practices and the contemporary politics of a globalized world.