Female Circumcision

Why are female circumcisions an example of a rite of passage?

A rite of passage delineates the entry of an individual from one phase of life into another phase of life, in this case childhood to womanhood. Rites of passage often take the individual and place them in transitional places during the process of social transformation. The girl is taken away from her home and family environment, puts on special clothing, enters a special space, and emerges 'transformed.' The rite of passage takes place in a kind of in-between space, where the girl is neither a woman yet, nor a girl. A parallel example from our own culture might be the engagement period, before a couple gets married, or a Bar Mitzvah, where they central individuals put on unique clothes (a wedding dress and ring or a new suit), engage in special rituals before the ceremony (bachelor parties, bridal showers, Hebrew School), and then perform certain rituals and roles after which they take on new identities in the community (husband and wife, a Jewish man).

What is the role of the family in the continuing process of female circumcisions?

One of the difficulties in trying to stop the practice of female circumcisions is the central role of the family, particularly women, in perpetuating the practice. Because the girls' mothers have had the procedure performed upon themselves, they assume it is normal, and feel that their girls should have to endure what they endured. Also, even if a family might not want their daughters to suffer a circumcision, the family may go along with it, for fear of damaging her marriage prospects or the reputation of the family. They use the excuse that for the girl to function in her society, 'normally' they must obey this societal convention, regardless of its morality. This is compounded by a fear of unchecked, young female sexuality in general.