Category Archives: Freedom of women

A Call to End Female Genital Mutilation in Somalia

12 Replies

Carolina Fonseca

Somalia is a small country in East Africa where female genital mutilation is widespread and consists of the most severe form of female circumcision. This violent act of removing the clitoris, or parts of it, has grown to be a public health issue because the practice has severe physical and mental health consequences for women. The custom has an ancient origin but there are many different reasons and rationales for its practice. These range from religion, to a rite of passage for womanhood, to the preservation of female chastity and purity. Given its complexity, there are no easy solutions for ending the practice. However, raising awareness outside of Somalia and urging all women to join together to effect change, is an important first step closer to helping the girls of Somalia.

Female genital mutilation exists in three forms of cutting. The first is known as Type 1 in which the the precipice, surrounding the clitoris is removed. Type 2 involves removal of the clitoris as well as parts of labia minora. Type 3 is known as Pharaonic circumcision, the most severe form, in which all exterior parts are removed and then closed by rejoining the cut edges of the labia. The practice of Pharaonic circumcision or infibulations is the most widespread practice in Somalia, and it has severe physical and psychological effects on the girls who undergo the procedure.

Some of the physical short term effects are pain, severe hemorrhage from clitoral artery, shock due to hemorrhage, and urinary retention (Ford).  Long-term effects include the development of inclusion cysts, dysmenorrhea (painful cramps during menstruation), infertility, and painful intercourse. Furthermore, the vaginal areas of women with infibulations have to be re-opened for the first experience of sexual intercourse and for each birth. Afterward, they have to be restitched, leading to the formation of painful scar tissues as well as to difficulties with urination and menstruation.

The harmful physical effects are obvious but there are also negative psychological effects that these girls in Somalia face because of genital mutilation. Many may experience posttraumatic stress disorder or anxiety along with nightmares to haunt them for the rest of their lives.  These girls are victims to a culture that labels women inferior and unworthy if not physically mutilated. Feelings of insecurity, helplessness, loneliness, and fear are just a few that girls will go through throughout their lifetime after being a victim to female genital mutilation.

Girls in Somalia may not accept that their worth is solely in their reproductive system, yet, they have no voice in their own country. Outsiders can help but first they must raise awareness, which can cause issues among the community itself for fear of devaluation in their customs. My Voice is a feminist organization at East Carolina University that focuses on equal rights for all women. They raise awareness on campus and reach out to the community with a goal to raise money for particular issues affecting women and minorities.  By joining the club and speaking of the issues facing Somalia, the group can create awareness on campus and get members to fundraise money for the cause as well as getting more students involved.

Waris Dirie is a supermodel in the U.S. but is from Somalia. She has created a video to bring awareness to the horrors of Female Genital Mutilation. In her video, she addresses her personal experience with genital mutilation and explains how it changed her life forever. Dirie was a victim to this cruel act and she advocates stopping Female Genital Mutilation worldwide with her foundation called Desert Flower. By showing this video, we can create awareness and then the next step we need to take is to take action.

An active role we can play as ECU students after watching the film is to raise money for the Desert Flower foundation through My Voice organization. By raising money, we can help these girls in Somalia so that they can live a life free of fear from genital mutilation. ECU students, like many, say they are too busy to help because of homework, exams, and work. My response to these students: there will always be work and things one must do, but if we do not help give a voice to these girls, we have already failed as human beings. We need to push our negative thoughts to the side and fight for equality for these girls so that they may one day have a positive future like Waris Dirie.

 

 

 

 

 

Kansas bill heats debate over rights of Mothers to be

7 Replies

What happens if the ultrasound technician see something wrong and decides NOT to tell you:  http://www.aclu.org/blog/reproductive-freedom/kansas-pregnant-women-little-lie-your-doctor-wont-hurt-you 

As someone who has felt that nervous glide of the ultrasound many times–wondering if all was OK, I understand the ramifications of this bill.

Women’s Commission in Pakistan Gains Autonomous Status

28 Replies

Women’s groups within Pakistan have lobbied for years for the government to strengthen the Women’s Commission and give it autonomous status.

On 2 February 2012, the Pakistan Senate unanimously approved the “National Commission on the Status of Women Bill 2012″ to protect women’s rights against every kind of discrimination. The new bill replaces the National Commission on the Status of Women Ordinance from 2000 and strengthens the Commission by giving it financial and administrative autonomy through an independent Secretariat.

The Commission will investigate and gather information on issues regarding women’s rights, as well as have increased responsibilities to oversee the international commitments made by the government on all women’s issues. The newly adopted bill also changes the status of the Commission’s Chairperson who will now have the seniority of a State Minister, making recommendations directly to the national cabinet. The Comission will also have enhanced membership with two members from each Province and one member each from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), Azad Jammu Kashmir (AJK), Gilgit Baltistan, Islamabad and two members from minorities.

     The UN Commission on Women is hopeful that this restructuring will help promote women’s rights within Pakistan, but as always, its success will depend in large part on how the bill is implemented and if adequate funding is provided.

Pregnant Woman Jailed for Attempting Suicide

3 Replies

I’m beginning to think that I need to post more light-hearted and uplifting articles on this blog!  But, continuing in my (depressing) habits, here is an article about a pregnant Illinois woman who attempted suicide after her boyfriend and business partner left her after she found out he had another family.  Distraught, she drank rat poison in an attempt to end her life, which instead ended the life of her unborn child.  So, of course, the state of Illinois has put her in jail.

Aside from her tragic story, what struck me most about this piece is the frequency with which this sort of thing happens.  Apparently, “Women have been prosecuted for child abuse or feticide when they miscarry; pregnant women who are addicted to drugs have been charged with trafficking drugs to minors; and pregnant women have been forced to deliver via cesarean section under court order. Some states also require doctors to report if a pregnant woman is taking drugs — a law which sounds reasonable on its face, until you think through the logical outcome: Women who are addicted to drugs just won’t seek medical care, which means they won’t get treatment for their addictions and won’t get basic pre-natal care” (Jill from Feministe).

What it boils down to is: pregnant women are being treated differently by the law than non-pregnant women or men.  The author of the article points out, people aren’t prosecuted for attempted suicide, but a woman who tries to kill herself but kills her baby instead is locked up instead of being offered mental health treatment or counseling, forcing yet more trauma upon her without any regard for her well-being.  It is obvious that the poor woman in the article has suffered terribly, and wants only to try to rebuild her life, but she is being punished anyway.

Please follow the link below to  the entire story.

http://www.feministe.us/blog/archives/2011/04/15/jailing-women-who-try-to-commit-suicide/?utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=twitterfeed

-fletcherc04

“It’s What I Do: – Why She Will Cover War Again”

3 Replies

This New York Times piece is an interview with photojournalist Lynsey Addario, who was held captive in Libya in March 2011.  Since her capture and subsequent release, there have been those who argue that she should not have been in Libya working in the first place because of her gender.  This interview is in Addario’s own words and explains why she feels her gender is non-issue in regards to her work as a war-time photojournalist.

http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/30/lynsey-addario-its-what-i-do/

 

 

Colleges, Universities Told to Do More to Prevent Sexual Assaults

1 Reply

The issue of sexual assault on college campuses has come to the forefront recently, as Vice President Joe Biden took to the airwaves to discuss the issue last week.  As many who are involved in this blog know, my research is dedicated to this topic – so of course I find it heartening to see so much attention brought to the topic. The attached link is from NPR, and gives the overview of the Obama administration’s view on the problem of sexual assault on college campuses. While they offer no new legislative points, they encourage universities to develop transparent and easily accessible guidelines for action, which is one of the major barriers in regards to victims seeking help. Of particular importance is the encouragement of the involvement of ALL college students, male and female, in bystander education, as there is mounting research that shows that the most successful advocacy programs have a strong male-focused component.

 

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/04/04/135109643/colleges-universities-told-to-do-more-to-prevent-sexual-assaults?sc=tw&cc=share