REFLECTION OF VALUES

Reflection of Values

Reflection of Values

Introduction

I was born and raised in Kenya in the early 1960s to a tribe called the Kalenjin which is one of the ethnic minorities. Geographically we occupy the highlands of Rift Valley Province, we have many cultural beliefs and one of the values that takes place and still exists is the Female Genital Mutilation. It is valued by many tribes and I, it's a horn which have been passed from generation to generation. Growing up in that tribe I knew it was an obligation to undergo (FGM) and as a value, this constantly put me in fear but I had no choice it was our culture and I had to preserve it and this were my values at that time.

Discussion

Today female genital mutilation is defended as a cultural custom. It is believed to be a rite of passage for girls passing into adulthood. It is always done before marriage. A woman who is not circumcised will find it very difficult, if not impossible, to find a husband. The reason for her difficulty is because uncircumcised women are viewed as not in control of their sexual desires, and there is no guarantee that she will be able to control her urges. Infibulation again is serving as a chastity belt for a man to make sure that his bride is his and his alone. The woman is seen not as an autonomous sexual being. She is viewed as property to be controlled and limited in her sexual growth. Many times if the husband will be leaving for long periods of time, he will have his wife re-inifibulated as a means to insure her faithfulness. (This lack of trust on the part of the husband can only be seen as disrespect towards his wife.) With infibulation, the woman does not have a choice in her sexual decisions. Those that mutilated her genitalia made that choice for her(The Washington Times 1996).

Within the cultures in which female genital mutilation is practiced, there is a belief that the female genitalia are ugly and unsightly. Female circumcision is believed to make a woman and more feminine. This is an example of the mutilation being used for cosmetic reasons. However, the reasons behind the mutilation stem from ignorance and misconceptions of the female genitalia. In many societies where female genital mutilation is common, the clitoris is viewed as abhorrent, ...