In our discussion on whether female circumcision or male circumcision was a violation of human rights or if these ideas stemmed from ethnocentrism, we both agreed that the severity of female circumcision, and practices such as removing the clitoris in order to reduce sexual pleasure, make it sort of a human rights issue. The issue of non-consensual major surgery (especially when said surgery is elective, not a medical imperative) would be argued nowhere else. The girls involved are too young to consent, and the ritual itself is specifically in place to control female's bodies, to make sure they don't sleep with anyone before they're supposed to, and we both agreed that that makes it a human rights issue; it isn't just a ritual of initiation. It's a ritual in place to control female sexuality.
-Alexandrine Garcia
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