Female genital mutilation/cutting in Basse-Casamance (Senegal): multiple voices from a plural South

Journal article

In this article, we present an ethnographic study of female genital mutilation or cutting (FGM/C), referred to here as excision, in relation to female initiation in the Basse-Casamance region of Senegal. There is a wide disparity in the descriptions of ethnicity, territorialization, history and vitality connected with the practice, as might be expected given the extensive diversity of the region. For most of the communities that practice it, excision forms part of the rite of passage that promotes integration into the secret society of women, being considered also a marker of ethnic, religious, gender and political identities. Despite the legislation outlawing this practice in Senegal since 1999 and the numerous awareness-raising initiatives carried out by NGOs, the practice has not been abandoned. However, the public nature and timing of the three phases of the ritual have been modified, the excision now being performed clandestinely at an early age, while initiation (seclusion and aggregation) takes place in public during adolescence. This study draws attention to the different perspectives regarding FGM/C and its current practice, highlighting changes to it and the tensions it creates between its supporters and detractors, who are mostly men, as well as revealing the views of young people, among whom the first signs of a wider consciousness of the consequences of the practice are becoming evident.

Authors: Tomàs, J; Kaplan, A; Le Charles, M

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Anthropological Society of Oxford
• Journal: Journal of the Anthropological Society of Oxford Online
• Volume: 10
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 157-179
• Publication date: 2018-01-01
• DOI: 10.5287/ora-o8m152v2y
• ISSN: 2040-1876
• Language: English
• Keywords: JASO