selam Mehret and Dehaiers,
Well, I kinda disagree with Mehret. Whether the people want to
stop it or not, the gruesome fact is: female genital mutilation
remains as the most barbaric practice in [the Eritrean] culture.
I take it that by saying 'people have to want to stop it,' you
meant initiating a consciousness campaign and expecting the end
result-- eradication through education. In fact, the EPLF/PFDJ
has succeeded tremendously at implementing such a campaign in
the lowland parts of Eritrea. But it's easy to [mis]interprete your
statement as meaning: 'we shall not impose any rules on the people,
and that they shall stop it at their discretion and pace.' Of course,
this may sound like 'putting words into one's mouth,' but my ex-
perience with this issue is such that *that* is a view many others
hold.
Unlike the western types of barbaric practices, one of which is the
cutting of women's breasts and replacing them with silicon implants,
female genital mutilation is performed on little girls, thus, _without_
their consent. The complication and pain associated with circumcision is
another dimension that deserves a special attention [I got a horrifying
story which I'll post later]. But if one just looks at the psychological
truama this inflicts on the victims, it should be enough to convince
the people that, while the parents reserve the sole rights to raise,
decide for and take care of their own children, performing genital
mutilation on little girls ought to become a choice and not a must.
Therefore, the Eritrean government has to enact a law that prohibits
the practice of genital mutilation...
-Sam G.