De-Gendering Female Genital Mutilation

The real face of the problem: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/fgm-unicef-discover-an-additional-70-million-victims-a6857561.html

For those of you that read this blog regularly the title of this post may seem some distance from my normal ramblings about the importance of ‘gendering’ political issues. All will be revealed. Last Saturday (6 Feb) marked the fourteenth International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation (FGM.) This tradition began with the First Lady in Nigerian in 2003 before being adopted by the United Nations as a way to globalise the combined efforts of international organisations and charities alike to put an end to this violation of the rights and bodies of women and girls around the world. This year staggering new statistics marked the annual awareness raising day as it was revealed that the number of girls having their genitals altered for non-medical reasons around the world is significantly higher than previously thought. Approximately 70 million higher. It was also revealed that Egypt, Ethiopia and Indonesia make up over a half of the world’s reported cases of FGM, whilst in Somalia it is believed that 98% of girls are cut aged between 15-49.

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/feb/05/research-finds-200m-victims-female-genital-mutilation-alive-today

Equality Now also revealed that they believe up to 137,000 girls in the UK are being cut annually shedding light on this problem as a truly international problem. These disturbing statistics call for action on the part of the international community to stop these cycles of violence and poverty. Not only does FGM result in a myriad of health problems for women and girls but it perpetuates ideas about girls status in society as property of men and as deviant second class citizens. This is one of the few violations of human rights that exclusively affects women and girls and it is for this reason that, paradoxically, I think the conversation about FGM ought to be de-gendered. In 2014, FGM was brought into the spotlight here in the UK when the, then education minister, supposedly wrote to all schools in England warning teachers of the dangers of FGM and how to spot signs of potential cutting. Since, whilst Cameron insists on ‘othering’ women including specifically Muslim women in other bizarre and discriminatory ways, the issue of FGM is yet to be drawn out from its realm of privatised solutions. That is not to say that these private solutions are not making great strides to stop FGM, many of the laudable organisations including Daughters of Eve, Equality Now, the Women’s Equality Party and Refuge place FGM high on their agenda to stop the subordination of women and girls worldwide. However, given its truly international nature and the ever-present reliance on the state system, this problem is one that must be tackled on the international stage not confined to the realms of a ‘women’s problem.’ The data produced by Unicef this year cannot act alone in confronting this problem, work must be done to have the voices of these women and girls heard and to challenge the supposed ‘cultural tradition’ narrative that surrounds this violence. This ubiquitous idea the FGM is something that only happens to women in the ‘third world’ is a damaging rhetoric that misrepresents reality and does little to actually stop FGM.  The amazing thing about the International Day of Zero Tolerance for FGM was in the face of these statistics social media was full of mainstream media sources reporting on FGM and its detrimental affects to society. This kind of advocacy is exactly what we need to bring this issue to the forefront of the international agenda to end violence and support development of all kinds, not just against women and girls. Combined with the incredible grassroots activism and amazing women like these we could see real collective action to pressure a stamping out of FGM.

Read more here:

United Nations International Day of Zero Tolerance against FGM http://www.un.org/en/events/femalegenitalmutilationday/

Equality Now FGM http://www.equalitynow.org/fgm

Ending FGM Network http://www.fgmnetwork.org/index.php

Nigeria Decides in the Spectre of Boko Haram

As the results from the Nigerian national election trickle in it looks likely that the incumbent Goodluck Jonathan has been ousted by the ex-military, Muslim APC candidate and anti-corruption advocate: Muhammadu Buhari. He has received the majority in over a third of the states regions including the capital, Abuja. In the wake of the Boko Haram insurgency, security is rightly top of the election agenda. Women’s rights are intrinsically entwined here but rarely mentioned. Boko Haram translates as ‘Western education is sinful’ and as this denotes the group exists to halt the westernisation of the newly secular Nigerian education system and thus create an Islamic Caliphate in Northern Nigeria. They have been active since 2002 but many consider their tactics, particularly the instrumental use of women and women’s oppression to be a modern phenomenon for the group. The Sunni fundamentals recent pledge of allegiance to the Islamic Caliphate in Iraq and Syria is worrying to foreign defence ministers in both the local region and the world around. Furthermore, surrounding countries are currently facing huge refugee influxes as a result of Boko Haram’s progress. It goes without saying that these refugees are predominantly women and children. Buhari has a fight on his hands. Because of and in spite of the rise of Boko Haram, feminism and women’s rights must also top the newly elected ministers priorities. Unfortunately, it has not been at the top of the election agenda and many Nigerian women understand formal political arenas to be patriarchal institutions therefore have no intentions of voting. For instance, it took Jonathan almost 3 weeks to acknowledge the missing Chibok girls and they are nowhere to be seen in election rhetoric.

It is impossible to see this crisis without considering gender, gender stereotypes and gender-based violence. (GBV) Boko Haram’s very modus operandi is the instrumental oppression and violation of women and girls. Once again, women serve as a currency to Boko Haram, a very valuable one. However, with the highest rates of female circumcision in the region and the constant struggle for girls right to education, Boko Haram are not alone in their patriarchal treatment of women. Nevertheless, counter to popular western ideas of the ‘monolithically oppressed African women’ feminism in Nigeria is thriving and although there is only a 8% proportional share of women in the national assembly this does not mean women are keeping quiet about their oppression. What the mainstream news didn’t tell us about this hitch in the election is that as well as problems with anti-corruption election cards, last Sunday a group of some 2000 female anti-corruption APC campaigners protested in the River State. Women’s political agency is alive and well. For the nation often considered the ‘Capital of Africa’ as the largest oil producer and biggest economy in the region it is extremely significant that Nigeria lead the way for women’s rights and the fight against Islamic extremism that targets them. Development should occur only alongside progressive moves in the fight against women’s subordination; particularly the fight against epidemics of FGM and forced marriage in the region.

Not if Boko Haram have anything to do with it. Similar to the Islamic State, the oppression of women and girls is sewn explicitly into the fabric of Boko Haram. Indeed, their initial presence in western media was as a result of the international outrage at the kidnaping of over 200 schoolgirls in 2013. Since then, although the western bandwagon seems to have trailed off the road, hundreds more women and girls have been kidnapped, raped and forced to marry members of the group. Paradoxically, in recent months, Boko Haram have exploited gender stereotypes by dressing themselves as women to commit attacks. Furthermore several of the recent suicide bombers have been women. This poses questions of whether Boko Haram are now recruiting women or whether this is simply another forced violation of women’s lives. The ascendance of Boko Haram can fundamentally be interpreted as an backlash to the rise of feminism and other ‘western ideals’ in Nigeria. The African region becomes increasingly integrated into the rampage of liberal globalisation, despite plighting resource curses and corruption. Alongside this follows a imperialist spread of western ideals. Personally I would not consider equality between men and women to be a ‘western ideal’ and I am sure that the majority of Nigerian women would not either.

Boko Haram absolutely threaten this progress and the election of a new leader in Nigeria could be a turning point in either direction. Whilst Jonathan has in place a Civilian Joint Task Force in Northern Nigeria this does not seem to be quashing the group like he had hoped. The news that the Arab League is developing a military force in the Middle East to counter their threats without Western intervention should serve as an exemplar to the African Union. The outlook for women is dismal given election rhetoric but in the fight against Boko Haram the Nigerian state can only ignore the fight for women’s rights for so long. The future of all Nigerian women and men hangs in the balance. Men are at risk of being killed on suspicion of allegiance to Boko Haram or being forced to have such allegiance and women risk further violation of their bodies and minds.