Gambian gender activist talks about her activism to end female genital mutilation (FGM) and gender-based violence. Dr. Isatou Touray, the Executive Director and founder of Gambia Committee on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children, also serves as the Secretary general of Inter-African Committee. In this TED Talks video, Mrs. Touray explains her long walk to the fight against FGM and harmful cultural practices derailing women’s health. Dr. Touray, a victim of the age-old cultural practice, is optimistic of declaring The Gambia FGM-free in 2020, as more circumcisors continues to drop their knives.
The video was posted on YouTube three years ago but its content is still relevant in today’s Gambia. Watch and be the judge.
Ends
I respect people who are married to their beliefs and goals. Dr. Touray did not allow anything – not even Dictator Jammeh – to stand on her way. As a victim of FGM her story will be more credible than a bunch of other loudmouths who insult our culture. They need cultural schooling before campaigning against our cultural practices. Aggression is not a winner here.
Great presentation but how tenable is your prediction tha Gambia will be FGM-free in 2020.
Dr. Touray need our support and encouragement going forward.
Continuing FGM is not about defending our culture. Rationality need to prevail. Dr. Touray has demonstrated all through out her campaign, that FGM does not make our women better Muslims than their counterparts in persia or our neighbourly sisterly wollof cultural group.
There are enough challenges facing us, whose solving, gives us enough possibilities to defend and adapt our culture to the times and for the next generation.
Every culture and traditions detrimental to our social and political well being must be challenged. Harshly if needed.
Though I support this campaign against what has been medically proven to be a harmful practice, I have a big problem with the choice of the words, “Genital Mutilation” to describe what is a centuries old cherished practice by our people..
Whatever the reason (s) for such a choice of name (FGM), the inescapable fact is that it is most inappropriate and grossly misrepresents the motives behind the practice…
Female Circumcision (which is its proper name), though misguided, has been practiced for centuries by our people, with very good intentions..
There is no need to elaborate on this, but evidence of our people’s good intentions, can be seen in the manner and ways the newly initiated girls are received by society..
The completion of the Circumcision process is always a proud moment for the families, especially the mums, and joyous moment for the whole community, which marks the ocassion with endless festivities..
Continued…
Words are powerful and the use of certain words, in particular, evoke certain mental pictures in the minds of people…
For example, the word, “Gay”, if used as an adjective, can mean, “happy, bright, merry, lively” etc…
But if I was to call my good old friend, Lafia, a “Gay person”, he would probably want to strangle me, if he can lay his hands on me (and rightly so) because the name evokes the mental picture of a certain sexual orientation…
Similarly, the word, “Mutilate”, evokes a mental picture of a sadistic serial killer, who desecrates his/her victims for just the pleasure of inflicting pain, even when the victims are lifeless ..
To use such a term to describe a much respected and cherished centuries old practice, misguided as it may be, is not only inappropriate but totally misleading and insulting to our people..
Female Circumcision should.not be equated with “mutilation”, because “mutilation” presupposes an intent to harm or cause pain, just for the sake of it.
Anybody who thinks that girls’ circumcision was carried out just to harm or inflict pain for its sake, needs their heads seriously examined..
It is absolutely shocking, to say the least, that the campaign against Female Circumcision has been carried out in such a derogatory and insulting manner…
It is.not the choice of words that is shocking to me because we have always been labelled, in one derogatory form or another, by our Western partners..If we are not the “Nigger” or “Negro”, then we come from the “dark continent”,etc…
What is shocking to me is the repetition of this insult by ourselves, as.if it is the.most natural thing to do…
Let’s refuse to insult ourselves any further and call this practice its proper name, Female Circumcision…Let’s all support the fight against Female Circumcision because it is a harmful practice..
Waw! Here comes Bax with a brilliant analysis. Hats off to you Bax for hitting the nail on the head. The term FGM is meant to make female circumcision so cruel, which I believe will be helpful in their marketing strategy. I don’t also agree with the term. So the learned doctor should have said she was circumcised. In fact, she wasn’t a victim because the practuce is prevalent in her community. It was and still a common practice.
Oh Bax! Objectivity is the key to proper analysis. Thanks for putting this controversy into a more objective perspective. Please keep writing. We may never agree on everything but reading sober comments can be very enlightening. Thank you once more.
Bax , first of all your comments not to describe female circumcision as “female Genital mutilation” is indeed political correctness , hypocritical and misinformation . Female circumcision is simply a genital mutilation which causes serious harm to female’s mental and physical health. This process is done in inhumane treatment form without any anesthetic on girls and it is one of the worst experience that young girls go thorough in the name of sexual purity before getting married . This practice has serious negative consequences in terms of physical and psychological well being of women or females for rest of their lives . It is mutilaton became it is the removal of the most sensitive part of female body which is clitoris and labia . This is horrific crime against defenseless child who has no choice in the whole process . It is the beginning of one of the learned abusive behavior in our culture because the process has no regard to human treatment. The rational given for such a horrific and barbaric act is a form of female subjugation to men who tends believe that they are superior in their decision making , other things in family relationship or the community at large . Sexual subjugation of female as a result of this process is gross human rights abuse and apart from this rational there is no scientific , cultural and human development benefits which female realize from this horrific practice .
Physical consequences of this evill and horrific cultural practice on female includes vaginal and pelvic infections , severe abdominal pain , painful sexual experience and in most cases complications during childbirth according to various studies .
The psychological impact on female sexuality and satisfaction is negatively alarming . Female who undergoes such a backward cultural practices tends to have painful sexual experience and as a result their husbands , partners or themselves never have sexual satisfaction they want . Husband lack of sexual satisfaction lead to excusable use of Islam as pretext to marry a second wife who in the most cases men cannot afford to care for . Female’s lack of enough sexual excitement as a result of this practice as well as painful sexual experience makes them less interested in sex . Females lack of interest in sex during marriage has significantly lead to increase divorce and other marital problems . Therefore it is misinformation to call this process circumcision because it affects the general well being of females including their sexuality . There is ample evidence even in The Gambia that men from tribes who practice such a horrific practice tends favor Or want females from tribe which didn’t practice such horrific taboo. Let the men stop the hypocrisy and accept the truth that every man want a sexual exciting woman in their marriage or relationship. Therefore the used of the term “mutilation” is justified and correct term to describe such horrific taboo against innocent girls who has no choice but to be abused by her own culture .
The consequences of female genital mutilation is far greater than proud or joyous moment of the whole community . It is bad cultural practice which has also no religious bases . It is dictatorial characteristics which female has to experience for them to completely subjugate to male partners .
Giving the girl the chance to be who they are and enjoy their rights to sexual satisfaction is Human and natural rights . Taking away the most sensitive part of their body is degrading inhumane treatment which should be discouraged all level of society and culture . Let’s us give chance to our girls by empowering them sexually so that they can satisfy their husbands as well as their own sexual satisfaction can be achieved . Words matter and let call a spade a spade . A Female Circumcision is simply female genital mutilation .
Impulsive Max is at it again..and he is getting seriously muddled up about my concern with the choice of name for the campaign against Female Circumcision..
I have no wish to engage you on the pros and cons of Female Circumcision because personally, the whole discussion about it is better left to the women. As the saying goes, “He/She who feels it, knows it best..” Our role as men , should be supporting our women folks to make the decisions that best ensure their wellbeing..
You have definitely raised some pertinent societal effects of Female Circumcision, but in doing so, have also evidently shown that you have no problem insulting your people, as evil and barbaric…
That’s your prerogative, but I don’t think helping to eradicate a harmful practice, gives anyone the licence to be insulting towards entire communities.
Lastly Max, you live in a country where captured African “slaves” used to be branded with hot iron by their “masters..” Though the practice has long ceased, I wonder whether you have ever come across any American literature by white Americans, calling their society “evil” and “barbaric” for the treatment of their “slaves”..
I know many Western leaders have even refused to apologise for the past crimes of their societies against Africans…They certainly don’t call their societies “evil” and “barbaric” for the widespread slavery culture of the past centuries..
Indeed, we need to support the campaign to end Female Circumcision, because medical advances have established its negative effects on women, but we must do so with respect and sensitivity…
Contrary to your claims of evil, those who performed girls’ circumcision did so with good intentions…No sensible person today would associate the word “Mutilate” with good intentions..
To insist that Female Circumcision should be rightly called “Female Genital Mutilatation” is to prove that you are not a sensible person.
White rulers in South Africa vehemently disputed the word “apartheid”. They preferred the phrase “living separately ” to preserve, in their eyes, two irreconcilable distinct cultures. The irony of the phrase, is that the political and economic power leverage was to be reserved for the superior culture – namely the white.
In nutshell, the dominating gender in our culture would undoubtedly prefer the word circumcision. The reality though, is that the practice is detrimental to our women’s health as evidenced by Dr. Touray- herself a victim.
When I say, ‘traditions and cultures detrimental to our social and political well being’, I have not excluded the cultures that refer to our multi-ethnic practice with such a phrase in abreviation. I think after all it is another human mistake again I made by not even knowing what those letters stood for in Dr. Touray’s caption. I never know such an abreviation is used in the Gambia. however it is an issue worth consideration, coming from the horse’s mouth. Furthermore, I hereby urge Dr. Touray and all it may concern, with respect, to be counterpoise within the international community to demeaning phrases that would discribe us as heartless savages.This issue is not just a practice in our reginal area but indeed a practice amongst north African tribes and even some of the middle east. The truth is, you don’t go around such places messing around with such phrases in search for information.
I hereby by urge all international donors to put a little bit more focus on the mentally and physically disabled in the Gambia whose conditions, in most cases disheartens. You can put this bit of a focus on the latter without spreading a wall to wall poster of malnourished African children at the airport entrance or the train staions.They need a bit of our respect they usually lack to get, instead, our time for them is playing the fool around with them for humor,……..or perhaps thats our way of showing them love. Whatever the case, I strongly believe it is an area too, that needs consideration among other issues of concern in the Gambia.
Bax , the problem you have is that you don’t accept the truth .Truth telling and honesty is basic characteristics of decent human being . The effects of female genital mutilation on girl child make it perfectly right to call it mutilation. It is barbaric and horrific cultural practice that has no significant benefits to improves women lives except to subjugate and suppress their sexual satisfaction as well as subjugate them to men. It is indeed false and hypocritical to indicate that by calling such a practice as barbaric and evil that i am insulting people or entire community. Tell me the benefits of FGM apart from the notion of sexual purity of young girl before marriage which lead to their sexual suppression , physical health and mental problems as well as subjugation to men’. The processe is very cruel and evil to young girl .
Bax said ” I have no wish to engage you on the pros and cons of female circumcision because personally , the whole discussion about it is better left to women ”
From the above quotation , you have contradict yourself . If you have no wish to engage me on the pros and cons of female circumcision , why you do worry about the term used to describe it ? Is that not hypocritical on your part? So in essence you are implying that it is women’s problem , therefore it is their problem and you left it to them to discuss it. What a backward thinking that is . Are you telling me If female had a problem which affect her sexuality or life you would tell her it is her problem and deal with it ? You have no problem about complaining about the term used but you can comfortably sit and say it is women’s problem , let them deal with it . stop thinking like you are in the year 1905.
Bax said ” lastly max you live in a country where captured African slaves used to be branded with hot iron by their Masters . Though the practice has long ceased , I wonder whether you have ever come across any American literature by white Americans , calling their society evil and barbaric for the treatment of their slaves ”
Bax , any civilized human being who care for humanity has condemned any practices done during slavery as evil and barbaric . Slavery came to an end in the west not only because of efforts of black abolitionists but also because of the efforts of white abolitionists and this was why after the establishment of United States , around 1780 in Pennsylvania legislation was passed to abolish slavery as first practical step .So it is silly argument to indicate that white Americans won’t call the practices of slavery as barbaric and evil when they realized that it was degrading inhumane treatment . Therefore , your suggestion is based on racist ideology and ignorance of history .,Don’t you know that slavery existed in Africa before transatlantic slavery trade or shipment of slaves to Amaricas . It is Africans like you who keep blaming west when issues affecting Africans are highlighted so that people will learn from such harmful practices . You need to be open minded and stop the political correctness . It is the same thing Dictator jammeh is doing when confronted with human rights abuses , he would shift the blame to western problems . Without the intervention of western scientific studies , doctors and healthcare providers , would most Africans knows that female genital mutilation is bad cultural practice as we have today ? Every single day civilized Americans are calling slavery and oppression of black people as evil , barbaric and ugly history.
Was slavery also not done due to so called “good intentions” of those who practiced it because they didn’t see it as cruel , evil and barbaric practice . Those who practiced slavery including Africans saw it as good way of improving their lives but civilized human beings saw it degrading , inhumane ,,evil and cruel practice. Those who practice female genital mutilation may be also see it as ” good intention ” practice but in reality it is outright evil and horrific cultural practice . Campaign against Female genital mutilation was based its cruelty , and harmfulness to women and the used of the term “mutilation ” is the best word to describe such horrific practice . The used of the word “mutilation” will send a clear message that it is harmful , evil and barbaric practice . Words matters that is why it is use .
If you are against the practice itself , would it not be nice to call it what it is rather than complaining about the used of the term to describe it ?
Kinteh , you have hit the nail on the head . The Gambia being a male dominated society , you will see the likes of Bax condemning or complaining about the used of the term “mutilation”. The hypocrisy is that we have majority of such male still want their wives to be sexual exciting in bed rooms rather than being like a “dead wood”. I have heard many Gambian men who cheat on their wives who had circumcision because they have indicated that their wives are not fun compared to white girls they have dated or married before their Gambian circumcised wives . Maybe Bax and other may not experience that but those who have experience this difference will attest to this facts. The psychological effects of such low sex drive lead to marital problems , depression, anxiety of having sex , low self esteem of women and general question of womanhood . One of the reasons that most Gambia men marrying a lot of women is to seek sexual satisfaction because they have circumcised women who cannot satisfy their sexual needs. Why would you have so many women when you can have only one who would bear you children and sexually take care of you? Nowadays , the trend is changing thanks to the efforts of Dr Touray and her team .
The practice itself is detrimental to women physical health . We should be discussing it’s pros and cons rather than the words used to describe it . I would be happy to engage anyone who indicate it is good cultural practice and That is where our focus should be .
Max…Firstly, your points of argument in support of your position about the choice of name, though important, are irrelevant because I have not disputed the harmfulness of the practice..
Secondly, Who is refusing to accept the truth here ? For centuries, the practice that the good Dr and her compatriots are fighting to combat is called Female Circumcision…That is the name by which it is known by everyone…
Along came campaigners and they decided to give it a new name : Female Genital Mutilation…And you lot are adamant that this is its proper name..Who is being dishonest and untruthful here. .?
The problem with this choice of name, as I stated at the beginning, is that it evokes a certain mental picture in the minds of those who know the word, “Mutilate” and this mental picture is misrepresenting the cultural practice of Female Circumcision.. Despite your lengthy diatribes, you have not yet advanced a counter argument to this position..
I have argued that the word, “mutilate” today is mostly associated with the behaviour of sadistic killers, who desecrate their victims for the pleasure of inflicting pain..
The questions that I want to ask you and your likes are these :
-“Does the change of name matter ?
– Would the fight against the practice be less effective if it was called Female Circumcision?
It seems you have tried to provide some answer here :
@Max…” The used of the word “mutilation” will send a clear message that it is harmful , evil and barbaric practice . Words matters that is why it is use .”
Who is this message being sent to, if I may ask…? As far as we know, one can say that up to 98% of those involved in the practice don’t even speak a word of English, let alone.understand the term, “Genital Mutilation”..How then can the term send a clear message to these people.? I.would want you tell me that please..
In my view, what will.send a clear message is to educate and equip those communities, especially the circumcisers and the women leaders, with the information they need to understand the harmful effects of the practice, and you don’t need to insult them to do that..
Thankfully, the fight against Female Circumcision is being won because more and more people are being equipped with relevant information that enable them to make the choice of abandoning the practice..
I would therefore contend that, except to portray the African communities as “barbaric and evil” (to borrow from you), and perhaps, shock European publics to generate/raise more funds, the choice of words does not serve any meaningful purpose in the fight against the practice.
Continued…
Abdul Karim , the notion that the practice of FGM is prevalent in Dr Touray’s community therefore Dr touray was not a victim is false claim . Most of the people who practice such a horrific cultural taboo cannot Give any justifiable reason except sexual purity of young girls before marriage . Let’s us examine our culture and ask questions why some things are done in our culture before we blindly do them because we found our ancestors did them . Our ancestors made a lot horrible mistakes because they are not perfect just like we are also going to be judged by next generation based on what we did . The important of history is to learn from past mistakes which includes past cultural practices , therefore let us examine where we came from and rectify our past . Africans has to learn to accept the truth even when it is not in our favor .
I notice my good friend Bax never accept that he is wrong and he would argue his points to his grave when he is wrong . This time around there is no objective thinking in his presentation rather than narrow male dominated thinking perspective which is supported by JAnko camara also . Let me hear from you Guys why this practice is such a good thing in our culture .
Bax , I said female genital mutilation is evil and barbaric cultural practice but I didn’t said the community is evil and barbaric . Please read and understand what I said . Once again you are contradicting yourself by indicating the name change doesn’t matter then why you are complaining about name change since majority cannot read or write ? Come on use your brain to connect the dots . The whole process is horrific and barbaric practice just like slavery was.
You have completely misunderstood my statement about leaving the discussion on Female Circumcision to the women to mean “it is their problem”…
That is not what I meant and.infact the subsequent statements and the quotation thus, “who feels it knows it best”, is clearly indicative of what I meant..
What I.meant was that men.should neither try to influence the discussions, nor make decisions for the women in this matter. We should take a back seat and support the women to make the right decisions..
And I don’t think raising questions about the choice.of name influences the debate or the discussion proper about the practice, because the majority of participants don’t even understand the terms or what it portrays..
You claimed that I am ignorant of history and that both Black and White abolitionist fought to end slavery…Well, that may be.true but what that history also revealed, was that this movement coincided with the advent of the industrial revolution, which made slave labour redundant and slaves less attractive..So this economic reality, rather than the humanitarian factor, could also be cited for the abolitionist movement.. After all, many who were in the abolitionist movements did not see freed slaves as equal human beings, with equal rights..There’s food for thought for you.
I don’t quite follow your argument about slave masters and their good intentions..Do you mean that those who engage in slavery did so with good intentions for their slaves ?
My contention is that mothers who put their daughters through Female Circumcision do so with good intentions for their daughters. In ancient traditional societies, the social consequences of not undergoing the circumcision initiation was unimaginable and no mother in ancient times would do that to their daughters..So the intention behind the practice was good, though it has been shown to be harmful and misguided today.
Did I falsely accuse you of insulting your people ? You stated quite unequivocally that the practice of Female Circumcision is an “evil and barbaric” culture..Well, a people are inseparable from their culture..Infant, it is the culture that make a people unique and it follows therefore if that culture is “evil and barbaric”, the people must be “evil and barbaric”..
I.don’t know about you Max, but I will feel insulted if I was called “evil and barbaric”.
Lastly, the term,”Apartheid” was not chosen and imposed on the white supremacist government in South Africa..They coined the word “Apartheid” (meaning separation of the races) and the Afrikaner National Party adopted it as a slogan in the 1948 elections, which it won..
So they may be embarrassed by it but nobody chose it for them. Did our people chose “Genital Mutilation” as a slogan ?
Or did men initiate and impose the practice on.the women..? I would like some education on that because I am.not convinced that this is the case..I have known men who oppose the cicumcisicing of their daughters whilst the women insist on it…
Bax, I think I have already made my points that the use of the term “mutilate” will send a clear message that it is evil and barbaric cultural practice. The essence of campaign is to amplify the message that such a cultural practice is evil and it is good publicity or propaganda using such words. In trying to discourage communities about evil cultural practice, one has to use words to amplify cruelty or barbaric nature of the practice so that the population will know that it is not a good practice. This is why the term “mutilate” is the best or appropriate word to use. Example, In marketing your product as businessman you need to come up with best advertisement to sell your product. In the case of FGM, Dr Touray and her team are doing the same thing and they translated this information in local languages. Dr Touray and her team speak the languages Gambian women understand that is why there is some progress, therefore words matters. Communication is essential key pillar to change any given situation that is why when we use information we have about this government appropriately or engage in information warfare to expose Jammeh and his criminal regime, he will defeat him. I know even Kairo News disagreed with me in the past when I want them to publish certain information about Jammeh because they claimed they cannot substantiate my claims. As Gambians we need to know that information is powerful. The most powerful country which is USA used information or communication to make its case to the world to influence events, businesses and politics. I am sure in UK, they used such propaganda to effectively change the system or events.
Bax , the term ” mutilation ” will evokes horrific , evil and barbaric mental picture in the mind of those who know the word ( to borrow from you ) , so that they would abandon the practice . That is the objective . The whole practice is evil so in order to make it look worst , you need to add a negative picture so that it will capture the mind of those who practice it . It is like Simple mathematics when you add two negative numbers the result will be increasingly negative .( -3+-3=-6).
Bax , what I meant about slavery was that those who practice it did not see it as evil and cruel practice at the time because they have benefited from it . It is the same way those who practice FGM claimed to have benefited in the form of young girl sexual purity before marriage , subjugation of women to men which bring joy and proud moment in families and communities .
Bax , I think you will agree with me that culture is dynamic and it evolves with time . If you agree with that basic concept then you should also agree that certain practices such as FGM are evil and barbaric which doesn’t signify that I am insulting the people as you claimed .
The concept of intention in the practice of FGM is not a justifiable reason , it is the consequences which makes it worst . Any action you do you think about the consequences of that actions before you do it . It is the same way I indicated to you that your complain of the term ” mutilation” is misinformation , hypocritical and political correctness because I noticed few people have already given you credit for your misinformation on this issue . Your intention was to make the used of term ” mutilation ” insulting to Africans who practice FGM which is misinformation to readership . Therefore I intervened to correct that misinformation you presented to readership in this forum . Majority of the time , intention doesn’t matter , it is the consequences of your intention that matter . You cannot go to court and tell the judge that you have good intention of helping someone else when you are caught stealing another person’s property . Example, It is like Dictator Jammeh’s rape Of young Gambians girls but he tell their parents that he intends to provide them with scholarship . Does that make any sense to you ? Another example is , 1994 military coup when the gang of idiots overthrew Jawara’s government , they claimed to have good intentions for the country but the consequences of their actions was the result of our current predicament . Therefore it is silly argument to justify one action based on intention. Consequences comes with responsibility for your action .
Max…Honestly, dealing with you sometimes is like flogging a dead horse…So I will only clarify certain points and retire from this particular issue…
(1)…You see contradictions because you read my views out of context…An obvious factor is your practice of reading individual points and trying to understand them in isolation to the whole comment..
When I asked the question whether the name change matters, I followed it up with a 2nd one, which gives the context in which that question was asked..The context is in the results achieved by the campaign…
In effect, what I am asking is whether if the campaign did not use such a slogan as FGM, but rather tackled the issue as Female Circumcision, would the result have been less impressive..
However, my whole point of argument, from the very first comment, was to show that the choice of slogan (FGM) does indeed matter from the perspective of perceptions, especially of outsiders, who may not understand the practice and culture..
I have argued that using the word, “MUTILATION” , does conjure up certain images in the minds of general publics around the world, and this image (which I have explained before) does not represent the practice and therefore is misleading..
Female Circumcision does indeed involve the cutting of female genitals ( and there are different forms) but this cutting should not be equated with mutilation, because mutilation (as used and understood today) presupposes an (evil & sadistic) intent to cause grievous (bodily) harm, which is not the case in Female Circumcision.
Let me give you an example to further illustrate my point…
It is not uncommon today to hear or read remarks about patients “going under the knife” in surgical theaters and being “cut open” by surgeons.
Infact, surgical operations, like Circumcision (male/female) involves the cutting of the body or body parts but no one in their right senses would describe an operation as “Mutilation” of a patient..Despite the fact that operations do go wrong and patients suffer, sometimes even leading to death, no one would call surgical operations an “evil and barbaric” act, because the surgions have good intentions..
I agree with the established facts that Female Circumcision is harmful, and I.am also convinced that it belongs to a bygone era and.has no place in.society today, but I disagree that the practice involved the mutilation of genital organs and therefore contend that the slogan FGM, is inappropriate, misleading and above all, insulting to our people.
Continued..
(2)…You have not satisfactorily answered my question about who the “message” with the slogan “FGM” was meant for…
Delivering a message is part of the communication process and this process is said to be effective only when the delivered message is RECEIVED, UNDERSTOOD and ACTED UPON (in the right manner) by the recipient..
In the case of this campaign, the target group (recipient ) is the mass body of local women who are mostly unschooled and don’t speak a word of English, as the case is here..I want you to show me how this slogan alone can influence them to a point that they change their behaviour and abandon the practice..
I do not believe that Dr Touray and Gamcotrap go about the villages translating the term FGM as part of their strategy. The strategy that is making a difference is the education of the communities about the negative effects of Female Circumcision and the provision of incentives to communities that “drop the knife”..Not the translation of the term, FGM..
I have to leave it here now because I cannot just get my head round your latest analogies of (the good intention of) someone helping another to steal or Jammeh’s alleged criminal behaviour…
Have a nice day…
Bax , I must thank you for having change your mind to discuss this issue which you have initially indicated that ” I have no wish to engage you on the pros and cons of female circumcision because personally , the whole discussion about it is better left to women ” .
The fact that you are agreed that it is harmful practice and it belong to bygone era and has no place in society today is the basis premises of the campaign. It is this reason that the used of the term “mutilation” is justified to evokes horrific , evil and barbaric mental picture in the minds of those who practice it because it is evil and barbaric cultural practice which remove the most sensitive part of female body .
Dr Touray and her team engage or educate the public about the effects of this practice by visiting different communities throughout the country . Therefore their discussion is center on the pros and cons with the women. It’s harmfulness is far greater than the so called benefits received by those who practice it.
I think it doesn’t make any sense to use the example of surgical operation in comparison to FGM because surgical procedures are done for medical benefits or interventions to get rid of specific medical conditions ( diseases or illness ).
As I always tell you at end of every discussion , write with clarity and concisely when presenting your points. You always accused me of misinterpreting your points or taking your points out of context, what I say to that is , ” it is responsibility of the writer to ensure clarity in his message but the interpretation of message is the rights of the reader “.
Unless you want to be Dictator jammeh , to tell me how to think and interprete your message lol . I enjoy your tenacity in presenting points and I think if you are a lawyer , winning a case will be once in a blue moon. With that I will see you again lol.
Bax. I think you won the argument. Your intellect and knowhow on this very sensitive topic far outweighs brother Maxs. I think Maxs is just trying to get under your skin but he was disappointed.
Kinteh. Comparing female circumcision to apartheid is like comparing apples and oranges. You cannot do that. There is never a government of people imposing a wicked and evil sets of rules on certain people just because of their color.
Thank you.
Malang I can see why you supported Bax in this case because he has previously supported your ignorance stand against UDP press release. I think you have every right to express your ignorance but you have not expressed the truth or facts . What know how did Bax expressed here except to contradict himself . Intelligent people and fair minded people will know who won the debate and who spoke the truth . Until then continue to use someone thinking rather than use your own individualized thinking to present your views on the topic . You have now formed alliance or coalition with Bax .