This thesis is a multi-sited investigation of the campaign against excision in urban Mali and of the responses to it. Fieldwork took place in 1997-1998 through feminist action-research with a local women's association that carried out programs against excision. Part I situates the historical, structural and cultural contexts within which excision practices take place, focusing on the two largest ethnic groupings in the areas under study: the Fulbe and the Mande. Key Mande and Fulbe structural hierarchies are discussed, namely gender, age, class, and caste. In Mali, circumcisers have historically come from specific castes of artisans, in particular the Mande 'nùmuw' ("blacksmiths"). However today non-'nùmu' health practitioners also perform circumcisions. A review of the ethnographic literature on excision in Mali reveals that for most Mande groups the practice has been constructed as a rite of passage. Other hegemonic constructs that present clitoridectomy as a form of ritual purification and female sexuality as dangerous are also present, and help to explain how the practice comes to be part of 'common-sense' (in the Gramscian sense). Concepts borrowed from the sociology of knowledge are used in Part II to analyze the campaign against excision and responses to it. The discourses, fields of knowledge and practices of four competing categories of "experts" with regards to excision are presented: feminists, state agents, ' nùmu' women, and Muslim leaders. An ethnographic examination of the Malian campaign against excision reveals that it is led by the educated elite, and sustained by global currents of ideas and capital. The opinions of those targeted by the campaigns (obtained through a survey of 300 men and women) are presented next, as well as the motivations and difficulties of those among them who seek to become 'well-informed' on excision. I conclude that the debates on excision in Mali reflect broader societal changes and ideological struggles concerning the future of the caste system, the role of the state, secularism, 'traditional' health care, female sexuality, the power of elders, modernity and individualism. I also draw implications of the findings for campaigners and their supporters, and reflect on the challenges of cross-cultural feminist solidarity.

CAWTAR | 2023-12-25 09:56:30

Surveys

Fernale Genital Mutilation//gender//health care//gender based violence//physical violence//psychological violence//