I had read that in some countries, particularly the Islamic
ones, women are circumcised. It is done
when the girl is very young. Though this
practice has always been under criticism in “civilized” countries for various
reasons, but still it is going on. If
people are criticizing it for its brutality, there are also people, including
women, speaking in its favour. They say
it has many benefits.
I did
not know that this was done in Liberia too where I had spent two years in
1982-84 on a teaching assignment at the University of Liberia. Though an African country with Christian
majority, still Liberia was not that backward compared to many other
nations. At that time (before the civil
war) it was also not a poor country.
That was the reason why people from several Asian countries were working
there to earn money.
Women dancing in Monrovia in celebration
One day
when I came from work, I saw ladies dancing and rejoicing in my
neighborhood. I asked a neighbor what
was that all about. He informed me that
they had circumcised their girls and so they were celebrating it. I was new to Liberia at that time so was not
very familiar with Liberian traditions and culture.
Genitals of a circumcised woman
Later
when I talked to some colleagues who were not from Liberia and were in that
country since long, I was told that the practice of circumcising existed in
Liberia as well as in few other neighboring nations. The Liberians did not like to talk about it
with foreigners unless someone was very close.
Dancing and rejoicing the occasion
I could
make a lot of friends there during my two years’ stay. So many people did talk to me about it. To my great surprise, none of them spoke
against it or said it was a barbaric practice as they say in other countries. Rather many of them said that it was useful
the women could keep control on themselves.
It was nearly a shock for me when a woman colleague spoke in its favour and
told that she had three daughters and she had got all of them circumcised.
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