Men say no to female circumcision

Hands.Photo: pixabay.com

A majority of the men in countries that practice FGM, are opposed to the practice – partly based on sexual practices.

This is a statement by program director Jacinta Muteshi at the Research Population Council to the journal Bistandsaktuelt.

– Our research shows that a majority of men in the countries concerned are opposed to female circumcision, says Muteshi who leads several programs against FGM.

Whilst many men are opposed, many women are saying that they do it for their husbands, she says.

In a film from Guinea which was made in connection with the UN’s International Day of Zero Tolerance against Female Genital Mutilation, the activist Djiba Kanabo expressed why many men are against female circumcision.

– We prefer women who are not circumcised. The women who are circumcised do not want to sleep with their men, he says.

Save the Children, which has several projects in Somalia and Ethiopia, are working extensively with attitudes among men and boys.

– In the beginning there were many men who said they had no opinion about FGM. They believed it was “ladies’ business.”

But when we engaged a group of fathers and let them know what this was about, what his wife and their daughters had been through, there were many who were shocked  and became against it, says Ina Boe at Save the Children.

 

 

Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today

 

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