A couple of weeks ago I took a safari trip to Africa with my family. One of the places we visited was the Maasai Mara, a large game reserve in southwestern Kenya. It is named after the Maasai people, the traditional inhabitants of the area.
At the bookstore of our lodge, I read about the Maasai culture. Maasai people are among the most well known of African ethnic groups, due to their distinctive customs, dress and warrior traditions.
Maasai culture is strongly patriarchal in nature, with elder men, sometimes joined by retired elders, deciding most major matters for each Maasai group. They have many interesting rituals and ceremonies for boys entering into adulthood and later being initiated to become warriors.
My attention naturally went to the rites of passage for girls. And what I found shocked me to the core. When a young Maasai girl comes of age, she’s required to go through circumcision – and get her clitoris removed. I thought to myself, What the hell is this?!
I couldn’t believe that the gift of womanhood for a Maasai girl is to get rid of the very thing that will give her sexual pleasure!
I later asked our guide about this tradition. He was an educated man and lived outside of the tribe. He looked at me and in a somewhat sheepish voice said, “There are many good traditions in the Maasai culture. This is not one of them. But it’s a tradition, so Maasai people follow it.”
As you can imagine, I was not satisfied with this explanation at all, feeling terrible for Maasai women… “So are you telling me that sex is only a means of reproduction? What about a woman’s rights, wants and desires?”
Later I learned that female circumcision is not just practiced by the Maasai people. It permeates many other African groups as well. In Kenya alone, 50% of women have undergone circumcision. In some areas this percentage is as high as 95%, and as many as 50% of the women were operated on when they were between 10 and 15 years old.
“Female circumcision prepares girls for responsible married life,” was one of the arguments for the practice of female circumcision. Girls who are not circumcised, it is argued, are immoral, make rude wives and daughters-in-law. And in some communities it is drummed into the girls’ heads, right from a tender age, that no man will marry an uncircumcised girl.
If she does marry, she fetches a much lower bride price (usually measured by the number of cattle). In my own case, I was offered three cows for marriage by a young warrior. Hell no! I wouldn’t stay for 3,000 cows, or at any price for that matter.
Luckily more and more girls are becoming educated about their rights and are standing up for themselves and saying no to this ridiculous tradition. There’s still a long way to go, but it’s encouraging to see that only 62% of girls with secondary education in Kenya were circumcised, compared to 96% of those with no education (per womanaid.org).
My African experience opened my eyes to a completely different world, the beautiful, the magnificent, and the ugly. I felt a deep sense of gratitude for the freedom, the opportunities, the beauty and love around me. And sorrow for the suffering that so many experience.
How do you feel, and what are your thoughts?
lloyd says
September 7, 2012 at 7:23 pmAs a african american male. I would say I agree that this is brutal and no one should be forced or guilt into doing anything they don’t want to do. But I think were looking at this as americans to them its a was a life. Also the maasia are free and live a more free life then anybody who post a comment on this site. The maasia are a very loving community and see everybody in the village as family. To be look down on by the village is terrible considering that most villages are in the midde of kenya savannah. Also 3 cows to them is a very high price and I sign of respect. Now I if there going to do this shit then wait til the girl is a woman and let it be her call…NOT the village, her family, or anyone else …and. if she says no the that ok.
Jingtastic says
September 10, 2012 at 10:52 pmLloyd, I appreciate your perspectives. It’s often different looking from the outside in 🙂
lloyd says
September 7, 2012 at 7:11 pmNot this agreeing with anyone. But your thinking like a american. Don’t get me wrong everybody has the right to say no. But in the masia world this is one of few brutal things that go on. But the maasia are also a very loving and caring community. Also 3 cows are worth 3000 in there eyes. Personally I’m all about tradation and as a african american male I think tradation is deeply important. But I’m not for such a act of destroying ones body fo tradation. Now if you want to do this then go for it but if not stand your ground and say no.
chemicalrefugee says
May 27, 2012 at 1:26 pmAs a male who had 90% of his pleasure nerves crushed off with my entire foreskin and frenulum, I hate all these barbaric rituals. They cause huge amounts of harm. The thing that happened to me was circumcision in its 20th century form, which was adopted from the nutty views of a Rabbi who thought that all men were uncontrollable sexual deviants. It was done to millions of boys to stop them from masturbation..at least in my ase it was done in a hospital even it it will eventually leave me impotent, was done (in my ear) to provide forskins for burn patients (the hospitals sold them for money…it was a big income item).
Munique says
May 28, 2012 at 1:21 pmAs we take steps to ensure the freedom of each person on this earth, I am thankful that the day will soon arrive when we can all live with as much vitality as we are capable of.
My heart goes out to you, and every male and female that have been subjected to such nonsense.
Jing says
October 17, 2011 at 2:15 pmMary, I agree with you completely. Many ridiculous beliefs (under the name of “cultural traits”) are simply passed on without being questioned. Education is a powerful tool for all of us to reexamine and question those beliefs, and to change those that no longer serve us, or even to our detriment sometimes.
Mary Hannah says
October 14, 2011 at 2:05 pmI completely agree with you. I recently read this line: “Some would argue that sexual mutilations are simply a cultural trait; but would you classify the murder and mutilation of the jews by Hitler a ‘cultural trait’?”(non-verbatum) I thought it was an excellent line. This is a horrible ‘cultural trait’ , and makes you wonder why it is acceptable for boys to be circumcised in the western word. Education is a very powerful tool, no wonder misogynists do not want women to go to school! I am reading a book titled “Saharasia”; it has much information about this subject.