In the Cut: Marie Assaad’s Battle
September 20th, 2007 by Anindita Sengupta
Some time back, genital mutilation in Egypt came into sharp focus when a thirteen-year-old girl died on the operation table. Now, the tides may be shifting slowly, but undeniably. According to this NYT article:
But now, quite suddenly, forces opposing genital cutting in Egypt are pressing back as never before. More than a century after the first efforts to curb this custom, the movement has broken through one of the main barriers to change: It is no longer considered taboo to discuss it in public. That shift seems to have coincided with a small but growing acceptance of talking about human sexuality on television and radio.
For the first time, opponents said, television news shows and newspapers have aggressively reported details of botched operations. This summer two young girls died, and it was front-page news in Al Masry al Yom, an independent and popular daily. Activists highlighted the deaths with public demonstrations, which generated even more coverage.
At the forefront of this movement is anthropologist Marie Assaad who has been fighting the barbaric practice for around 50 years. In the beginning, she started off with outright condemnation but realizing that this was not working, she employed more strategic moves. She got Islamic scholars and health care workers to endorse her views and dispel illusions. She also managed to garner support from other powerful women in the country.
I think there’s much to be learned from her strategy when it comes to overthrowing age-old, ingrained customs and patterns of behaviour. Give people arguments they can relate to. Win supporters in different key groups, especially the ones most likely to oppose you. And be tenacious.
Even as recently as 2005, a government health survey showed that 96 percent of the thousands of married, divorced or widowed women interviewed said they had undergone genital mutilation. The battle is far from over, or even close to the finishing line. But at least, it has started in earnest.
An earlier post about this is here.