The Politics of the Clitoris

It looks like the politics of the clitoris will be with us for quite a while yet. With an eminent clergyman writing a whole book on the tiny organ, a female doctor now goes to court to ask for a repeal of the law against female genital cutting/mutilation/modification. Men are still fascinated by the organ…heck, even male members will not click on a link unless they are assured there is a clit:D! …
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[SIZE=5]"Legalise Female Genital Mutilation, says doctor in court[/SIZE]

THURSDAY JANUARY 18 2018

https://www.nation.co.ke/image/view/-/4267596/highRes/1861212/-/maxw/600/-/119tx0i/-/DOC.jpg?format=xhtml
Dr Tatu Kamau at Machakos High Court on January 17, 2018 after filing a case in which she is seeking to have female circumcision legalised. PHOTO | STEPHEN MUTHINI | NATION MEDIA GROUP

[SIZE=3]In Summary[/SIZE]
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[li]Dr Tatu Kamau wants the Anti-FGM Board, which has been spearheading the campaign against the practice, abolished.[/li]

[li]Dr Kamau said the outlawing of female circumcision is against the culture of many African communities and should be reviewed.[/li][li]She said all females, especially adults, should be allowed to make choices regarding their bodies without being restricted by legislation.[/li]

[li]Dr Kamau said that the term FGM is a “misnomer” as Westerners, who coined it, are now practising it, only that they now refer to it as Female Genital Surgery.[/li]
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By STEPHEN MUTHINI
More by this Author
A medical doctor has filed a case at the Machakos High Court seeking to have female circumcision, also known as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), legalised.

Dr Tatu Kamau, in the case before Justice David Kemei on Wednesday, also wants the Anti-FGM Board, which has been spearheading the campaign against the practice, abolished.

Speaking to the Press after filing the case, Dr Kamau said the outlawing of female circumcision is against the culture of many African communities and should be reviewed.

She said all females, especially adults, should be allowed to make choices regarding their bodies without being restricted by legislation.

Dr Kamau, who is not represented by a lawyer, added that the term FGM is a “misnomer” as Westerners, who coined it, are now practising it, only that they now refer to it as Female Genital Surgery.

“It is a label given to us by those who do not understand it,” she said of the practice and its legal name, addding that female circumcision was part of African cultural practices before the advent of colonialism and should not be criminalised.

[SIZE=3]Related Content[/SIZE]
[ul]
[li]3 women arrested for undergoing FGM ‘regret it’[/li][li]Six women arrested for circumcising daughters[/li][li]Women arrested after undergoing cut[/li][/ul]
HARASSED

Her major argument is that many women have been harassed by the state and even jailed because of the practice, which should not be the case as adults should be allowed to exercise their choices.

“Much as we want to protect the girl, there are many women who have been harassed and jailed in the last three years.

Once you reach adulthood there is no reason why you should not make that decision,” she said.

Legalising female circumcision will make it easy for those who want to undergo it to seek the best medical services, thus making the procedure safe, she added.

“Female circumcision is practised differently from one community to another, but it can be made safe. It is a minor surgical procedure that does not require anaesthesia or being put into a theatre.”

Dr Kamau said that, just as people are discouraged from smoking or drinking alcohol, the gospel against mandatory circumcision as a cultural right of passage should continue, but those who choose to go under the knife should not be arrested.

CULTURAL ISSUE

She took issue with Parliament’s decision to legislate on a cultural issue, saying lawmakers overstretched their mandate.

“If Parliament can try to abolish a culture, tomorrow it will abolish religion or something else. The Anti-FGM Act is a bad precedence of trying to micro-manage our culture,” she observed.

Anti-FGM Board chief executive officer Benadette Loloji, however, said they were against the practice because of the negative effects it has had on women with regards to reproduction issues.

She said the campaign has been successful as prevalence had dropped from 37 per cent in 2008 to 21 per cent in 2014, according to the most recent demographic health survey. However, most cuts are now performed in secrecy for fear of legal reprisals on both the victims and the traditional surgeons. Children are also being circumcised at a tender age, and often at night.

EVIDENCE ACT

Twenty prosecutors have been assigned to specifically deal with FGM cases, but Ms Loloji observed it is not easy to try FGM cases because of the evidence Act.

Among the measures that the Anti-FGM Board is taking to keep the campaign momentum is to come up with guidelines on community dialogue on why the practice is bad, Ms Loloji said.

It is also bringing younger men on board in the campaign against FGM, and is already engaging Maasai morans in Kajiado and elsewhere.

“We are bringing the younger men on board because they are the ones who will bring the practice to an end. They are the ones who will decide whether to marry a woman who is uncut or not,” said Ms Loloji.

The case by Dr Kamau will be heard on February 26.[SIZE=6]"[/SIZE]
[SIZE=5]
Whats your view?[/SIZE]

Personally i would be okay with her view if she was seeking to have her’s cut…

P/S- I know this subject was posted here earlier so tuliona battalion wenzangu kaa kando…

I don’t believing in government big footing on such issues e.g making such personal things illegal. For personal issues like this, where there is a need to protect kids but throwing a blanket ban infringes on freedom, raise the age of consent to 24.
If one wants it, get it once you turn 24.
And bangi belongs in this discussion too

My view is that she’s using this as a platform to launch a political career.

targeting which demographic coz I think the issue is antagonistic to both male and female youth, most christian religions…?

Seconded. Would have been better if she went to court with all the evidence seeking legality of her clit being chopped. On the other hand a grown up lady should be allowed to decide whether she wants her cut or not. The problem comes in when teen girls are forced to undergo the traditional ritual in the name of preserving culture.
Personally I hate being in the mix of chopped clits. Flat, tasteless coitus, haileti shangwe.

I would have supported her if she has gone through circumcision… Otherwise she should shurrap… It’s true it’s cultural but traditional practices are slowly fading away due to intermarriages and technology. Heck, people don’t even know their own languages…

I don’t know about the demographic, but it’s the same strategy that Ezekiel Mutua is using.

My take is that once she gets enough controversy, this issue will be quickly dropped/forgotten and the catwalk for the judges will begin for the major parties. (As it usually does).

On the FGM issue, I don’t think anyone should get to decide a girl’s sexual future for her. I’m with @shocks for letting them get to certain ages to decide for themselves.

Actually the issue of female circumcision atleast for the Greeks did not end because technology but Christianity and formal education. Intermarriage played a small part since it rarely happened. All the same the sole reason and the traditions behind the exercise are long lost so there is no need for it anymore. The country has bigger moral issues to sort out than a few horny women.

doesn’t every couple require the woman to have her full sexuality for the stability of the family?

Mwanamke amekatwa ata ufikishe threshold Mara Mia haskii utamu

She says it’s a minor surgical procedure and makes it sound like there are no risks involved. Yeah, she should tell that to thousands of FGM girls who get infections and that isn’t the worst part (if they survive). When they get pregnant their labor could be obstructed leading to fistulas that leak urine and feces. It’s a nightmare for these women. Male circumcision does no harm, while FGM does. For male circumcision to be equivalent to FGM, the entire tip of the male’s penis would need to be cut off.

I can understand that a woman without a clit cannot get a clitoral orgasm but what about a g~spot orgasm?

The current generation of couples yes. However if we were in 1700s to 1930s that would not even feature as a discussion. Look at it from both sides i.e classical and modern.

She probably wants it to be allowed so that it can be done in a clean or sterilized environment just like abortion where instead of using conc tea or a hanger or a quack you just go to a hospital like Marie stopes.

I am and I have. my surprise is that at this level of education and sophistication someone somene would even be thinking about it…Is she driven by selfish greed? could she be seeing a new revenue stream from the surgical procedures she will perform every season?

Today morning this guy, Muthiora Kariara was on a talk show and he asked Dr. Kamau some very simple but logical questions, Dr. Kamau, what have you done about fistula, which is as a result of FGM? Why don’t you first address that, which is a real problem before you come to the clit? Dr. Kamau, wee wi muruu?
Away from that, when I was growing up, girls in my village were being circumcised. The circumcisor ws called Jamuku and she used to come very early in the morning at the invitation of the parents. There is this one day when we were jolted from sleep by a huge scream coming from across the ridge. We all rushed outside to see whats going on.
Behind the house right across the ridge was a small party of women and my mother remarked, "nia Scola* mararuithio. I still remember that.
*Not her real name, if I meant her real name, and the fact some of you know where I come from, I will blow my cover.

I was also surprised considering she is in the medic field where they need to work on a lot of issues that plague it starting with nurses attitudes to patients etc. She is probably trying to get communities that are still doing it some leeway to reduce death and infection. I am honestly lost on the end game.

Hii thread ni ya wamama but imejaa wanaume

https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTHMw10PFflD6z68dRQzrSvQd6YNfLzIpxgetZwFQ--jWuqqDJItmSMb85w

Hehehe. Enyewe what business do we have discussing FGM returning :smiley:

Regardless. The practice has no health benefit. Circumcised men have lower STI rates, it offers protection against penile cancer and reduced risk of transmitting cervical cancer to females. FGM ni @Shida Tupu.