A dear brother, a lawyer friend, Mosimane wa Palapye, I met some years ago when he was reading for his letters in law at Fordham University School of Law in the Empire State, New York City, USA recently posted in his face book page stating the following :
“When supposedly on a SADC assignment President Khama along with other Heads of State took time off that important schedule to go and feast their eyes on scantily clad young women old enough to be their grandchildren”. Alongside a brutal monarch Mswati who has refused to institute constitutional reforms.
This is what our leaders get up to. My lawyer friend concluded “I looked at that image in disgust “.
I keep going back to that clip showing some African Presidents leaving their seats to join King Mswati as he performed the traditional rituals on the young purported Swazi virgins and I asked myself many questions which up to now I am still asking.
Is this not abuse of the African girl child? Or is this culture?
I ask myself these questions making reference to Simon de Beauvoir, “The Second Sex.”
“ If her functioning as a female is not enough to define woman, if we decide also to explain her through the external feminine and if her nevertheless we admit that which do exist , then we must face the question , WHAT IS A WOMAN?
Each year in Swaziland thousands of bare-breasted young Swazi girls parade themselves in front of their king to celebrate chastity and unity. Dressed in beaded skirts, clutching machetes women and girls dance and sing tributes to the king and queen mother – also known as the Great She-Elephant – in a traditional Umhlanga Reed Dance to celebrate womanhood and virginity.
Are you just comfortable with it dear reader?
Do you not find it fascinating? Please be honest to yourself. Although, I cannot claim to be a saint, those who know me closely will tell you that, I prefer strong middle aged independent intellectual bones, not under age virgins.
“I don’t carry nappies in my car. I am also not fascinated by extremely moneyed trophy wives, who sometimes are just a show off, will take the husband’s Ferrari on a Friday to work and when she gets there, she presses the accelerator and the whole building will sound like it is on fire and thereafter, the poor girl will fail to switch off the slick machine’s engine. These are the types that spend most of their time at SPA’s gossiping and talking about how wealthy their men are, sometimes just talking about tax evaders. Some of them are just lonely and spend most of their times with the garden boys and kids in their houses, mfana e vaile.
I doubt I can ever attend any of the Reed Dance, although on mentioning this to a friend recently she said “Tota wena tsala ya me, you are a hypocrite, if it was Kgatla culture you will be on rooftops shouting and dancing dressed up in your traditional attire and singing. Now that it is another tribe, another nation you pour scorn on it.”
I listened and just nodded for I did not want to waste time and exchange words with an “Ikwenkwe”.
So I let it pass and asked her if she knows of this cool joint in Gaborone, in the Village Ward that sells nicely packaged peanuts and the peanuts are popularly known as “Sebina”.
What?
Why Sebina, a ware Sebina Thabo?
I took a drive to that joint and when I got there I ordered four Sebina peanuts, two for me and two for her. Anyone who has tasted those peanuts will tell you, they are just a cut above the rest.
I have been asked many questions as to what Female Genital Mutilation really is and recently when I touched on the subject matter to my Public Policy class, they were clueless as to the practice and whether it really exists and is practiced by any tribe in Botswana.
Does female genital mutilation exist in Botswana? To what extent is it practiced and by who and where, which tribe practice it and why? It must however, be noted that the literature on female genital mutilation in Botswana is very scanty and the practice is perceived to be none existent although some researchers and elders keep making claims that certain types of FGM is highly practiced in the country.
Let me emphasize that I will not attempt to claim and argue that I have any empirical evidence that suggests that Type IV of FGM does indeed exists and is highly practised. I have heard of such myths. I am also aware that it drives many men crazy.
I will therefore, in this article focus attention on providing a conceptual framework on female genital mutilation and on how it has manifested itself within some communities in Africa. Will examine its harmful effects, the role of culture in exacerbating the practice and what mechanisms and measures have been put in place to address it.
In order to support my arguments, I use the concept of gender as informed by feminist epistemology in the fight against injustice such as using cultural practices in this instance parading young virgins in front of powerful political leaders with the latter feasting their eyes on half naked virgins young enough to be their grandchildren and not only through that at times by cutting the young girls genital organs for non medical reasons as well as stretching of their clitoris or labia minora to tighten female sexual organs during sexual intercourse.
Female Genital Mutilation is a surgical procedure performed on the genitals of girls and women in many parts of the world. The term FGM covers a range of procedures, which are also referred to as female circumcision and introcision. FGM is widely practiced on the African continent. It is found among more than half the communities in Sub Saharan African countries.
There are four different types of FGM that have been identified and these are:
ÔÇó Type 1: Commonly referred to as clitoridectomy: Excision (removal) of the clitoral hood, with or without removal of all or part of the clitoris.
ÔÇó Type 2: Commonly referred to as excision. Excision (removal) of the clitoris together with or part or all of the labia minora (the inner vaginal lips). This is the most widely practiced form.
ÔÇó Type 3: Commonly referred to as infibulations. Excision (removal) of part or all of the external genitalia (clitoris, labia minora and labia majora) stitching or narrowing of the vaginal opening, leaving a very small opening about the size of a matchstick to allow the flow of urine and menstrual blood. It is also known as pharaonic circumcision.
ÔÇó Type IV: Stretching of the clitoris or labia minora to tighten female sexual organs during sexual intercourse, Removal or apposition of the labia minora, pricking, piercing, incising, scrapping and cauterization.
FGM is generally practiced as a matter of social convention, and is interlinked with social acceptance, peer pressure, the fear of not having access to resources and opportunities as a young woman and to secure prospects of marriage. Therefore individuals’ actions are, Interdependent on those of others. This social convention is connected to different concrete socio-cultural perceptions, most of which are linked to local perceptions of gender, sexuality and religion. With regards to gender, there is often a perception that women’s bodies need to be “carved” to become fully female. Often the clitoris is seen as “male-like” organ that needs to be removed to ensure pure femininity.
FGM is also frequently associated with sexual morality, and the perception of the clitoris as the origin of sexual desire. Hence the clitoris is removed in order to reduce women’s sexual drive, in the belief that this will improve the prospect of premarital virginity, and marital fidelity, and to ensure “decent behaviour”.
The Question that I would like to pose to you dear reader, is whether we have such kind of barbaric acts carried out in the country in the name of culture and religion. Perceptions and believes do exists and some men in Botswana do fantasize about Type IV FGM, especially on the derivation of sexual pleasure. However, please note that such open conversations are perceived as extremely sensitive as is the case with certain well documented cultural practices such as the “Practice” of Nkazana and “Ma-Ntsala, which I cover extensively in my academic research paper and manuscript.
Do we have Type IV type of FGM in Botswana and if so which tribes practice and why?
*Thabo Lucas Seleke is a Health Policy & Health Systems Strengthening Researcher