Borders of the Present: Maasai Tradition,Modernity,and Female Identity (2013)
This study is a Descriptive research regarding All FGM/C with the following characteristics:
Author(s): Tammary Esho,Paul Enzlin and Steven Van Wolputte
FGM/C Type(s): All
Health area of focus: None.
Objective: To elucidate the importance of bodily practices such as FGC in mediating the daily life worlds of Maasai women
Study Population: women and men between 15 and 80 years of age
Findings: Maasai believed that emurata (circumcision) had always been with them: it was generally regarded as an important stage in the lifecycle; a rite of passage in transforming an individual from child to adult,in transforming girls into responsible,sociable,adults in the community. The female circumcision ritual was not the responsibility of the girl’s mother alone,but of all the other adult (responsible) women in the community,and usually took place after the onset of puberty. It was the outcome of a longer process that started when the women noticed that the girl’s body was developing (for instance,growing breasts,her first menstruation,growing a fuller figure). Circumcision appeared as a borderland,where boundaries of identity and belonging (such as the distinction between immature girl and adult woman,between man and woman,or between non-Maasai and Maasai) were made and unmade by both initiate and society at large. In this,the ritual not only appeared as a border zone; the body itself could be conceived as a borderland that demanded continuous negotiation and (re-)drawing of boundaries. For the women involved in the study,female circumcision was a crucial step in reaching adulthood,but also in morphing social identity,social competence,and female sexuality. For them,female circumcision was not viewed as a practice that demonstrated male domination; rather,it was a moment of transition crucial to themselves. Even though men were involved in dominant social discourse,among the Maasai it is women who were most intimately involved in organizing the events surrounding female circumcision. Therefore,the study concluded that the meaning and importance of FGC could not be understood if this role of women as active agents was not taken into account.
Geographical coverage
Region(s):Eastern Africa
Country(ies):Kenya