Gendered identity and anti-female genital cutting (FGC) activism among the Ejaghams,Cameroon (2010)
This study is a Descriptive research regarding All FGM/C with the following characteristics:
Author(s): Ngambouk Vitalis
FGM/C Type(s): All
Health area of focus: None.
Objective: To critically appraise the NGO activism against female genital cutting (FGC) practices among Ejagham communities in Southwest Cameroon
Study Population: Men,Females,NGO activists,Traditional Practitioners (including Circumcisers),Modern Health Care Practitioners,Government Representatives
Findings: The paper argued that by framing female circumcision as a ‘‘harmful traditional practice’’,local anti-female circumcision activists (NGOs and their external allies),using educational,health,legal awareness and human rights-based approaches,had produced mixed results,thereby re-inforcing resistance among cultural hardliners. Their demonization of culture and failure to address the local context of these practices tended rather,to reify and re-inscribe the practice as central to Ejagham cultural identity,personhood and femininity. The study concluded that a community-led,‘Positive Deviance Approach’ could be a way forward towards the eventual eradication of FGM/C
Geographical coverage
Region(s):Middle Africa
Country(ies):Cameroon