'Had this been your face, would you leave it as it is?': Female circumcision among the Nubians of Egypt

El Guindi, Fadwa

essay

'Had this been your face, would you leave it as it is?': Female circumcision among the Nubians of Egypt

female circumcision : multicultural perspectives • Philadelphia • Published In 2006 • Pages: 27-46

By: El Guindi, Fadwa.

Abstract
This study challenges unidimensional arguments that frame female circumcision in relation to "patriarchy" and other forms of male domination of women, proposing instead that in the context of rural Nubia the practice constitutes an important tradition that shapes the trajectory of women’s lives as they transition from childhood to womanhood. Nubian women interviewed for the study claimed that the main objective of female circumcision is to enhance beauty and sexual appeal by tightening the genitalia. To this effect, the author proposes that the practice is analogous to breast implants and other sexualized body alterations some women choose to undergo in contemporary Western societies.

Gender roles and issues

Nubians

Region

Africa

Sub Region