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As the purpose of the assignment on the TOR is given to provide service to assess the Situational Analyses of youth and children regarding the effort to realize the children and women’s right, and youth participation, I and my team mates have conducted.. They have been discussing on different topics, and I have observed the following information about youth and children so for today I want to share this.
The prevalence of harmful traditional practices of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a big challenge for females; especially in the age group from 10-24, in Ethiopia. This problem is mainly found in some regions of the country. In most of the regions, females are circumcised when they are under age of 15. However, the impact of this harmful traditional practice is also casting magnificent problem on the older ones. The practice of FGM is quite different across the regions, especially in the Somali and Afar region, and its problem is very deep in those regions. As I have found the information from the age group 15-18 in Somalia regions, this harmful tradition is the most widespread problem in the rural as well as urban areas. As of the group discussion was among Females from different wordas of the region, 95% of the participants in the FDG are victims of this harmful traditional practice. This traditional practice is carried by locally known women who have lots experience on this FGM. The FGM practice in this local area is quite different from other places where FGM is a traditional belief. In this region genital mutilation is avoiding the most sensitive genital part of the female and stitching with thorn by leaving small opening for the urine and menstruation. The practice of stitch of female genital is unique for Somali and Afar region. During the sexual intercourse period, the male will tear the stitch of her genital body with the dagger to be open. Hence, the female may bleed up to death and she may face severe problem related with her reproductive body. As some participants from the FGD mentioned that they face different problems following this FGM, for example, as one of our informant Fetia said
"I am circumcised and stitched. Hence during menstruation time, I usually absent from the class for a week and during that time I always distressed by severe pain." Some of the major problems mentioned in this regard are Fistula & complications in the sexual lives of the young girls who have gone through FGM as well as complications during birth.CAUSES of the Problems
As the group mentioned that, the main causes of the problems that have been mentioned in the above are highly related with:
- The social and dogmatic beliefs of the people. Most of the time this FGM is highly correlated with the spiritual beliefs of the local people, especially in the Muslim society of Somali region, the FGM is one of the religious dogmatic practice which is called SUNNI. And we observed from the focus group that most of them were supporting the FGM without the act of stitch.
- In the Somali region, many of females in the group mentioned that, most men do not want to marry a girl who is not circumcised and stitched.
- The local people highly believe FGM as a sign of discipline for females and most females who are not circumcised are regarded as sexually indiscriminate and prostitutes.
- This is because the society does have little knowledge about the harms of FGM and there is no enough movement of awareness creation in the local area.
- Wrong attitude about FGM. The community believe that FGM as it shapes the behavior of females. In some region, there is a Cultural believe; if a girl is not circumcised she will break things which is culturally said: “Set lij kaltegerezech eqqa tisebralech”.
- In the Somali region, it is believed that women who are circumcised will get married easily.
For more information about the FGM complexity you can see “THE DESERT FLOWER” film
WE DO TOGETHER TO DROP OFF THIS PROBLEM!!!
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