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Australia addresses female genital mutilation. (Round
Up: Law and Policy).
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| Article Type: | Brief Article |
| Subject: |
Female circumcision
(Prevention) Female circumcision (Political aspects) |
| Pub Date: | 05/01/2002 |
| Publication: | Name: Reproductive Health Matters Publisher: Reproductive Health Matters Audience: General Format: Magazine/Journal Subject: Family and marriage; Health; Women's issues/gender studies Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2002 Reproductive Health Matters ISSN: 0968-8080 |
| Issue: | Date: May, 2002 Source Volume: 10 Source Issue: 19 |
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| Accession Number: | 94126298 |
| Full Text: |
Australia has a relatively small yet substantial number of migrants
from countries in Africa where female genital mutilation (FGM) is
practised. In 1995, federal and state governments in Australia funded
the National Programme on Female Genital Mutilation with the aim of
eliminating the practice. The two-pronged strategy includes the
enforcement of special legislation banning the practice, and health
promotion to raise awareness of its harmful effects while enhancing
community development and community education. Even though the programme
aims to represent the rights and interests of women who have undergone
the procedure, women with FGM have complained that media programmes have
led to their being stigmatised and portrayed as victims, and their
privacy disregarded. The right of infibulated women to be reinfibulated
after childbirth has also been a point of contention. This article says
the Australian state may be acting in a patriarchal manner and creating
a disempowering environment by seeking to represent the rights of women
with FGM as if they are unable to represent themselves, due to their
cultural backgrounds. A lack of critical reflection in the West, that
condemns FGM but fails to consider comparable mutilating practices such
as cosmetic surgery and body piercing, is also noted. (1.) Allotey P, Manderson L, Grover S. The politics of female genital surgery in displaced communities. Critical Public Health 2001;11(3):189-202. |
| Gale Copyright: | Copyright 2002 Gale, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. |