Dear All,

I have been reading with avid interest some of the stimulating exchanges
related to the book, Female "Circumcision" edited by Ylva Hernlund and
Bettina Shell-Duncan.  As one of the contributors to the volume, and also an
African woman who has undergone initiation and excision, I strongly
recommend the book for anyone interested in obtaining a broader and richer
understanding of various perspectives on the issue from various geographic
areas.  And for those who are genuinely interested, my own contribution
specifically concerns historical, symbolic and cultural dimensions of female
(and male) genital cutting among my own ethnic group, the Kono (who are
closely related to the Mandinka), in eastern Sierra Leone.

I greatly admire the courage and determination of Amie and many others on
this exchange who oppose "FGM" for whatever reasons, however, I must say
that my own experience was on the whole positive and tremendously inspiring.
  Although I do not wish to minimise the experiences of other women,
personally, I have not suffered from any long term gynaecological, sexual or
psychosocial dysfunction and I take serious issue with much of what passes
as scientific evidence of negative long term effects of clitoridectomy and
excision specifically.

I also want to add (because of the use of terms like "barbarism",
"oppression", "FGM") that when we parrot western feminist paradigms in
analysing female "circumcision" we miss a great opportunity to understand
the complexities of sex and gender dynamics in our own societies,
specifically the historical importance of female ideology and symbols of
power that abound in these rituals.  We do not need to support the practice
today and circumcise our own daughters in future. However, there's so much
we could learn by rethinking and revaluating the significance of the
tradition to our grandmothers, great-grandmothers and female ancestors.  As
an anthropologist, it is in this area I feel that I can contribute my own
two-pence to this entire "debate", and hope to remind us of that most
important lesson we learn in the "bush" - respect for our female elders past
and present.

I hope to engage some of you in further discussion after you have had an
opportunity to glance at some of the articles in this new book. I would like
to believe that as "educated" African women and men we can continue to
dialogue on these and other important social issues without castigating
eachother and using disparaging language against our own.  Let the debate
continue, this is the only way we will gain valuable insights from all sides
and hopefully, come up with suitable policies for change.

Best,
Fuambai Ahmadu
Department of Anthropology
London School of Economics
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