My colleague, Dr. Ahmadu, has asked me to share this with the list. PLEASE NOTE that any questions or comments should be directed to the two individuals listed at the end of the e-mail, not to me. Thank you, Ylva
For Immediate Release
“ZERO-TOLERANCE AND CRIMINALIZATION OF
FEMALE GENITAL CUTTING AS TOOLS FOR ABANDONMENT”
A Public Policy Forum featured at the American Anthropological Association 106th Annual Conference
WASHINGTON, DC, November 26, 2007 - The American Anthropological Association is hosting its 106th Annual Conference November 28th to December 2nd 2007. The theme of this year’s conference Difference, (In)equality & Justice features a host of special events and workshops including films, discussions and plenary sessions. On Saturday December 1st, a Public Policy Forum entitled “Zero-Tolerance and Criminalization of Female Genital Cutting as Tools for Abandonment” will be held at 8:00am to 9:45am. The organizers are Dr. Fuambai Ahmadu and Dr. Richard Shweder, both at the University of Chicago. The moderator for the event will be Dr. Janice Boddy, University of Toronto. Other panelists include: Dr. Ellen Gruenbaum (California State University, Fresno), Dr. Bettina Shell-Duncan (University of Washington), Dr. Wairimu Njambi (Florida Atlantic University), Dr. Stan Yoder (Macro Int’l),
Zeinab Eyega (Sauti Yetu), Dr. Elise Johansen (WHO, Geneva), Sandra Jordan (USAID), and Molly Melching (Tostan).
Press attendance to this noteworthy session is encouraged. Please go to www.aaanet.org for registration details.
Abstract of Public Policy Forum
In the U.S., anti- Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) legislation has been passed which criminalizes genital surgeries on female minors. This resulted from growing fears about the spread of female genital cutting (FGC) among African immigrants in the country. However, male genital cutting, or circumcision, remains legal and endorsed by many healthcare providers. Further, genital operations performed on so-called intersex children continues in the U.S. and are generally perceived as necessary to the psychosocial well-being of “sexually ambiguous” children. In some European countries, the ban on female genital cutting extends to adult African women; yet adult European women can freely seek various forms of genital cosmetic surgeries. Thus, some critics have pointed out that global attitudes towards non-medical genital operations are skewed: international activism against genital modifications
of African women and girls with no parallel legal or policy interventions against practices such as male circumcision, “corrective” genital surgeries of intersex children, and the upsurge of “designer vaginas” and “vaginal rejuvenations” among western women.
The AAA public policy forum on “zero-tolerance of FGM” brings together anthropologists, feminists and officials from USAID, WHO, TOSTAN and MACRO International, to discuss global “zero-tolerance” policies and criminalization of FGM/FGC. The panel includes for the first time, the critical “third wave” or multicultural feminist perspectives of circumcised African women scholars Wairimu Njambi, a Kenyan, and Fuambai Ahmadu, a Sierra Leonean-American. Both women hail from cultures where female and male initiation rituals are the norm and have written about their largely positive and contextualized experiences, creating an emergent discursive space for a hitherto “muted group” in global debates about FGC.
What: A Public Policy Forum on “Zero-Tolerance and Criminalization of Female Genital Cutting as Tools for Abandonment”
Where: American Anthropological Association 106th Annual Conference Wardman Marriott Hotel, Washington, D.C.
When: Saturday December 1st 2007
Time: 08.00am – 09.45am
For more information, contact the forum organizers Fuambai Ahmadu [log in to unmask] or Richard Shweder [log in to unmask]
General attendance is limited to anthropologists and others who have pre-registered for the AAA conference however; press can register online for free press access. Please contact the forum organizers beforehand.
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About the AAA
The American Anthropological Association (AAA), the primary professional society of anthropologists in the United States since its founding in 1902, is the world's largest professional organization of individuals interested in anthropology. Its goals are:
• To further the professional interests of anthropologists
• To disseminate anthropological knowledge and its use to address human problems
• To promote the entire field of anthropology in all its diversity
• To represent the discipline nationally and internationally, in the public and private sectors.
• To bring together anthropologists from all subfields and specializations, providing networking opportunities across the broad range of the discipline.
The AAA, which advances these purposes though its publications, meetings and various programs, is the only organization that represents anthropology's diversity and speaks for the entire discipline in this time of critical challenges and changes.
For more information on the AAA call 1 703 528 1902 or visit www.aaanet.org
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