The Language of African Culture and the Unspoken Pain
The cultural practice of Female Genital Mutilation is being practiced as a norm in Africa, and it operates on female children and removes their sexual organs as a ritual. The ritual operates as surgeries that violate females’ health rights results in infection, traumatic mental effects, and deaths. The females in local areas are forced to be genitally mutilated in African culture, and their family has to follow the traditions with the unhealthy ideologies rooted in their mind and the social oppression from the cultural environment. In recent years, CNN produced a film broadcast portraying a girl’s circumcision in Egypt and presented it during the International Conference on Population and Development and in the news. The implementation of female genital mutilation is rooted in the African belief that the existence of the clitoris is damaging to a female’s health, value, and purity, so females must remove their clitoris and sew genital organs to prohibit sexual activities. The human rights violation of the FGM’s implementation is considered as an honored cultural practice from the Egyptian cultural belief. Proponents of the practice do not see the gender norm as unhealthy and claim it to be advantageous in preventing infection and preserving female virginity.
As a female, I feel strongly attached to the female population who are experiencing misfortunes and inhumane torture on the other side of the world. The humanitarian crisis in Africa appeals to me because I can feel the burden and inequality that women are facing in the world. I am desperate for the world to hear the voices of those mistreated girls’ voices. I have never experienced or lived in an environment that forces females toward health-damaging practices. I did, however, grow up in a patriarchal family and a country where stereotypes and practices against self-identities are rooted in cultural norms. My mom was distressed during her pregnancy when she found out that I am a girl via a gender test. My whole Chinese family wished I was a boy, and it took me a long time to realize my power and value as a female and find my voice beyond gender norms. I found my strength and empowered my identity as a result of the education I received and the media content I am exposed to about the issue. I did not know the definition of “stereotype” until my teacher taught me about them several years ago. I am aware that vulnerable groups need more help, attention, and education from the world.
In a globalized world with increased connectivity, the media is responsible for telling stories that are important to human development as a whole. Information sinks into the lives of everyone who has access to the internet. Unfortunately, little attention has been given to the issue of FGM by mainstream media coverage. Organizations have been writing reports and advocating the importance of international collaboration, public awareness, and effective change in the system to prevent inhumane practices.
However, those efforts made by the organizations have been less communicated on the media stage to a larger group of audience. With limited external support, the voices of females who suffer from Female Genital Mutilation are muted. As global citizens, we need to take action and let their voices be heard in public. Martin Luther King once said that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”. I believe King’s ideology helps build a strong claim in this issue that we have the social responsibility to acknowledge, advocate, and learn about the FGM in Africa. In my life, being a twelve-year-old girl means going to middle school and hanging out with friends; In other parts of the world, twelve years old for a girl means getting married, being tortured from organ removal surgeries, and materialized as objects to please others without their own voice and choice. The media can do more to help volume up to their voice, and contribute to the freedom of their choices by educating the public and raising global awareness that urges the African culture toward humane practices. We can do more.