Breaking With Tradition: Female Genital Mutilation or Female Circumcision Among Canadian-Somalis in Southern Ontario

Abstract

Allegations by the Canadian media that the Canadian-Somali population has been continuing its traditional practice of Female Circumcision (FC) or Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in Canada despite its illegality was questioned in this thesis. Through qualitative interviews undertaken with fourteen members of the Somali community in Southern Ontario, it was discovered that the respondents do not believe the practice is being continued in Canada. Their views concur with those of the Ministry of Health -Canada which claims that to date, not a single case ofFC/FGM being performed in Canada has been substantiated. The respondents credit their voluntary abandonment of the practice primarily to anti-FGM campaigns that were supported in the urban regions of Somalia from the 1970s until the onset of the Somali civil war in the late 1980s. A secondary deterrent is the fact that the practice is illegal in Canada. Present anti-FGM programs in Canada were deemed necessary by the respondents to reach the minority of individuals who might seek to continue the practice in Canada. Such programs, however, also serve to provide support to circumcised women living in Canada, as well as to provide education about health care in general. Non-FC/FGM related health concerns were deemed more pressing to the Canadian-Somali community, namely, lack of employment, overcrowded living conditions, and inability to access proper health care. Consequently, the respondents were critical of the Canadian media's approach to FC/FGM since the media has neglected to consider other, and in their view, more immediate health concerns faced by the Canadian-Somali community.