Honorable Daughters: The Lived Experience of Circumcised Sudanese Women in the United States

 
 
 
 

Honorable Daughters: The Lived Experience of Circumcised Sudanese Women in the United States

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Title: Honorable Daughters: The Lived Experience of Circumcised Sudanese Women in the United States
Author: Abdel Halim, Asma Mohamed
Description: This is a qualitative study of the experiences of circumcised Sudanese women in the United States. It is done to find out whether the immigration experience has affected the cultural perceptions of women, in particular their views about female circumcision (FC). Questions are focused on what exactly has changed in their lives that resulted in a change of attitude or behavior. Three focus groups of women of different age groups participated in the research. One woman of each group was interviewed in depth. Open ended questions and semi structured interviews were conducted. Participants were allowed to ask questions and answer questions during the meetings. Debates around gender relations and family relations inside the homes were quite useful to the analysis of information gathered during lengthy interviews with individual women. Literature from broad areas of immigration, human rights, FC, cultural studies and qualitative research methods and feminist theory was reviewed. The study found that there is a change in women’s perception of their culture and a high level of awareness of why the change came about. Change in gender relations inside the home is the main change for immigrant Sudanese women. Despite strong ties with the home culture these changes are accepted as good and necessary. There is an activism side to their change of attitude towards FC; it is no longer lip service to change. The married women’s group is determined to use the acquired decision-making power to protect their daughters from the practice. The study found that this activism edge stemmed from their personal experiences of humiliation and horror during childbirth. Younger unmarried women saw FC as a practice that deprived them of their bodily integrity and took away their ability to make their own decisions. Older women did not change their mind about the “benefits” of FC but saw it as detrimental to their granddaughters’ health and status in the United States.
Permanent Link: http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1061240934
http://hdl.handle.net/2374.OX/14761
Date: 2003

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