Oyugi CA; International Conference on AIDS.
Int Conf AIDS. 1998; 12: 1011 (abstract no. 60057).
Nairobi Womens Bureau/Kwaso, Kenya.
OBJECTIVE: A social study was carried out to find out why female circucision persists inspite of concerted efforts to eradicate it due to its health risks. METHODOLOGY: Focus Group Discussions with clan elders, interviews with circumcised women, parents, husbands, wives and the circumcisers. RESULTS: It was established that FGM raises the social status of parents whose daughters go through the ritual, it is a source of income generation for parents whose daughters get married and dowry is paid, diminishes sexual desire for women thus keeping them under control, a rite of passage, husbands tend to have extra marital affairs since wives have no desire, one surgical instrument used on all initiates, increases chances of bleeding to death and need for transfusion due bleeding at child birth because of tearing, belief that one cannot get married if not circumcised. FGM predisposes women to HIV infection in many ways, e.g when husbands have extra marital sex, blood transfusions, using same surgical instrument on all female initiates, dowry gotten when young underage girls are married off to older men who may already be infected.
Publication Types:
Keywords:
- Child
- Circumcision, Female
- Culture
- Demography
- Extramarital Relations
- Family Characteristics
- Female
- HIV Infections
- Health
- Humans
- Male
- Marriage
- ethics
- surgery
Other ID:
UI: 102232009
From Meeting Abstracts