Date: Sat, 30 May 1998 14:07:43 -0700 (PDT)
From: Zachary Polsky <zspolsky-AT-ucdavis.edu>
Subject: Re: FGM


Christina,

There is an excellent French novel entitled "l'Excisee" by Evelyne Accad.
Accad is of Algerian origin, if I am not mistaken, and discusses the
influence of feminine circumcision, or "excision," in Algeria and the rest
of North Africa. I assume that some translations of the book exist.

As for my thoughts on the matter, I defer to the French supreme court,
which some years ago determined that feminine circumcision is an act of
mutilation which does not deserve the same protected status as other
cultural rituals. The decision was made in reponse to a case in which a
man with no medical expertise or training in performing feminine
circumcision tried to circumcise his two-year old daughter, who died as a
result of the operation.

One might ask: Why should anyone listen to the French supreme court, for
there is nary a more (neo-)colonialist instituion on the face of this
earth? True, but Accad, an Algerian woman "immigree," sides with it. One
might further ask: Why should anyone listen to a francophone Algerian
whose point of view is highly likley to be skewed by her intense contact
with the West? That is what one has to read the book to decide...

Hope this helps,

Zachary Polsky
Department of French and Italian
University of California, Davis

On Sat, 30 May 1998, Cristina Jo Thaut wrote:

> Does anyone know of any useful texts or articles which discuss female
> genital mutilation or female circumcision in Muslim nations/states?
> 
> My summer project is to write a research paper on FGM.  I am in an English
> graduate program, but the paper is for a graduate level political science
> class. If anyone has any ideas about how to approach this topic from a poli
> sci point of view, I would be interested!  
> 
> I thought possibly a rather conventional approach exploring "universal"
> attitudes versus cultural relativistic attitudes.  (no real thesis yet)
> 
> If anyone feels like exploring this topic further, I would be interested in
> your thoughts.
> 
> Thanks, Cristi 
> University of NE, Lincoln
> 
> 
> 
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