My disclaimer. I do not consider myself a activist, human rights organizer or even a self proclaimed do-gooder. I am just a women in Egypt discovering and regaining confidence in myself. This blog will surely offend some men and women from a cultural aspect and for that I offer my apology.
However some things just need to be discussed and female circumcision is a topic hot on my radar.
Egypt is best described like living in New York on crack.. okay you can laugh if you get the drift.... Busy, cultural diverse, never sleeping, crazy taxi drivers (sorry, you know it's true) and the list goes on.
I am surprised at the diversified people living here. I have had the blessing to have many friends from from all over including Somalia. The Somalians features are stricking. Absolutely beautiful people, very rich in culture and tradition. Leading up to the subject.
After the concert last night my Somalians girl-friends and I got together in my flat for what I call a pink party.. The food and drinks were all pink and it turned into a Sex in Africa night as women will be women and the subject turned to sex and men.
One of my friends out of the clear blue sky asked me was I circumcised. "Do I look like a boy to you ? Of course not" was my reply kind of flipping her off. I could tell my answer offended her and I quickly offered my hand in apology. ( I do that a lot here) I realized she was speaking of female circumcision. My five girlfriends all from Somalia endured forced circumcision as young girls. These ladies are NOT uneducated village girls but, Dr, business owner and women that come from families of money.
They shared in graphic detail of how the procedure (lack of better word) was performed and the results they have faced as married women. Painful sex, lack of sexual enjoyment, inability to obtain orgasm, painful urination and periods. I looked at them with horrid eyes and the questions why, how, who were just flowing from my lips. I was one angry women as I expressed my sadness and sorry for them.
To my surprise my friend chirps in and says who am I to be sorry and pity them. It is their culture and my American arrogance (her words not mine) was very offensive to her. Her daughters would be circumcised as she, her mother, grandmother were. She then looks at me with venom and says perhaps if I were circumcised my heat would have been controlled and I would not be divorced. I needed more discipline from my ex husband. Oh no she didn't.........
The gloves came off. It was a war of words of why I felt the practice was a violation of women rights and my heat as she described it can be controlled by many ways and circumcisions isn't one of them..( help me slumper party sellers send me some stuff now) Okay, you can see I am still a little pissed off.. (schwayer Nefertiti.) It looked like a scene from Sex in the City with Miranda and Samantha going at it.
After our exchange of words and another pink non-alcoholic cosmopolitan we calmed down. I was ignorant to their culture and beliefs and I can understand why my words would be offensive. In our country a women has the right to choose. Since they were forced the choice was taken away. I believe they understood my point of view and we respected each others right to disagree.
To summarize this all up. We all should have the right to choose what happens to our bodies. Forced anything upon a women in my book is wrong..
I choose not to post their pictures as a group but, offer my hand that was hennaed in the Somalian way as my respect and love for them. See you ladies tonight inshallah.
