Female Genital Mutilation

Kannu

Just saw this report in the NYT which prompted this email, son.

You might find it interesting. There are many customs in the world which a liberal educated man like you will find amazing. Footbinding, Female Genital Mutilation, Dowry, Sati, they were usually all societal crimes committed against women by men. The reasons are complex and the history behind these crimes is even more convoluted. But there are good signs that this is being removed as more education happens.

Here is one example of how a Senegalese village stopped it.

Here's another example of what's happening in Egypt.

In Egypt, some people think this is religiously mandated, which is extraordinary. So you can imagine how tough this fight is going to be. Not many people are raising their voices against this either, either they are lazy or think its religiously mandated or scared to take on the religious or male dominated society or just not concerned about it.

But this fight can be won and its people like you and others who can do something about it, raising voices, teaching people, etc. etc. The crucial thing is that it has to be a collective pledge. Getting a small but significant group together to fight against horrible things like this works. It doesnt work when governments force people, it has to come from inside.

I wrote about the greatest indians once, and I recognised Raja Ram Mohan Roy as one of the greatest Indians who helped erradicate Sati and founded the Brahmo Samaj. Here's his background. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ram_Mohan_Roy

So it can be done, Son, just needs dedication and passion and a whole heap of patience.