FGM/C in Tanzania

The International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation (FGM/C) is an UNsponsored awareness day that takes place on February 6 each year. It is an international effort to
make the world more aware of the practice and to promote its eradication. In order to
commemorate the day, Childreach International has released this paper on the procedure,
documenting Childreach Internationals proposed work in Tanzania combating FGM/C in the Maasai
and Pare communities in Same District.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines FGM/C as all procedures that involve partial
or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for nonmedical reasons. The procedure has no known health benefits for girls and women. Those who
undergo the procedure are at serious risk of death due to blood loss and haemorrhaging, and
immediate complications include excruciating pain, shock and ulceration of the genitals (UNICEF,
2005). Long-term consequences including recurrent urinary tract and bladder infections, cysts,
infertility, and increased risk of childbirth complications and new born deaths. FGM/C constitutes a
major violation of the human rights of girls and women. It is deeply rooted in gender inequality,
ideas about purity, modesty and aesthetics, and attempts to control womens sexuality.
FGM/C is concentrated in a swathe of countries from the Atlantic Coast to the Horn of
Africa. It is estimated that 125 million women and girls in Africa and the Middle East have undergone
the procedure. In Africa alone it is believed 101 million girls over the age of ten have undergone
FGM/C. The country with the highest number of cut girls is Egypt, with approximately 27.2 million
girls and women having undergone FGM/C in the country (UNICEF, 2013). This is closely followed by
Ethiopia with 23.8 million women and Nigeria with 19.9 million (UNICEF, 2013). In Africa, more than
three million girls are said to be at risk for FGM/C annually. The age of girls when they are forced to
undergo the procedure varies from weeks after birth to puberty; in half the countries for which
figures were available for 2013, most girls were cut before the age of 5 (UNICEF, 2013).
The majority of girls that undergo FGM/C have had their genitalia cut with some flesh
removed. In nearly all countries where FGM/C is concentrated, traditional practitioners perform
most of the procedures, often without anaesthesia and with an instrument such as a razor or knife
that has been used on multiple other women. When asked why FGM/C is still performed, social
acceptance is the most frequently cited reason for supporting the continuation of the practice. This
suggests that the only way to combat the proliferation of FGM/C is to encourage change of social
norms. This involves a collective process that includes exposure to new information and to possible
alternatives, deliberation within the social group, organised diffusion and public declarations or
other manifestations of commitment to a new social rule.
While no international human rights instruments specifically address the practice, FGM/C is
illegal under international law. It is considered as a form of violence against women. Similarly,
defining FGM/C as a form of torture brings it under the rubric of the Convention against torture.
Since FGM/C is regarded as a traditional practice prejudicial to the health of children it violates the
UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.. Recent regional treaties such as the Maputo Protocol,
which was adopted in 2003 specifically, address FGM/C. In Tanzania, FGM/C is illegal under domestic
state law.
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Tanzania
It is estimated that approximately 15% of the female Tanzanian population has undergone
FGM/C. It appears that the practice is generally on the decline, with women aged 45 to 40 three
times more likely to have been cut than girls aged 15 to 19. The UNICEF 2013 report on FGM/C
revealed that all the women who had undergone the procedure had had it carried out by a
traditional practitioner known as a ngariba, not by someone with medical experience, which
increases the likelihood of infection and death. Ninety-eight per cent of mothers whose daughters
had undergone the procedure reported that their daughters had been cut, with flesh removed (Type
1/2); 2% had their genital sown closed (Type 3); and 1% had their flesh cut with no flesh removed or
nicked (Type 4). Forty-six per cent of girls in Tanzania had been cut before they turned four, with an
additional 24% being cut between the ages of five and nine; 24% between the ages of 10 and 14 and
10% were cut when they were over the age of 15. New evidence shows that girls are undergoing
FGM/C at a younger age with those cut before age one year increasing from 28.4% to 31.7% in
2010 (28Too Many, 2013). The UNICEF study mentioned previously revealed that 92% of the girls
and women they spoke to believed that the procedure should be stopped immediately. In addition,
only 10% of boys believed the procedure should continue, with 85% believing it should be stopped
with immediate effect. Seventy-seven per cent of women aged between 15 and 49 who had
undergone the procedure believed that it too should be stopped. Education appeared to have quite
a significant impact on respondents perspectives on FGM/C. Girls and women with no education
were 7% more likely to support the procedure. Daughters of uneducated mothers were also more
likely to have undergone the procedure than daughters of mothers who had at least primary
education. The countrys Demographic Health Survey (DHS, 2010) consistently shows that
prevalence among women residing in urban areas is much lower than in rural areas.
In Tanzania, FGM/C is practiced for a variety of reasons. It is commonly upheld as a
necessary means to secure female virginity, reduce sexual desire and promiscuity, and to improve
fertility. In the Maasai and Pare communities, FGM/C is considered to be a rite of passage into
adulthood an integral part of becoming a woman and is therefore considered to be universally
practiced, with some reports stating that an uncircumcised woman cannot call herself a Maasai. Girls
who have not undergone the procedure may be banned from performing every day duties such as
cooking and cleaning as she is considered unclean. Any girl who has not undergone the procedure is
therefore considered undesirable and subsequently unmarriageable. The provision of a bride price
from the family of the groom to the family of the bride is common in these two groups, and so if a
girl fails to get married she is considered to be a financial burden on her family. Many educated
Maasai men and women still favour the practice, not because they are uninformed about the
dangers and risks involved, but because they fear the possible social repercussions should they
reject the custom. A survey carried out by Msuyu in 2002 found that perpetuation of tradition (67%)
and the opportunity to teach about marriage and life (40%) were the most common reasons given
for carrying out FGM/C. Due to recent campaigns citing the illegality of FGM/C, communities have
started cutting girls just after birth rather than waiting until they are slightly older, out of fear that
the girls may refuse to undergo the procedure and/or report community members to the relevant
authorities for prosecution.
In 2013, Childreach Tanzania embarked on a process to establish and strengthen the child
protection system in Same District in the Kilimanjaro region in northern Tanzania. The research
Tel: +44 (0)20 3137 5500 www.childreach.org.uk Charity number 1132203

particularly focused on the Maasai and Pare tribes who dominate Ruvu Ward. The research revealed
that education and health provision in the district was exceedingly weak, and that while children
were aware of their right to life and right to education, they were unfamiliar with their right to
participate and right to be protected from harm. With regards to child protection issues, two-thirds
of the children revealed that FGM/C was a problem affecting their community. In addition, 54.4%
acknowledged that rape was an issue; 47.2% noted family conflicts; 60.8% noted early marriages;
45.8% acknowledged child neglect; and 59.6% of the children were aware that corporal punishment
was a problem in their community.
The research subsequently revealed that there was an evident need for external assistance
with regards to the child protection system in Same District. What ought to be noted is that the
Maasai and Pare considered FGM/C to be in the best interests of their children, and continue to
frame the issue as a way of keeping their children safe. The children were undergoing the procedure
because their parents wanted them to, out of fear as to what would happen to the family if the
children were not circumcised. As the forms of child abuse mentioned above are so embedded in
rural and traditional communities, it is imperative that discussions around resolution of these norms
are addressed in and by communities themselves to ensure that protective mechanisms for children
are found and can be strengthened within Tanzanian culture, rather than imposing values from
outside. A campaign solely based on combating these practices through emphasizing their illegality
will not work. The only way to address these discriminatory practices is to address the underlying
discrimination against women in society. Previous work in Tanzania has shown that programmes
which help to raise the status of girls and women in society have effectively helped to discourage
FGM/C as well as child marriage and forced marriage in the past (UNICEF, 2013). Empowering girls
themselves will be crucial in bringing about change. Active social change is therefore essential for
terminating these traditional and harmful practices such as FGM/C, early marriage and sexual
violence. This social change must start with the elders themselves.
Recommendations
On the whole, appropriate mechanisms for containing or preventing abuse of children in
Tanzania are grossly insufficient. Existing policies and strategies have failed to eliminate abuse
against children, and female genital mutilation is carried out with impunity. With regards to FGM/C,
the most effective way to address the problem is to combat its underlying roots in the discrimination
against women. In order to achieve this, especially with regards to the practice in the Maasai and
Pare communities, it is vital to coordinate sustained action and partnerships with civil society,
including opinion leaders and tribal elder. Culturally sensitive awareness-raising of the public at large
through information, legal prevention and protection, exposure to alternatives and most importantly
through education is increasingly important, as this will empower women and girls to claim their
rights. When it is accompanied by human rights education programmes and community dialogue to
foster a consensus on the abandonment of the practice, a legislative approach can be an important
instrument for promoting the abandonment of FGM/C. The country also ought to include provisions
in its Penal Code that criminalises FGM/C against women over the age of 18.
Childreach International will be working with the children and families of Same District in Northern
Tanzania over the next five years to transform attitudes towards girls and women thus tackling the
root cause of FGM/C.
Tel: +44 (0)20 3137 5500 www.childreach.org.uk Charity number 1132203

References
Msuya, S. E., Mbizvo, E., Hussain, A., et. al. (2002) Female genital Cutting in Kilimanjaro, Tanzania:
Changing Attitudes?, Tropical Medicine and International Health, Vol 7, No. 2, pp.159-165.
UNICEF (2013) Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting: A statistical overview and exploration of the
dynamics of change. Available at: http://www.childinfo.org/files/FGCM_Lo_res.pdf
UNICEF (2005) Early Marriage: A Harmful Traditional Practice. Available at:
http://www.unicef.org/publications/files/Early_Marriage_12.lo.pdf
28 Too Many (2013) Country Profile: FGM in Tanzania. Available at:
http://www.28toomany.org/media/uploads/tanzania_final_final_final.pdf

Tel: +44 (0)20 3137 5500 www.childreach.org.uk Charity number 1132203