Mr. Samateh,
           You,including myself, have been frustrated by some of the
L-members' postings.People are not addressing the issue at hand instead they
summon facts from the dried air and inserted them in their arguments to
divert our attention.Female Circumcision is a very topical and sensitive
issue.Being sensitive it should therefore be handled with sensible and
reasonable arguments.
            Our women have been subjected to this painful "cultural"
practices for centuries.Now that some of them have raised up to challenge it
they are been considered UNCULTURED PEOPLE in our society.It is highly
unfair to libel this way.We have to listen to their arguments and see if
they hold any water.
            Culture they say is a way of life.Thus as such it is subject to
change with time and condition.

MARK


>From: Saikou Samateh <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: Female circumcision; My View.
>Date: Mon, 9 Oct 2000 16:37:27 +0100
>
>Hello MRDG,
>Are you people serious with this posting ?I have problems of understanding
>what you people are saying.If you people are reading the different postings
>on this issue you will understand that Gambian women do not need a Hammadi
>to tell them what is good or bad about this issue.They don't need any
>western woman/women to tell them what is good or bad on this issue.They are
>doing their work and putting their message through to those it concern.It
>concerns them and if we could not support them then lets give them peace
>and
>not accusing them for not been able to think for them selves.Secondly if
>this is an African culture that needs to be taken care of,I hope this is
>not
>what you people mean,then one needs to define what culture is all
>about.Culture is no stone,culture is something that is in constant
>change,our people ,including you people,don't go in "jemba/jemboo" ,we go
>in
>"Dabakorto" and jeans.
>Can you give one reason why male circumscription is bad for the health of
>men?
>This debate was up here some time back,it seems that the message that the
>sisters were sending out did not get through,I hope this time we will be
>able to come to a final conclusion.
>
>For Freedom
>Saiks
>----- Original Message -----
>From: Movement for the Restoration of Democracy in Gambia <[log in to unmask]>
>To: <[log in to unmask]>
>Sent: Sunday, October 08, 2000 3:31 AM
>Subject: Re: Female circumcision; My View.
>
>
> > What about abortion and death penalty/execution? God, help us with the
> > selective choice of words, some of us have been conned to use, even
>against
> > our selves...Female Genital MUTILATION..what? What do we call male
> > circumcision? Male Genital Decapitation. Are you guys aware of the
>Movement
> > to banned Male circumcision? It's sad that some of us, instead of
>reasoning
> > with our brethren that practice this form culture, tradition, religion
>or
> > whatever one wants to call it, we decided on the reversal role of
>blaming
> > ourselves as uncivilized, barbaric, inhumane and all the crap nonsense.
>My
> > question to you, if the cap fits, where the hell on earth were you the
>past
> > two decades, when more females were circumcised than currently
>exaggerated
>by
> > these no-good Liberators/Westerners knows best. Do you JJC's suffer from
> > selective myopia or amnesia on this issue, even though you were born and
> > raised in the Gambia? We have to start reading between the lines when
>these
> > so called saviors come knocking on our doors, on the pretext of
> > salvaging/educating/civilizing us from our traditional/cultural
>practices,
>as
> > seen from their own perspective. In the eyes of many foreigner's to
>Africa
> > and Africans, it's only recently, that we, Africans, became 'civilized'
> > instead of the usual negative/subliminal connotations attributed to, and
> > believe by some of us Africans [backward, savages, cannibals]. This
>changed
> > as we, Africans started leveling the plain field, by learning,
>mastering,
> > competing them in their art, craft and science of myth-making and
>reality.
> > The solution is, either we collectively educate/empower [as Hamadi did]
>the
> > families and or practitioners of female circumcision, or shut up and
>stop
> > being forceful hypocrites.
> > A friend of mine recently send her daughter home, after a lot of debate
>on
> > "culture clash" vis a vis, the husband Wollof and wife Mandingoe; to
> > circumcised or not to [as the grandmother wished]. Upon seeing the
> > granddaughter the first time in her life, the grandmother accepted the
> > reality that the fifteen year old girl's mode of thinking and
>understanding,
> > is that of a competitor and focused determinant on being a doctor
>someday,
> > the grandmother turned out to be more supportive of the child's
>education
>and
> > well being, infact threatened a neighbor, for mentioning circumcision to
>her
> > granddaughter.
> >
> >
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