Korr Bass WAW,
This one was great and I love it,keep on the good work down there as Bro
Bass would say.
For freedom
saiks
----- Original Message -----
From: <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, October 08, 2000 7:22 PM
Subject: Re: Female circumcision; My View.
In a message dated 10/8/00 12:51:07 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask]
writes:
<< As far as I know, God will never tell anyone to go and
hurt human beings. I love and cherish African culture but I also hate
destructive practices in African culture. This being the case, we must
separate evil practices from the good ones in our culture. May God bless us
all.
Michael >>
Michael:
Your above statements speak for me!
Yes, we grew up in a culture where FGM is happening and considered a Gambian
tradition, but echoing what Haruna Drammeh and Isatou Kaira said, we as
Africans cannot change the past, but we MUST unite and work towards the
eradication of this shameful and hurtful practice by REFUSING to hurt our
daughters.
FGM is an issue a lot of folks shy away from because some have been brain
washed into believing that the white man or civilization is here to sabotage
our tradition by corrupting today's generation and leading them astray; and
losing ourselves, etc., etc….. To those people, I say, please, wake up and
smell the coffee. The person who can be brain washed into forgetting who
they are or where they came from, is a person who deserves everyone's mercy
and needs help. FGM has no place in our society and it must stop and IT
WILL
stop when our generation embarks on a campaign to stop this practice. And
believe me, we are heading towards that direction because this time, our men
(as we can see right here on Gambia-L) are behind us and we will win!
It is bothersome to hear that some religious leaders in Norway are using
counseling sessions by letting little girls believe that FGM is OK; that
they
will be disobeying their parents if they don't listen to them on this issue,
etc. If they are using Islam as a platform, I would like them to tell me
where in the Holy Quran is it mentioned that FGM is legal and unless a woman
is circumcised, she is not a Muslim? What a shame! And God save us and our
children from people like that!
Our mothers and grandmothers may not agree with us because they've lived
their lives believing that it is part of our culture and tradition we must
not change, but you'll be surprised what a little bit of education and
dialogue can do. During my visit to Gambia last year, I had a conversation
with a mother who feels that if I give birth to a daughter, I must take her
to Gambia for circumcision. As liberated as I thought I am, you can imagine
the look on my face as this question was dropped on my lap so unexpectedly;
and I had to compose myself and prepare a response that would show this
lovely mother what my decision was NEVER to do that. At the end of our
debate, she did not agree with me, but respected my decision without any
hard
feelings. I think we can make a lot of progress that way: take a stance and
maintain your principles, but have respect for your co-debater on this issue
-- in the final analysis, statistics will show who the winner is.
Regards,
Awa Sey
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