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Continuity and Change in the Practice of Clitoridectomy in Kenya: a Case-Study of the Abagusii

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 November 2008

Edwins Laban Moogi Gwako
Edwins Laban Moogi Gwako
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya, currently Ph.D. Candidate at Washington University, St Louis, Missouri
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Extract

In Kenya, the Kuria, Suba, Meru, and Abagusii are among the contemporary cultural groupings which continue to believe in the importance of female circumcision. The ceremonies may have been partly abrogated or modified, but operations to cut off the tip of the clitoris of young girls are still carried out, not least in the expectation that the needed spirit of endurance will shape their character into adulthood. Although the primary objective of clitoridectomy is to initiate female children into womanhood, it is also performed in many African countries to ensure virginity, to enhance fertility and fecundity, and to promote cleanliness.

Type
Africana
Information
The Journal of Modern African Studies , Volume 33 , Issue 2 , June 1995 , pp. 333 - 337
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995

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References

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4 The author gratefully acknowledges the grant received from the International Development Reserch Centre, Ottawa, via its Regional Office for Eastern and Southern Africa, Nairobi.

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