Listening to African Voices - FPZ

and I did not succeed in satisfying her over two hours soI have preferred ever since to be with non-circumcisedwomen.” (man of Ivorian origin)Other frequently cited consequences were infections (33%),difficulties during delivery for the mother and the baby(25%) and the risk of death (23%). Some participants alsoperceived that the medical risks where exaggerated by Europeansand admitted only that the equipment used during theprocedure should be improved.“It is the Europeans who say that there are disadvantagesbecause of the equipment used to perform it. Imean when you take the same non-disinfected blade orknife for three or four girls, it can lead to illnesses of thegenitals, but the advantage that we consider more is thatfemale circumcision stabilises a lot of marriages in Africa.”(man, key informant of Ivorian origin)5.5.6.7. Knowledge of German law and attitudes towards theabandonment of FGM/CThere was a strong awareness about the position takenby German law on the subject: 95 out of 110 participantswere informed that the practice of FGM/C is not allowed inGermany. A minority of 15 persons reported either that thelaw did not explicitly mention FGM/C or were unsure aboutFGM/C being punishable in Germany.All the women pronounced themselves in favour of stoppingFGM/C. Most of the men (86%) expressed the sameopinion.“Yes, female circumcision exists. It is a practice inheritedfrom our ancestors. I witnessed it for the last time in1990. After that it stopped. I forbid my parents to carryon with it as it is harmful to women.” (man of Ivorianorigin)Only one man argued for the continuation of the practiceand seven men perceived that “it depends” on the situation.There were also five men who were indecisive regarding thecontinuation the practice. Some perceived that FGM/C wasput in a bad light by Europeans who dramatised the negativeoutcomes, which could be controlled by confining thepractice to health professionals.“Personally, I think that the Europeans try to demonisefemale circumcision. But for us it is a tradition that is tobe respected. When I was born I found it going on, sodid my father, my grandfather and my great-grandfatherso I believe that we cannot – all of a sudden and out ofthe blue – wipe out this tradition, do you understand?On the other hand, I can understand that people criticisethe equipment [instruments for cutting]. There is a needto make the people understand that they need to changeinstruments, that they need to use good equipment, cleanequipment. That is something that I can understand.Apart from that it is a tradition that should be continued.[…] While living in Europe, I comply with the law and I amagainst practicing female circumcision. According to theway of living here, female circumcision is not allowed: becausethis is their way of doing it and we are not at homehere. But in Africa, female circumcision will continuedespite all efforts that the Europeans might make.” (manof Ivorian origin)“I believe that this topic needs to be seriously discussed.Is female circumcision really as bad as the Europeans pretendit is? Isn’t there a possibility of carrying out femalecircumcision under the control of medical personnel?”(man of Ivorian origin)5.5.7. Kenya5.5.7.1. Socio-demographic profileThe Kenyan community is the only immigrant populationfrom Sub-Saharan Africa in Hamburg with a much highernumber of women than men. Out of the 285 registered Kenyansin Hamburg, 208 are women and 77 are men. We interviewedabout 20% of the Kenyan immigrants during thequantitative phase, more precisely 40 women and 15 men.This sample is not statistically representative. The educationlevel of the interviewees is generally high: all participantshad at least 10 years of formal education.5.5.7.2. Proportion of immigrant population concernedIt is estimated that about 27% of the women in Kenya haveundergone FGM/C. The practice is most established in theNorth Eastern region where over 95% of the women areconcerned, followed by the Central, Eastern, Nyanza and RiftValley region where the proportions of women concernedvary between 25-36%. The remaining regions have lowernumbers. The ethnic group affiliation is also a good markerin Kenya. While FGM/C is unknown among the Luo, Luyhaand Swahili, it is quasi universal among the Kisii and the Somali(over 95% of them have undergone FGM/C). Anotherhighly affected group are the Massai (73%). The Kikuyu,Embu, Taita, Kalenjin, Kamba and Meru are partly practicinggroups with prevalence rates ranging from 21-51% (KenyaNational Bureau of Statistics and ICF Macro 2010).The interviewees came from all the regions in Kenya withthe exception of the North Eastern region (which has thehighest FGM/C prevalence). There were 14 participants fromNairobi, 12 from the Central region, 9 from Nyanza, 7 fromListening to African Voices 61