Listening to African Voices - FPZ

5.7.1. Protective factorsThe findings allowed the identification of several factors thatdecrease the probability that girls from practicing immigrantfamilies will be subjected to FGM/C.5.7.1.1. Fear of sanctionsWe learnt from the findings presented throughout section5.4 that the majority of African immigrants is aware thatFGM/C is punishable in Germany. The fear of repression isone of the factors that dissuade immigrants from continuingthe practice of FGM/C and that have a protective effect ongirls from practicing families.“No one would practice this in Hamburg. No one woulddare to bring this over here, due to the strict laws andtheir application. The fear of the police and the law areways too big for that. What is more, the rites are muchtoo complex and time-consuming to practice in Germany.”(Key informant of Beninese origin)5.7.1.2. Profile of the immigrantsA comparative analysis from UNICEF showed that thosesupporting the continuation of the practice are more oftenwomen with no education than those who have been toschool. The same analysis also illustrated that residents ofurban areas are less likely to favour continuing the practiceof FGM/C than women living in rural areas (UNICEF 2005).The findings of the current study revealed that the greaterpart of African immigrants is educated and from urban areas.In fact, almost 80% of the interviewees in the quantitativesurvey had at least 10 years of formal education which is farabove the national average of Sub-Saharan countries, andthe majority was from urban areas. It can be assumed thatthe high level of education and the high proportion of urbanresidents among African immigrants lower the risk for girlsgrowing up in Hamburg.“I have never ever heard of an Ethiopian family whopracticed it here or while on a trip back home. I thinkthere might be some women out there who went throughthe practice in their childhood back home, years beforethey come here. But I don’t think that there are practicingimmigrants here as most of them are educated or fromurban areas.” (key informant of Ethiopian origin)5.7.1.3. Absence of the societal setting embedding FGM/CThe tradition of FGM/C is perceived as advantageous andmandatory as long as a person evolves in the settings of apracticing society. As soon as an African migrant arrives inGermany, this setting disappears or is at least strongly modified.Without the societal context that embeds FGM/C inAfrica, many immigrants become receptive to the abandonmentof the practice.“As far as I know, there is no Eritrean who lives in Hamburgwho practices FGM. Don’t get me wrong. Theremight be some people who practice it when they gohome. But to the best of my knowledge, there is no onewho does it. Why? This is not Eritrea.” (key informant ofEritrean origin)“I regret that I am not able to circumcise my onlydaughter because she was born here and will grow uphere. She will only know the life here. I am not afraid tobe punished for circumcising her, but I am afraid that mydaughter would be unable to understand the sense of thistraditional practice. But in general the practice shouldcontinue, for the good of women and society.” (man froma practicing group in Togo)For the immigrants of most Sub-Saharan countries, a significantpiece of the puzzle in the practice of FGM/C is theavailability of traditional practitioners who are the bearers ofthe knowledge regarding FGM/C. Interviewees declared thatit was impossible to carry out the practice in Hamburg dueto the absence of these key actors.“They can’t do it here because you need a woman who isused to doing it. For example, you could also not ask justanyone to shave the baby’s head. 30 You need a traditionalwoman practitioner and where could you find one? Pay themoney for a round trip to bring one over here just for that?I don’t believe that. Maybe some would use the occasionof home travels to circumcise their girls.” (key informant ofIvorian origin)5.7.2. Risk factorsWhile there are factors which decrease the probability thata girl of African origin will be subjected to FGM/C, there arealso factors that raise the risk. This is what we treat as ‘riskfactors’. The data analysis enabled us to identify four majorrisk factors.5.7.2.1. A large and badly integrated immigrant communityThe first major risk factor for a girl is to grow up in largeimmigrant community that exists in a state of segregationfrom the host society. Key informants described that practicingFGM/C was feasible in France because the communitiesare large enough to recreate the setting of their traditional30 The key informant is referring to religious practice of Muslimswhich consists of shaving the head of the new born during the dayof baptism on the 7th day after birth.78Listening to African Voices