Noloholo, Day 40: Impressions on the Subjugation of Women's Choice in Maasai Culture

[cswallow]

Towards the end of the evening at Tobiko’s celebration, we are standing near a group of dancing warriors and women, showing the children and girls the photographs we just took of them. Suddenly we hear a loud, *crack!* and several of the women shriek and scatter away. I turn to look back at the circle, and see one of the men walking away,

Comments

FGM

[anonymous]

I have often read that as you said, the older women themselves carry on this tradition. It has always upset me and shocked me that that could be the case.

I suppose they know no other way of life, and change is very hard everywhere. It's disturbing to me, and a moral dilemma, because I see it as a horrible tradition, but I do understand what you're saying here. It's a very sad custom, and I'm afraid it pretty well reinforces so many negative behaviors, as you said. Even if the men did "reject the women who had been circumcised," to me, it's so cruel to essentially use them to teach that lesson. It's a very complicated issue.