Negotiating Female Genital Cutting as a Difficult Characteristic in Kurdish National Identity

Nordic Journal of Migration Research

Mette Sagbakken¹  R. Elise B. Johansen²  Ingvild Bergom Lunde³ 

[1] Norwegian Centre for Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies, Oslo;Oslo Metropolitan University, Oslo;University of Oslo, Oslo;

关键词: kurdish nationalism;    kurdish feminism;    female genital mutilation/cutting;    norway;    national identity;   

DOI  :  10.2478/njmr-2019-0011

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Based on fieldwork among Kurds in Norway, this article explores how participants described the presence of female genital cutting (FGC) in Kurdistan as a difficult topic to address in public. Perceptions of how FGC should be addressed ranged from acknowledging and directly confronting it to silencing and rejecting it as a Kurdish practice. The participants associated FGC with a “traditional mindset” and perceptions of female sexuality that did not readily fit into new ideologies of women’s liberation. Based on literature on how to manage a “difficult” characteristic in national identity construction, we argue that the participants’ negotiation of “modern” and “traditional” aspects of national identity is one strategy for dealing with FGC. FGC has the potential for spoiled national identity. However, we find reason to suggest that a condemnation of the practice based on women’s liberation may strengthen the aspects of Kurdish national aspirations that are grounded in human rights and gender equality.

【 授权许可】

Unknown