Behind Closed Doors: From an Open Celebration to a Secret Practice : An Ethnographic Study of the Meaning and Function of Female Genital Mutilation/Circumcision in Singida, Tanzania

This research examines the practice of Female Genital Mutilation/Circumcision (FGM/C) as a social phenomenon in Singida Region, Tanzania. The aim is to contribute to a deepened cultural anthropological understanding of the function and meaning behind the practice in Singida, and how it reacts to external factors of change, such as human rights-based laws and projects aiming to eradicate FGM/C. This was done by conducting an ethnographic field study, with the help of staff members from the Christian Council of Tanzania (CCT). Through the theoretical framework, aiming to grasp the complexity of FGM/C, aspects such as visible and invisible violence, patriarchal structures, social schemes, anomalies, change and rites, were analyzed on the collected material consisting of semi-structured interviews and participatory observations. From the conducted analysis, it was shown that FGM/C was a deeply imbedded cultural practice which purpose is to (1) enable women to consolidate to womanhood and ensure a full membership in society and (2) cure girls from a disease known as lawalawa. This is because the clitoris is believed to be connected to diseases and to enhance the risk of abnormal behavior that does not belong to womanhood. The thesis shows how lawalawa was fabricated as a reaction towards the ban on FGM/C in Tanzania and how it was used to (unknowingly or knowingly) justify the continuance of the practice. It was also showed that members of societies who engage in FGM/C, are likely to avoid abandoning FGM/C if possible, however change is achievable if it is implemented in a sensitive way with knowledge on local reaction towards external factors of change