« Oh, right | Main | One hundred sixty-seven »

January 11, 2003

In Deference to Cultural Relativism

There are several articles on the page, all related to the top one, Young Africans Reject Genital Mutilation:

When Genet Girma and Addisie Abosie got married in Kembatta, Ethiopia, they did the unthinkable in their community. Genet wore a placard saying "I am not circumcised, learn from me" and her groom wore a matching one that said "I am very happy to be marrying an uncircumcised woman."

During a recent visit here, Genet talked about being the first known woman in Kembatta to marry in public who had refused the mutilation to her genitals that is considered a rite of passage for all girls and young women in that part of Ethiopia. Between the ages of 16 and 18, young women in that region are subjected to what is known as step-two female genital mutilation: the clitoris, as well as the inner and outer labia, is removed. This type of mutilation is also known as excision.

[Bogaletch Gebre, founder and director of the Kembatta Women's Self-Help Center], who herself was mutilated when she was 6 years old, was emphatic on the need for women's groups across the world to speak out against the practice and not mince words in deference to cultural relativism.

"When culture affects one's human integrity, when it violates it be it in terms of gender or in terms of ethnic group, I think that culture should be condemned because whenever one individual is affected, denied that right of whole being, denied of their integrity and human right, we're diminished as people wherever we are," Gebre said.

That's from Women's Enews, another site I've not been to lately. Think I remember why, now.

Medicaid for Medically Necessary Abortions Denied

The Texas Supreme Court ruled recently that the state can refuse to pay for women's medically necessary abortions.

Women with diabetes, heart disease, cancer and other conditions can experience severe complications as a result of pregnancy, making abortion medically necessary.

Texas refuses Medicaid payments for such abortions, paying for abortions only in cases of rape, incest, or when the mother's life is in danger.

Always sends me off looking for more information. Like the State Medicaid Abortion Policies page, and then I start wondering about how their map compares to voting patterns in the last Presidential election. . .

Update: Sorry, left out the link to the FGM Fact Sheet over at Equality Now, for those who actually want to know more.

Posted by Aaron at January 11, 2003 06:19 PM

Trackback Pings

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.uppity-negro.com/cgi-uppity-negro/mt-tb.cgi/770

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference In Deference to Cultural Relativism:

» It's good to know that Aaron's mutant powers are still working. from VASpider's Web
I'd started to worry. His entry In Deference to Cultural Relativism contains, as usual, a passing reference to something that [Read More]

Tracked on January 12, 2003 05:13 PM

Comments

Post a comment