Ending Female Genital Mutilation In Burkina Faso Through Civil Society

Date
2016-05
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
The practice of female genital mutilation has become a hot button issue in recent years at both the national and international levels. One of the most highly debated issues is the role that international law should play in addressing a social practice that is based on cultural beliefs and norms. FGM is centered on a larger debate in human rights academia, which is cultural relativism versus universalism. Universalism refers to the notion that human rights are universal and should apply to every human being. Cultural Relativists disagree, and argue that human rights are culturally dependent, and that no moral principles can be made to apply to all cultures. Law alone will not create a change in social behavior, but the adoption of international and domestic law prohibiting FGM in Burkina Faso has created a positive effect in establishing a role for law in advancing the process of social change in conjunction with culture (Center for Reproductive Rights 5). FGM is a violation of the human rights of women and young girls, which is steeply rooted in gender roles formulated to subordinate women. Female Gender Mutilation affects about fifty percent of women and girls in Burkina Faso despite the practice breaching several international human rights treaties, which have been signed by states that have the most widespread use (WHO 3). Enforcement of Burkina Faso’s law on genital cutting needs to be strengthened through increased legal consciousness, effective sanctions, and the collaboration of local and global organizations because international law should address social practices that are violate basic human rights.
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Keywords
burkina faso, female genital mutilation, political science
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