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Pleasure Principle By Saida Hagi-Dirie Herzi: An Analysis

555 Words3 Pages

FGM, or female genital mutilation, is a widespread practice among African and Middle Eastern women, where specific or all parts of the outer vagina are removed. This cultural practice leaves women not only mutilated, but exposed to a plethora of diseases, health and birth complications, and infections. This practice is not only severe violence against these women, but also displays a total disregard for their human rights. After reading "Against the Pleasure Principle", by Saida Hagi-Dirie Herzi, it is clear that FGM has detrimental effects on both a womens physical and mental health. One of the most profound examples of the toll on a womens mental health lies in her description of an ideal circumcision. "There are accepted standards for the size of a girl's opening: an opening the size of a grain of rice is considered ideal; one as big as a grain of sorghum is acceptable. However, should it turn out as big as a grain of maize, the poor girl would have to go through the ordeal a second time." In this quote, not only are the physical descriptions graphic, but the …show more content…

Her story is inspirational, and she fought endlessly for the women in her community. Her goal in her fight was not only to ban FGM, but also convince her people that this practice was outdated and wrong. Dukureh's feelings are very close to the women's within the short story, especially conveyed in the end. "She would like to have her mother's blessing for the move, but if that was not possible she would go without it. She had always hated circumcision. Now she hated it more than ever. No daughter of hers would ever be subjected to it." Despite her mothers disapproval and constant contesting, the women is not convinced by her pleas. Many women in these communities are shamed for going against their cultural values, but just like in Gambia, change must

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As mentioned earlier in this piece, a South Asian woman’s sexual pleasure is not included in the discourse of sexuality, but rather her role as a reproductive being, regardless of consent. With husbands able to have full sexual access and control over their wives, they also dictate reproductive outcomes such as when to have children and how many children to have. Some ways in which the husbands enforce their control over their wives’ reproductive rights include forced abortions, forcible impregnation, and forcible use of contraceptives. Some of the women in the ethnographies conducted faced physical violence from their husbands while pregnant, particularly if the pregnancy was not wanted. Although there is a societal pressure that women are expected to be married, stay married and have children, there is also the pressure that a woman may face if her husband (and his family) is

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In recent years, there have been anti-circumcision movements gaining steam that mindlessly compares the circumcision of a boy with the genital mutilation of a woman. Circumcision is where the foreskin is trimmed to make my dong look awesome and reduce chances for STD's. What is done to women is equivalent to chopping the head of a penis off. Before I go on further into this, just know that a lot of the language can be offputting, and the images, even though just drawings, can be NOT SAFE FOR WORK.

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Dr. Kecia Ali’s book, Sexual Ethics and Islam, provides a comparative study comparing the idea of Muslim gender relations both in classical and contemporary legal discourse. Through case studies and various literary sources, Ali is able to show how classical Islamic legal culture has come to affect modern Muslim communities both in America and the Middle East. Legal traditions pulled from the Qur’an have historically been engrained in Muslim societies are still prevalent today, so much that the these regulations still govern Muslim practices concerning topics such as slavery, marriage, homosexuality, divorce, unlawful forms of sex and rules pertaining the to the female body. Ali argues that individuals in modern Muslim communities should

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During this time, Tutsi women were often victims of rape as a tactic to shame and humiliate the Tutsi ethnic group. Also, it was a way to kill the Tutsi women because “many of the men were HIV-positive and were encouraged by their leaders to infect as many Tutsi women as possible” (Solomon, 2012, p. 527). An even more sinister motive for these rapes is called forced pregnancy, which is when “conquerors impregnate the conquered race, who perforce deliver babies to the victors” (Solomon, 2012, p. 526). After being raped, these women are often shunned by others in their community because they “allowed themselves to be raped rather than killed” (Solomon, 2012, p. 526). This student believes in the importance of developing a support system in order to survive adversity, and cannot comprehend how women could be put through such torture and then be rejected by the society that failed to protect

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Although the idea of women have changed drastically throughout American society, there are other parts of the world where their expectations about women are different than our society. In our society women are encouraged to be our own leaders and do what we want, instead of being told what to do and not have a say in the matter. In the novel Things Fall Apart, women are expected to stay at home, educate the children, cook the meals for the men, and do the work of the house. Throughout the novel, there are several instances where women are characterized as the weaker sex, the role of playing a submissive wife over a man, and the men 's point of view of the women. This is a reason as to why the idea of women in Umuofia needs to change for the better.

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Female genital mutilation is a horrendous injustice that occurs every day in this world. It is the practice that involves the removal of part or all of the external female genital, and that itself is violation of rights that offers no benefit to the individual whatsoever. In addition to that, FGM gives rise to several devastating psychological effects. Arguments have arose concerning the issue of whether the practice of FGM is worth going through its many traumatising effects or not. Though all the governments of the countries in which FGM is practiced have legislation making it illegal, the lack of imposition and prosecution of offenders means that FGM continues to thrive.

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The few personal stories from the women who experienced circumcision offer powerful additions to the horrifying nature of genital mutilation and how the poorly done operation forever ruins the women’s hygiene and health. The result of Soraya Mire’s choice to only showcase the graphic parts of female circumcision takes away the cultural meaning and importance of the practice. Soraya Mire’s strong opinion on female circumcision relates closely with the Western approach to viewing external cultures and disagreeing with practices that

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(2016). Female Genital Mutilation. Overview and Current Knowledge. Population, 71(2). Blake, H. J. (2015).

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The debate of women’s sexuality has been a widely discussed issue throughout history all around the world. In general, the point of view depends on the religious and cultural aspects, and the Torah differs from the Christian perspective of women’s sexuality. According to the Western point of view, the privilege of sexual relations belongs to men. However,

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A direct effect of the majority of genital cutting involves the removal of the clitoris, the pleasure organ of a female, leading to a well known conclusion that genital cutting is used to stifle sexuality as well as ensure that sex will be so uncomfortable and painful that it will not inspire a woman to lose her virginity prior to marriage nor leave her husband to seek extramarital affairs. This idea is supported by a multitude of reasons, the ubiquity of which is phenomenal. It is common belief across FGM/C participating cultures that without cutting a woman, she will “manifest her desire through intercourse” (McGee, Shayla). Not only does it force society’s standards of purity but it prevents homosexual relationships, Mantai exemplifies this

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The pleasure of women was forced into a box of vaginal intercourse only. Speaking of pleasure, Tuana focuses a portion of her article on the subject and how men and women’s pleasure are treated differently. The goal of sex was supposed to be reproducing and there was an ‘understanding’ that for women, pleasure was not a necessity to achieve this goal. This belief, along with another, create the basis for why Tuana believes the clitoris has been largely ignored in science and medicine. Her reasoning resonated with me, so I am sharing it in its

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To initiate, the implementation of gender equality laws will help conclude unequal treatment towards women and create opportunities for women to refuse unsafe work and treatments. Also, without the right to make individual choices for body, women 's prosperity, well-being, and potential in society are restricted and gender inequality is therefore perpetuated. According to the academic article, Sexual Health’s Women’s Rights, “120 million girls worldwide have experienced forced intercourse” (Ngcuka) activities against their own individual soul. Many women are suffering from forced physical and sexual violence because of the limited laws and regulations that allow women to refuse unsafe treatments and practices. According to reports, the “ 32

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Informative Speech: Female Genital Mutilation Specific Purpose: To inform my audience about female genital mutilation and where the controversy of it all lies. Central Idea: Female Genital Mutilation is a tradition in certain parts of the world. Most of the time these procedures aren 't carried out safely and the final outcome of the girls that have been mutilated are to work as sex slaves. INTRODUCTION (Attention Getter)This is Kizibianca of kenya, africa. At a mere fifteen years old she was woken up at 5 am and led outside of her hut by the the local traditional brothers and female elders.

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