[Female circumcision opposed in Haninge]. / Kvinnlig könsstympning motarbetas i Haninge.

ABSTRACT

PIP Less radical forms of female circumcision are called infibulation and Pharaonic circumcision. It is estimated that 113 million women in the world are exposed to female circumcision of one form or another. In Sweden about 16,000 women originate from countries where female circumcision is practiced. 60% of them are from Somalia or Ethiopia, and 11,000 of these women are of reproductive age. About 5000 girls are under 18 years of age and are at risk of female circumcision if it has not already taken place. Sweden has ratified a UN convention on the right of children, and since 1982 there has been a law in force that prohibits female circumcision. A great number of African refugees have been settling in Jordbro, in the county of Haninge, south of Stockholm, since 1992. 35 central African families live there, one-third of them from Somalia. The mother and child health care agency has confronted several problems related to female circumcision infibulated women do not get traditional gynecological examinations, families demand that women get infibulated after delivery, and some families have asked for circumcision of their newborn daughters. The agency organized African family group sessions, held for a month during evenings, in which all families were invited to discuss topics related to the improvement of women's and children's health and the fight against female circumcision. At each family group meeting 10-15 adults participated. Several sessions dealt with children's diseases, reproductive physiology, and the role of female circumcision in religion and tradition. Most women were illiterate and this was their first encounter with the Swedish health system whereby they were informed about the functioning of the human body. African traditions are deeply rooted. In Gambia female circumcision is practiced by 50-60% of people, although in milder forms. Since 1993, when the group discussions started, not a single case of circumcision was reported in pre-school-age girls.^ieng