Students learned about female genital cutting and the efforts made to stop the tradition in countries that still practice it today on Thursday evening.
The Ball State Anthropology Club hosted a speaker who discussed the movement to abolish female genital mutilation in Sudan and Sierra Leon.
Ellen Gruenbaum, head of the Purdue University Department of Anthropology and a consultant for UNICEF, spoke to a crowd of about 50 people in the L.A. Pittenger Student Center Ballroom. Her lecture focused on the traditions of tribes and groups in the two countries and the efforts of those who are trying to abolish the practice.
Gruenbaum said her goal is to inform people about the differences between the cultures that practice genital mutilation.
"The countries that are affected by this practice, it's not necessarily the same in each one ...," she said. "In many of these countries it may only be one small ethnic group involved in the practice. It may be that it's not a very harmful sort of procedure that doesn't cause a lot of damage. And in other places it may be a practice that causes a great deal of damage."
Gruenbaum said she thinks it's important to understand the practice before reacting.
Paul McGowan, a junior international relations major, said he would like to see the conversation more focused on health than ending the practice.
"Unless the practice is extremely dangerous ... I think movements should focus on ensuring medical safety for those that undergo the practice," he said.
Gruenbaum referenced three types of female genital mutilation: Type I is the least evasive, whereas Type III is the most dangerous to women's health. She said about 10 percent of women who are circumcised experience the most extreme form.
Through her trips to Africa, Gruenbaum said she has seen change promoted by teaching of the Quran, by UNICEF posters, and by groups that use acting and music to educate the public about genital mutilation. During one of her trips, she even came across a soccer tournament that was held with the goal of educating young men about the practice, she said.
Amanda Lester, a sophomore music education major, said she had heard about the tradition before and believes it is harmful to women.
"It takes away from a woman's sexual rights," she said. "Also it causes more harm than good, because there are no benefits to it at all, only consequences with health issues."
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