Female Genital Mutilation Comparing Two Primary Source Articles Essay

Female Genital Mutilation Comparing Two Primary Source Articles - Essay Example The two articles; "Wanjiku: Life of A Traditional Woman" by Jean Davison and "National Bodies, Unspeakable Acts: The Sexual Politics of Colonial Policy Making" by Susan Pedersen have given great insight into the myriad aspects of the custom and the controversy surrounding it. Indeed, both the articles have made it clear that female circumcision had not only cultural significance but the political connotations of the issue had superseded its relevance or non relevance in Kenya, especially in the early and mid twentieth century. It was the time when female circumcision was an intrinsic part of socio-cultural dynamics of Kenya which had become synonymous with the identity of Kikuyu. As can be adjudged by Wanjiku's narration, the inhabitants were deeply rooted in the way of life the "Gikuyu" (i.e the cultural community) proposed. A very strong joint family structure was prevalent and their entire life was concentrated within their circles. Having said so, the custom of Irua which could be a barbaric vestige to our perception was as natural for them as a harvesting season festival or a wedding. The Irua was a custom of central significance to the Kikuyu life. The public ceremony marked a new phase in the life of women, it bonded those who were "initiated" very strongy and established a hierarchical structure in the community. Sir Grigg observed in one his letters to Sidney Webb at the Colonial Office," This faction, through its ill-advised attitude, done more than anything else to delay the emancipation of Kikuyu womanhood".1 Though there was some element of truth to this statement, I believe it is important to target the heart of the matter itself. What led to Irua or Clitoridectomy to occupy such an important position in the life of Kikuyu members in the first place What is the heart of the matter The real trigger As described in Pedersen's text, Historians have sidelined in detail how the estrangement and settlement of white population pockets," the establishment of adjoining "native reserves," the construction of a system of "tribal" authority often at odds with earlier political structures, and the deliberate use of taxation and legislation to restrict Africans' freedom to grow cash crops and to coerce them into wage labor left many Kikuyu with little of their "traditional" life, except perhaps the still-powerful rituals of clitoridectomy and male circumcision." 2 Not surprisingly, Irua became synonymous with Kikuyu pride and thus gained momentum as a tradition that signified national pride. The many sides of the coin The nationalist sentiments on the basis of this custom were fanned as the custom was not allowed to remain confined to the community. It soon catapulted into the pivot around which colonial and nationalist arguments and revolutions were based. While on one

Scientific Journals Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Scientific Journals - Term Paper Example BP is British Petroleum (Alexander, 2010). Three months later, the spill oil was blocked and about half of the oil spilled was removed through evaporation, natural dissolution, and human action (Ocean Conservancy, 2010). However, about half of the estimated 4.9 million barrels of oil had already polluted the environment (Ocean Conservancy, 2010). Rather than blaming the BP, a House panel blamed a rig device for failure to cut the oil flow (Doggett, 2010). In May 2010, the BP and the US government jointly estimated that more than 5,000 barrels a day of crude has been leaking into the environment and scientists warned of an environmental damage that could rival the 1989 Exxon spill in Alaska (Ball & Hughes, 2010). Other scientists say, however, that the spill may be more than 10 times the 5,000 barrels-a-day joint estimate of the US government and the BP (Ball & Hughes, 2010). On the month, US scientists estimated that the oil spill â€Å"could cause more of Louisiana’s retreating marshland revert to open water† (Ball and Hughes, 2010, 4th paragraph). U.S. Greenpeace, a leading environmental group, has her own interpretation of the timeline of the BP oil spill disaster (2010). According to the Greenpeace US, as early as 2007, the US Interior Department’s Mineral Management Services (MMS) has acquired data that oil-drilling projects are marked with a history of accidents, fires, and deaths (Greenpeace, 2010). In July 2008, a top agency manager of the MMS was criminally charged for having conflicts of interest with oil companies (Greenpeace, 2010). Yet, however, the MMS was allowed to give BP an exclusion from the US National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requirement to prepare an environmental impact statement for BP’s drilling operations (Greenpeace, 2010). Based on the â€Å"timeline† of the Greenpeace (2010), the BP oil spill can be blamed to the lax application of US environmental policies as well as to the congruence of