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- Title
CLITORIDECTOMY AND THE ECONOMICS OF ISLAMIC MARRIAGE & DIVORCE LAW.
- Authors
Riegg, Ryan
- Abstract
Clitoridectomy, or the practice of removing or irreparably damaging the clitoris along with other portions of the female genitalia, is primarily practiced in Islamic Northeastern Africa, though it is also found in scattered pockets of the Middle East. While the practice exists amongst a number of Christian, Jewish and Pagan/Animist tribes, clitoridectomy is most prevalent within Muslim societies. In regards to exploring the potential causes of clitoridectomy, much of the previous literature has primarily focused on the spiritual and religious beliefs of the practices proponents. For over thirty years, various African legislatures and grassroots organizations have drawn on this literature in an ongoing attempt to eliminate clitoridectomy through informational campaigns and laws banning the practice. However, most of these efforts have overwhelmingly failed. In countries such as Egypt and the Sudan, clitoridectomy rates continue to remain close to ninety percent. This Article breaks from previous literature by considering the potential legal and economic motivations behind clitoridectomy. The basic thesis presented is that clitoridectomy may be understood as an informal-or extra- legal-means by which men cope with, and parents capitalize on, the economic risks created by the Islamic Marriage and Divorce System ("IMDS"). Part I discusses the basic economic and legal problems faced by all marriage and divorce systems, including the American Marriage and Divorce System ("AMDS"), and establishes the link between the IMDS and clitoridectomy from an economic perspective. Part II refines the basic theory outlined in Part I by creating a falsifiable model regarding the relative prevalence and severity of clitoridectomy practices in a given Muslim society. Part II then tests this model against empirical data regarding the clitoridectomy practices of approximately twenty tribes in Islamic Northeastern Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, and by comparing divorce and clitoridectomy rates in nine Egyptian governorates. The Article then concludes with a brief discussion of some of the normative issues associated with both eliminating the practice and the practice itself.
- Subjects
AFRICA; MIDDLE East; CLITORIDECTOMY; CLITORIS surgery; FEMALE reproductive organs; BELIEF &; doubt; ISLAM
- Publication
UCLA Journal of Islamic & Near Eastern Law, 2009, Vol 8, Issue 1, p49
- ISSN
1536-5107
- Publication type
Article