The Conflict

Female circumcision has been practiced for more than two thousand years in various parts of the world. Since the mid-twentieth century, however, its continued practice, chiefly in Africa, has led to conflict that has increasingly drawn in the United Nations, numerous countries, human rights and feminist organizations, and individuals on both sides of the issue.

Political

• In colonized African nations such as Kenya, government-imposed bans on female circumcision led to public revolt.

Health

• The United Nations has taken a continually more active role in trying to halt female circumcision, largely on health grounds.

Cultural

• Proponents of female circumcision support it as a ritual that helps to carry on cultural heritage.
• Western opponents of female circumcision rely on a body of"international human rights" to override the practices of people in individual nations who see it as...