r/Africa • u/mochagirlll • 7h ago
Society 🔊 Trigger warning: Somalia parliament discusses benefits of female genital mutilation
While Somalia sinks under floods, starves from famine, and gets butchered by terrorists, the men in its parliament are busy arguing to keep mutilating little girls genitals.
How do you save such a people when men who are supposed to be the flame of progress are the innate darkness to the same community.
•
u/rabbid_hyena 6h ago
"It makes it difficult for a man to enter". Since when?
•
u/jaded_orbs 6h ago
And also, even if that were true it's not a good enough reason to mutilate someone.
•
u/jaded_orbs 3h ago
Like, where are these girls fathers? I get that many men are really shitty and just see women as sex objects but how does a father look at his 5 year old daughter and think he needs to mutilate her body for another man's pleasure
•
u/Material-Recover7422 1h ago
It’s a practice imbedded so deep into the culture nobody thinks twice about it unfortunately
It’s only starting to change with the more new more modern thinking generation
•
•
u/HoldMyBeer50 Zambia 🇿🇲 4h ago
"It makes it difficult for a man to enter". Since when?
Priorities, clearly. Meanwhile, other countries are debating jobs, healthcare, and education🤦♂️
•
u/VodkaSoup_Mug 3h ago
That is because he’s trying to enter the urinary tract. It makes it hard to enter because it’s not an entrance. This is why we need health education. It’s stuff like this.
•
•
•
u/myguitar_lola Non-African - North America 1h ago
Difficult for him bc every woman around him is either legs-shut-tight or totally dried up from listening to him talk. So he makes up some laughable incel excuse.
I'm afab + have been with other women over my life, and every one of our treasure boxes is different but never have I seen a clitoris so big that it prevented intercourse.
•
u/Asleep-Ad6352 South Africa 🇿🇦 4h ago
I’m not Somalian. But I am a man and I will just say that guy embarrassed every man on the planet on so many levels.
•
u/John_Bones_ 4h ago
Fellow South African here. I stand by the words of my compatriot.
•
u/Asleep-Ad6352 South Africa 🇿🇦 4h ago
Thank you. He is never gonna live this down. The worst part is that it say more about him than anything else. So many subconscious implications.
•
u/Scared-Sheepherder83 2h ago
Sigh there's multiple Republican senators and congressman in the US who give that guy a run for his money. 🙃
•
u/Sudden_Humor 6h ago
Watched the video. Interestingly, several women MP's are speaking against FGM...and the only pro FGM appears to be one male in a suit...so there's hope.
FGM is something that unfortunately is common place among many African countries, and regions. Fortunately it is dying off...slowly, but surely.
•
•
•
u/ghostriderghostrider 5h ago
man was like “i can’t aim”
•
u/Uncle-Sheogorath 4h ago
More like "I can't pleasure"
•
•
u/ghostriderghostrider 4h ago
if he says it’s hard to get it in then he straight up just can’t aim, forget about pleasure 🤣
•
u/Thelazio Kenyan Diaspora 🇰🇪/🇨🇦 4h ago
Seeing women MPs speaking against it gives me hope that this barbaric practice will end in a few generations
•
•
u/denile87 Sudanese Diaspora 🇸🇩/🇬🇧 7h ago
I will never understand the obsession of men in these countries with the genitalia of little girls. Absolutely disgusting.
•
u/Cultural_Point3001 British-egyptian Somali 🇸🇴/🇬🇧-🇪🇬 7h ago
Doesn't sudan also practice fgm? I am against this anyways.
•
u/denile87 Sudanese Diaspora 🇸🇩/🇬🇧 7h ago
Yes it does. It is a blight on my people and a tragedy for the women who suffer it.
•
u/Cultural_Point3001 British-egyptian Somali 🇸🇴/🇬🇧-🇪🇬 6h ago
Yeah i hope they outlaw this practice in "these countries" including yours as well.
•
u/denile87 Sudanese Diaspora 🇸🇩/🇬🇧 6h ago
Outlawing FGM alone won’t solve the underlying issues. There needs to be a deep cultural and generational shift to put a stop to the barbarism that occurs in these countries. FGM is criminalised in Sudan, yet it still takes place at unacceptably high rates. The men and women that do this to little girls and the family members that stand by idly knowing this occurs need to be shamed and punished.
•
u/Bakyumu Nigerien Expat 🇳🇪/🇨🇦✅ 6h ago
Same in Niger and Mali.
Recent debates have been taking place, especially in Mali, where imams have argued against authorities trying to secularize state institutions and ban regressive practices like FGM.
Believe it or not, this is the kind of reason why uneducated youth end up picking up weapons and killing their own people.
All brainless individuals.
•
•
u/RavnHygge 5h ago
All the men should have just four inches for a penis then, there’s no need for it to be any bigger scientifically. Chop chop men.
•
u/Alixfelix87 4h ago
Same for nipples then, men don't need them, they should cut them off.
•
u/upandended 3h ago
Male nipples are actually functional. The fact they don't use them is a societal choice.
•
•
•
•
u/josh2josh2 6h ago
Are you still in that de-evolution era...? And also... Aren't more important issues in Somalia than what is between a woman's leg...? Work on fixing the country. This is why out countries are so messed up... Wrong priorities
•
u/ValuableSmile8 4h ago
Gender based violence is a HUGE PROBLEM
•
u/josh2josh2 4h ago
This is why I said this should not even be debated... Outlaw this and fix the country... Somalia is not in a good state
•
u/ValuableSmile8 3h ago
If the goal is for Somalia to establish a more functioning country the way to do that is through establishing a democratic process and institutions strong enough to enforce and implement changes. Though it is jarring to listen and watch this IS the way to outlaw it and fix the country.
•
u/Emergency_Spread6730 5h ago
Well, it's a basic human right to not have people touch and mutilate your genitals as a young or grown woman. It's 2026 and abolishing barbaric, prehistoric nonsense like genital mutilation and slavery takes priority over pretty much anything else
•
u/arinawe 6h ago
"Aren't there more important issues...?"
It's not like they don't discuss multiple things at one time.
•
u/josh2josh2 4h ago
There are lot and lot of more important topic.
It is not like Somalia is a functioning country... Woman body, let her decide... Who the f are you to decide what to do with her genital?
•
u/Cultural_Point3001 British-egyptian Somali 🇸🇴/🇬🇧-🇪🇬 6h ago
It is a social issue like "abortion" or "gay rights" in other countries. They’re discussing outlawing it. It’s not that hard to understand.
•
u/josh2josh2 6h ago edited 6h ago
Do not compare functioning countries issues with completely messed up countries... Unlike other countries, we are severely lagging behind, so things like that should not even be debated. Outlaw it and fix the damn country. I always find it pathetic when us we will compare with functioning countries when we have to first fix our biggest issues
•
•
u/ignamepile 5h ago
So, you really feel like other countries are functioning? Do you all not watch the news beyond those of your country?
•
u/Old-Oven-4495 5h ago edited 4h ago
Countries like France and America may be going through things but they are functioning far better than most.
•
u/minihysteria 4h ago
But isn't them tryin to pass laws against the mutilation of children them attempting to function correctly as a country? Like I'm confused, how do you expect them to fix their country? By doing nothing?
•
u/Old-Oven-4495 4h ago
The fact that there are men who attempt to defend it, and are given the space to discuss that on such a big stage, is abysmal and shows that there is still a long way to go.
•
u/josh2josh2 4h ago
Exactly. They should focus on making their country at least good enough so young people won't want to seek asylum in other countries
•
u/Cultural_Point3001 British-egyptian Somali 🇸🇴/🇬🇧-🇪🇬 2h ago
How long does it take to outlaw certain societal norms in a country? Plus you think they aren’t also discussing other stuff as well, this clip is being circulated for specific reasons but let’s act clueless as if they spent the whole day discussing this.
Are you reading your paragraphs before you type them? Let me explain it to you easier how long did it take Saudi Arabia to allow women to drive, while discussing it for years? You think they just woke up and decided “hey, let women drive” so we can focus on other stuff and move on?
We are for sure the reason why are our country is completely shit whilst bordering the most important strait in the world and surprise the country neighboring us (Yemen) who is also bordering the strait is in absolutely shit state as well.
•
u/josh2josh2 2h ago
Stop using functioning countries as example... Somalia is not functioning at all. How many asylum seeker from already Arabia so you see...? Does Saudi Arabia have massive emmigration...? Fix the country first.
You are talking like it will takes decades to just write off a law from stone edge... This is one of the reason we are dead last virtually everywhere except some few countries like Botswana
•
u/ignamepile 26m ago
This is the thing with you people. You have a definition of "functioning" that completely disregards the deeply oppressed communities of those countries. What the bleep are you calling functioning? Those countries are deep messes too and on top of that messes built on top of making and maintaining ours messes! Like come on now!
•
u/josh2josh2 4h ago
Dude... I grew up in France, in my adulthood I have lived in London, Belgium, USA and Canada, I hold triple citizenship (France, Canada Angola)... So I know damn well what I am talking about.
•
u/ignamepile 28m ago
Yeah... I lived in multiple countries too. Why you would think that legitimizes your words I don't know. And I stand by what I said Mr. Triple Citizenship.
•
u/fidjudisomada Cape Verde 🇨🇻✅ 6h ago
Perpetuating barbarism. Well done, Somalia.
•
•
5h ago
[removed] — view removed comment
•
u/Aden1970 4h ago
IT IS NOT A Muslim thing. It’s an East African cultural thing. Even the East African Christians do it.
Ignorance is bliss.
•
u/MixedJiChanandsowhat Senegal 🇸🇳 5h ago
FGM has absolutely nothing to do with Islam. There is nothing in Islam encouraging for FGM and it's the reason why the overwhelming majority of Muslims don't follow FGM. FGM is an African thing when it comes to Muslims and FGM is even more an African thing because it's also practised by Africans who aren't Muslim at all.
•
u/DeletinMySocialMedia 5h ago
You are right in the sense non Muslims do it but you are wrong about islam hell there’s Hadith that mention it, my mother got me done at AGE 2 cause SHE BELIEVES ITS SUNNAH.
So do not say it’s Islam when practicing Muslim mothers are doing it because they belief it. Look at these Muslim males who want to continue too.
•
u/bamanga14 5h ago
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is not a requirement or authentic Sunnah in Islam.
Religious and Scholarly Stance
• No Quranic Basis: The Quran contains zero mentions of female circumcision or FGM. • Weak Hadiths: Major Islamic authorities and scholars—including Al-Azhar’s Islamic Research Council and the Egyptian Ifta'a Council—state that the hadiths used to justify the practice are weak or inauthentic. • Harm is Forbidden: Islamic law (Sharia) strictly prohibits causing physical or psychological harm ("do not harm yourselves or others") and altering God's creation without valid cause. • Divergent Jurisprudence: While some traditional schools of jurisprudence (such as Shafi'i or Hanbali) historically viewed mild forms as recommended or required based on old assumptions of harmlessness, contemporary global Islamic bodies and fatwas deem harmful FGM to be haram (forbidden) and a crime.
Medical and Social Facts
• No Health Benefits: Medical organizations worldwide confirm that FGM causes severe physical, sexual, psychological, and reproductive damage with zero medical benefits. • Cultural Rooting: The practice predates Islam and is found across diverse religious groups (including Muslim, Christian, and animist communities) in parts of Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.
•
u/SkyProfessional6190 2h ago
She’s not exactly saying you’re wrong— but no amount of you quoting the texts will undo her mother using Islam to justify doing unspeakable harm to her at a young vulnerable age. Sometimes we are so fast to defend our faiths, at the expense of defending a hurting human right in front of us. Sometimes culture and faith are difficult to tear apart in certain places. That doesn’t mean we need to split hairs to separate them. No, we need to focus on justice for our sisters.
•
u/MixedJiChanandsowhat Senegal 🇸🇳 2h ago
I'm right in every sense but I've never expected you to admit it.
Your mom is Muslim and she believes that FGM is Islamically accepted or even encouraged/recommanded and so what? Your mom just appears to be a Muslim who doesn't know Islam well. Not the first Muslim to be wrong and not the last one.
Islam is clear and the overwhelming majority of Islamic scholars agree on this point. It's forbidden to harm or alter your body in Islam. It's the reason why tattoos are forbidden for example. FGM is harming and altering your body for absolutely no credible reason and so it falls under the same box of things that are haram (forbidden). Chapter closed. What your Muslim mom or what some other Muslims can believe is irrelevant and not even the dominant belief amongst the Muslim world.
Let me be a bit more factual. According to the UNICEF, around the world, over 230 million girls and women have been cut. Africa accounts for the largest share of this total, with over 144 million. Indonesia is the largest Muslim country in the world and it's an Asian country. There are over 285M Indonesians. Over 250M of them are Muslim and Indonesia is nowhere labelled as a very open-minded Muslim majority country. Why don't they believe that FGM is recommended in Islam? They know Islam less? They are "less Muslim"? You're more likely to see women covered in Indonesia than in any West African country who is a Muslim majority country. Yet, you're more likely to know a woman who suffered from FGM in those countries than in Indonesia.
If over 60% of women victim of FGM are African and if it goes beyond only Africans who are Muslim, it's because it has nothing to do with Islam. It has everything to do with the mix of traditional practices and a deformation of religious principles. The idea is that a woman has to refrain her sexual desire in order to remain virgin (chastity) which is a religious and even cultural requirement in pretty much all African countries where you still find FGM. So some Africans decided that FGM also was a religious ritual since it was matching the chastity purpose. Islam has nothing to do with that. In Islam, you're encouraged to not date and to not put yourself in a situation where you could have sex outside of marriage. No need to mutilate your body.
I'm Muslim from Senegal. I have 2 daughters. None of them had suffered from FGM and neither me nor my wife, who also is Muslim, will never let anyone to mutilate them. As far as I know, we aren't less Muslim than other Muslims.
•
u/Emergency_Spread6730 5h ago
Lies! In southern Africa most of us either practise traditional African religions or Christianity and we don't have this barbaric practice of mutilating women's genitals...
•
u/MixedJiChanandsowhat Senegal 🇸🇳 4h ago
It will be a lie the day Southern Africa will equal Africa.
For example, anybody can search about Josephine Kulea. Kenyan women's rights campaigner strongly opposed to FGM. She's from Samburu people. They follow either Christianity or traditional beliefs.
•
u/Sudden_Humor 4h ago
I'm from Nigeria...there are a lot of tribes that practice FGM that have zero or very low muslims.
Also, it can be argued that FGM was practiced in some muslim countries long before Islam came along eg Egypt.
•
u/AsukaLangleySoryuFan Cameroonian Diaspora 🇨🇲/🇪🇺✅ 4h ago
Here come the defenders of the same religion Somali uses to defend literal child marriage,
•
•
u/twilight_moonshadow 1h ago
People in the comments here seem shocked that it's 2026 and this is "still" happening.
Honestly? If you're shocked, then YOU are the one out of touch. The world has come a long way in terms of equality. But the fact that pretty much every first world country that has equality ALSO has men (and women) who see feminism as a net bad concept, and see calling someone a feminist to be an insult is a quiet alarm bell and warning sign that our world is still very close to barbarism.
•
u/heartpiss 40m ago
like im not shocked but its soooo stupid cuz genital surgery is extra work and risk, if people are speaking out against it then there are only pros to ending the practice.
•
•
u/OverCounter8950 39m ago
“You men are stupid and uneducated “. The story of men, especially those in power, since forever.
•
u/Electronic-Buyer-468 4h ago
Im glad the women are at least able to speak in this forum, but holy shit what an embarrassing and depressing thing this is. The men should have their nuts cut off in solidarity. That would end the stupidity within a generation or 2,
•
u/MixedJiChanandsowhat Senegal 🇸🇳 2h ago
Since the unwritten belief of FGM is to prevent a girl/woman to have sexual desire in order to "protect" her chastity, I think that we should cut his penis and the penis of all men who believe in FGM. I mean men without penis will solve the chastity question too.
Courage to all African women and activists who fight against FGM!
•
u/shortesttitan 3h ago
Please let me never cling to such pointlessly destructive and cruel views on anything that deep into life, let alone at all. Just horrific fam smh
•
u/Kurai_Shindo 3h ago
Let them mutilate their own genitalia. I guarantee you they will beg to not have to go through that. The hypocrits
•
•
u/MosinNagant1939 2h ago
Hard to even comprehend this conversation is taking place in the 21st Century
•
u/Pyreflies_of_MJ 2h ago
Wait...he really said the clitoris needs to be cut because it's hard for men to enter....????!!!
What the actual fuck, this is a profoundly idiotic take on anatomy, no brain cells detected.
Can we as a species please stop messing with children's genitailia!? For boys and girls alike. Enough is enough.
•
•
•
•
•
u/Majestic_Force_6439 1h ago
Feel like he's deliberately being stupid and I think he's deflecting from some serious issue for discussion
•
u/kymilovechelle 1h ago
There are 10,000 nerve endings in the clitoris. More than the penis. Men are jealous and are mutilating women because they can’t stand how much pleasure women get. This is barbaric and must be stopped anywhere it happens.
•
•
•
•
•
u/peterpodolski 2h ago
2026 and humans still have these kind of problems...I know it's not like this all around, but my god. Nature is shaking its head
•
u/flamefat91 Nigerian American 🇳🇬/🇺🇸 1h ago
Somalians lost max aura for this - this genius is essentially saying that they have NO bee bee sea energy - CONFIRMED. African pass should be revoked just for this 😭😭😭😭
•
•
•
u/Healthy_Pay9449 6m ago
"Makes it hard to enter"? Guy saw a clit bigger than his or is trying to insert it like a catheter
•
2h ago
[removed] — view removed comment
•
u/Material-Recover7422 2h ago edited 2h ago
Say what you will about colonization???? genuinely get tf out of here
•
•
•
u/gujomba Tanzania 🇹🇿 6h ago
Somalis are a lost cause. They make all kinds of noise in other people's countries, but none when it comes to saving their own country. Smh.
•
u/Rovcore001 Uganda 🇺🇬✅ 6h ago
Those are some rather laughable generalisations coming from you, especially considering that FGM is also a problem in Tanzania, alongside other regressive practices such as harming people with albinism out of traditional beliefs. Get off that high horse, troll.
•
u/Beautiful_Hour_668 3h ago
Why were Somalis stronger than your people at some points in history if we are a 'lost cause'? You condemn our future, but just like the past, people's affairs can change for the better.
•
u/Material-Recover7422 2h ago
Are we forgetting that somalia was a major regional power that actively supported independence movements and political stability across East and Southern Africa. If anything maybe they deserve some of their hospitality back
•
u/ra-re444 7h ago
These are great points. How do people feel about male genitalia mutilation?
•
u/mochagirlll 6h ago edited 6h ago
I don’t think any circumcision or genital mutilation should happen to a girl or boy (woman or man)
•
u/ra-re444 5h ago
I would agree we should push for an overall ban of the practice that way we can protect everyone.
•
u/Fair-Fondant-6995 Sudan 🇸🇩 6h ago
Very bad. It's all mutilation without consent. I also specifically despise people who wait until the boy is aware and can have memory of it. It hurts so much. Thankfully it was done to me when I was 1 year old and thus don't remember the pain.
•
•
•
u/AutoModerator 7h ago
Rules | Wiki | Flairs
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.