“She (Rahma) knew that, though her people made believe circumcision was a religious obligation, it was really just an ugly custom that had been borrowed from the ancient Egyptians and had nothing to do with Islam. Islam recommends circumcision only for men.”
This quote refutes the religious justification for female circumcision. By citing the origins of female circumcision which is from Ancient Egypt, it becomes clear that even the religious figures who support female circumcision espouse flawed thinking. Saida Hersi means that religion too has failed the Muslim woman by advocating for their circumcision. In this case, Islam has failed the women and girls by worsening their gender experiences. Using religion to make a case for female genital mutilation is a fallacy of Appealing to Authority (whereby religion is misused to, through citation of non-existent practices, oppress the Muslim women). Appealing to false authority does not make female circumcision a religious, worthwhile practice.
“Like all women in her native setting, Rahma was circumcised, and, according to her mother, that would mean trouble for her when she was going to have a baby unless there was a midwife from her country to help her”
Here, Somali women’s experiences are shaped by circumcision which they undergo as young girls. The circumcision affects their womanhood in the sense that even the process of giving birth becomes sensitive and risky. If Rahma were uncircumcised, her mother would not have been worried about her delivering baby while in the USA. However, Rahma’s culture subjects her to life threatening experiences that are not typical for the women who are uncircumcised. Accordingly, culture practices, specifically female circumcision, and women experiences are intertwisted, so for the experiences to change, culture practices such as circumcision must be modified as well.
“She had always hated circumcision. Now she hated it more than ever. No daughter of hers would ever be subjected to it.”
This quote marks the resolution of “Against the Pleasure Principle”. Rahma’s interactions with Hawa and Dahabo open her eyes to the reality on the dehumanizing effect of female circumcision and embolden her. It is this hatred that informs her final course of action ( of going to America with her husband). The course of action may not appeal to her mother and her peers, but it is for favorable for her and her child. Perhaps, had she not hated female circumcision like she does a the end of the story, she would have remained in Somalia and her daughters would have been made to go through it, resulting in the continuation of the cycle of female genital mutilation.
