Can’t say I feel overly well targeted by this, though I am undoubtedly a western woman, white, and with all bits intact (though I’m sure some would argue that point). BUT where the timeline is concerned - yes, this should be stopped right now, asap, because this is torture of children, some as young as only a few weeks — it’s actually so horrific it defies descpription and my western imagination. Yes, it has been going on for centuries in many cultures, though it can hardly be described as a cultured thing to do to another being.

Try reading a little about footbinding, though. With the help of westerners , though in particular through the Chinese themselves once they woke up (!!!!), this dreadful custom was ended in the course of mere decades. Isn’t that a timescale worth aiming for?

However, I am not one to preach to the Africans. I am very well aware that the African continent is - eh - somewhat bigger than the European, and with a far more divided set of cultures than the Chinese - which is thus likely to slow down a positive development. I would still urge the African and Arab feminists to put all the pressure on they can.

And one more thing. I would seriously like some advice from the African and Arab feminists about how we; the white unmutilated feminists (who may, or may not have been castrated in other ways) can help end the practice. We can’t preach in the face of the ancient cultures, and we can’t speak from experience. But we cry inside with each victim. How can we be of any assistance?