I think those are good observations.

Brick,

Thanks for bringing up your concerns in a way that is respectful, and allows us to work together, rather than pitting the issues against one another.

What you described regards information about public health. But this issue, I think, is far more about culture. Everywhere genital cutting is practiced I think the question must be, what can lead the culture to value the intact human body? It’s complex and bound up with other aspects of culture.

I completely agree with your point about using more strategic approaches than outright bans.

Being a recent father in Canada, I was surprised how much information public health nurses will pile on you about every iota of public health. Throughout the process, they provide stacks of info trying to convince you that
a) male circumcision is unnecessary and unhealthy,
b) breastfeeding is important,
c) pacifier use should be delayed until 6 weeks,
d) the baby should sleep on his back in a spartan, bumper-less, toy-less cradle.

They don’t _tell_ you to do anything. They argue, they compare, they use statistics. They try to convince you. This seems far more effective than the brute-force ban, particularly if that ban felt like it was coming from outside, colonial forces. If bumpers were banned because China said bumpers were a violation of the rights of babies, would we care? No.

Still, obviously, it’s not perfect (we gave up and brought in a pacifier after 3 weeks), but still, we did the right things because we understood they were the right things to do, not because we were told to.

Now, obviously, I’m not trying to compare the importance of any of those decisions to trying to stop something as violent as FGC. I’m just saying that it seems like a better method of convincing people on what they should do with/to their kids.

If a man had a lengthy conversation with his doctor about the merits and flaws of a procedure, rather than a foreign-imposed ban in his face leading him to simply go to his friend the barber who does FGC all the time, it would be far more effective.