Not All African Women Want to be Saved: Examining Colonialism and Cultural Relativism in the Female Genital Cutting Discourse Using the Capabilities Approach

Abstract

In this paper, I use Sen and Nussbaum’s capabilities approach to examine the global female genital cutting debate. In doing so, I explore how and why African feminists protest the intrusion of Western feminism into this issue and the conflicting “facts” in this debate. I find that women who support FGC and those who oppose FGC are using the same capabilities to understand FGC but interpret these capabilities in different ways. Finally, I explore what this analysis can tell us about the dangers of universalizing Western philosophy to African contexts.