Abstract

RODRIGUEZ MIR, Javier  and  MARTINEZ GANDOLFI, María Alejandra. The dark side of social inclusión. Female genital cutting, rituals and health. Revista Col. San Luis [online]. 2019, vol.9, n.18, pp.15-46. ISSN 2007-8846.  https://doi.org/10.21696/rcsl9182019889.

Exposing the difficulties and conflicts arising at the time of addressing a subject as complex as female ablation is the objective of the article. The paper is based on exhaustive bibliographic review, complemented with anthropological fieldwork and interviews in Sierra Leone. Results obtained include: the study of the collateral effects of FGC and criteria for medicalization, human rights, and cultural relativism, as well as a description of ablation in Sierra Leone. Based on the research, it was found that these rituals not only affect health but also ethical, philosophical, moral and legal dilemmas involving human rights and cultural relativism. The value and originality of the text lies in thoroughly addressing a highly relevant topic as female genital cutting, relatively unheard of in Latin America, in addition to which there is fieldwork and interviews, from which it is concluded that any research project on ablation must be approached as a holistic phenomenon, as a total social event reaching into multiple areas of society.

Keywords : social inclusion; ablation; health; human rights; Sierra Leone.