Title: “YOU MUST CUT THAT LONG AND STINKING THING”: UNCOVERING THE
LIVED EXPERIENCES OF UNCIRCUMCISED POKOT WOMEN IN NORTH-EASTERN
UGANDA
Version: 5 Date: 06 Sep 2022
Reviewer's report:
The paper tackles a relevant and timely matter for women' health in this part of the world.
In the background section in the abstract, what is presented looks like study objectives and not
the background -lines 15-17.
Show the study design in the abstract.  Lines 27-30, how does that link to the lived experience?
Looks like more of knowledge measure! Was that your intention? Line 30 -main experiences;
Do we then have minor experiences? Line 33- Is the categorization along positive and negative
experiences? Where are the negative ones? Lines 35-39, the data/ findings do not represent such
a categorization. Needs to resonate with the data/ findings. The key words are not well reflected
in the abstract as key words.
Lines 44-72, Background -I have proposed a rearrangement for better flow of the section.
The World Health Organization (WHO) (3) defines female circumcision as all actions involving
injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. International and regional
legal instruments classify female circumcision as a human rights violation with over 200
million girls and women across the world estimated to have undergone the practice (4,3,5,6).
There are contestations between human rights activists and African communities practicing
female circumcision as regard the contextual definition of female circumcision (1,2).  Female
circumcision in countries like Somalia, Mali, Guinea, Djibouti, Sudan, and Egypt is considered
an accepted practice (7). In most of these countries, the prevalence of female circumcision
remain at approximately 90% (7,8–10). Many contextual factors have been raised by the
practicing communities in these countries to justify the practice including; proper hygiene or
cleanliness among women, marriageability, a rite to passage from childhood to womanhood, low
sexual desire among the circumcised, wealth accumulation and women’s economic dependency
(9–16).
African communities accuse human rights activists of using Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)
as a way of making the practice look barbaric, dehumanizing, and a violation of the human
rights of girls and women. There are contestations between human rights activists and African
communities practicing female circumcision as regard the contextual definition of female
circumcision (1,2). The World Health Organization (WHO) (3) defines female circumcision as
all actions involving injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. International
and regional legal instruments classify female circumcision as a human rights violation with
over 200 million girls and women across the world estimated to have undergone the practice
(4,3,5,6).
Female circumcision in countries like Somalia, Mali, Guinea, Djibouti, Sudan, and Egypt
is considered an accepted practice (7). In most of these countries, the prevalence of female
circumcision remain at approximately 90% (7,8–10). Many contextual factors have been raised
by the practicing communities in these countries to justify the practice including; proper
hygiene or cleanliness among women, marriageability, a rite to passage from childhood to
womanhood, low sexual desire among the circumcised, wealth accumulation and women’s
economic dependency (9–16).
I have moved the following section to lines 87-88- The African communities accuse human
rights activists of using Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) as a way of making the practice look
barbaric, dehumanizing, and a violation of the human rights of girls and women.
Under methods, there is reference to design, but the design is not stated. This should be done.
Data analysis;  -What was the basis of giving codes? Need more depth on how this was done.
Revise the entire data analysis section.
Line 191 -To reduce harm ... So which harm remained? Was this warranted on the study
participants?  Re-write the entire ethics section in-tune with research ethics.
Under findings you use the word 'greater understanding' Why was data on knowledge collected
on this? Was this part of the lived experience? Was this for those that had undergone or missed/
refused? Keep on the lived experience of those that missed… please clarify.
the themes should be presented in a sequenced manner. We are missing the immediate aftermath
of refusing to be circumcised… let there be a sequence of sorts.
Try and arrange themes chronologically.
Rewrite the discussions section.
The conclusion section is not directed. Rewrite it.
The grammar needs improvements.  check for typos.