Women's rites versus women's rights
Subtitle: a study of circumcision among the Ketu Yoruba of South Western Nigeria
By: by Emmanuel Babatunde.
Publisher: Africa World Press
Published: 1998
Place of publication: Lawrenceville, NJ
Language: eng
Number of pages: 213
Subjects: Female circumcision -- Nigeria.; Women, Yoruba -- Social conditions.; Women, Yoruba -- Rites and ceremonies.; Sex role -- Nigeria.; Sex differences.
Other titles: Women's rights versus women's rites
Description: The outpouring of western concern over the issue of female circumcision offers a case study in how well-intentioned efforts of Americans to improve the lot of oppressed people elsewhere in the world can have precisely the opposite effect. In at least some societies targeted, the practice has increased.

Beginning with a critique of Alice Walker's novel, Possessing the Secret of Joy, the book employs in-depth anthropological study to decipher the cultural logic responsible for female circumcision. The study suggests that in fact the practice continues because traditional culture identifies procreation as the measurement of self-worth and links fertility with circumcision.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [192]-208) and index.