Between Rites and Rights: Excision in Women’s Experiential Texts and Human Contexts 9780804768375

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Between Rites and Rights

Between Rites and Rights EXCISION

IN WOMEN

S

EXPERIENTIAL TEXTS AND HUMAN

CONTEXTS

Chantal Zabus

STANFORD STANFORD,

2007

UNIVERSITY PRESS CALIFORNIA

Stanford University Press Stanford, California

© 2007 by the Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system without the prior written permission of Stanford University Press.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Zabus, Chantal J. Between rites and rights excision in women's experiential texts and human contexts I Chantal Zabus. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-o-8047-5687-7 (cloth : alk. paper) I. Mrican literature-2oth century-History and criticism. 2. Female circumcision in literature. 3· Mrican literature-Women authors-History and criticism. 4· Female circumcision-Mrica. 5· Women and literature-Mrica-History-wth century. 6. Literature, Experimental-Africa-History and criticism. 7· Women in literature. I. Title. PL8oro.Z33 2007 809.93353-dc22 Typeset by Westchester Book Group in n/r4 Adobe Garamond

2007018573

To Jacques Derrida In memoriam and to Safaa Fathy

Contents

Acknowledgments

IX

Abbreviations

xiii

Notes on Transliteration and Translation

XV

Introduction PART ONE

THE

CULT OF

CULTURE

I.

Sexual Pre-Texts

19

2.

Kenyan Reactance: Kenyatta, Huxley, wa Thiong'o

35

3·

Kenyan Women's Texts: Njau, Likimani, Waciuma

59

PART TWO

SPEAKING AND

FROM

MEMORY:

RELIGION

REMEMBRANCE

4·

In Passing and Other Circumspections: Nwapa, El Saadawi, Rifaat

5·

On Spurious Geneses: Nawal El Saadawi

6.

Spoken Autobiographical Acts: Nayra Atiya' s Khul-Khaal

PART THREE

FROM EXILE,

7·

SEALING TO AND

OPENING

UP:

124

SEX,

EMPOWERMENT

The Sealed Condition: From the Beginnings to Freud and Herzi

8.

Silence, Exile, and the Spectacle of the Fashioned Body: Aman, Barry, Dirie

9·

The Whole Woman and the Law: Kei:ta, Ahmadu, Kassindja, Dirie, Khady, Abdi, Korn

145

147

202

Vlll

CONTENTS

IO.

The Exciser Conclusion: Between Rights and Future Rites

Notes Select Bibliography Index

Acknowledgments

Since the book's inception, colleagues and friends have helped me in many ways in its completion. My first thanks go to the late Jacques Derrida, who spurred me to provide the "supplement" to his Circonfession, then to Hent de Vries, who solicited the manuscript when we met in 1997 in Cerisy, France, where I was privileged to meet a tough respondent who was to become a lifelong friend, Safaa Fathy. I am also grateful to Marguerite Derrida, for introducing me to the work of Marie Bonaparte, as well as to Elisabeth Roudinesco, for allowing me to interview her in 2000 when the debate over excision was raging in France. I also wish to thank Tobie Nathan of the Centre Georges Devereux at the University of Paris 8 for receiving me in his clinic. Many thanks also go to a succession of graduate students at the University of Louvain and those involved in my seminars on "Excision and the Body" sponsored by the Belgian National Fund for Scientific Research (FNRS) in 1997-99-Elisabeth Bekers, Magali Crutzen, Maryam Kherbiche, Isabelle Meuret, Nathalie Miiller, Chika Unigwe, and my research assistant Justin Bisanswa; at the University of Paris 13 in 2000-2003Ingrid Hummel and Louise Illman; and at Hunter College, New York City, in spring 2002-Hillel Friedman, Norman Kaufman, and Meena Saunders, with whom I have developed and refined many of the points that appear in this book. I am also grateful for the financial support provided by the FNRS and for the collegial help and support I received from the late Claudette Sarlet of the University of Liege and Michael Singleton of the Universite catholique de Louvain while we were involved in the Louvain excision project and beyond. During my sabbatical leave at the University of Warwick, United Kingdom, in 1999, Germaine Greer, Cecily Jones, and Terry Lovell helped me give shape to my thoughts on this difficult subject. Over the years (1996-2004)

X

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

at the University of Warwick, within the Socrates exchange of academic staff, Susan Bassnett, John Gilmore, and Piotr Kuhiwczak of the Centre for Comparative Cultural Studies gave me the opportunity to lecture on various aspects of the book. I also owe special thanks to Fouzia Ghissassi of the University Ibn Tofail, Kenitra, Morocco, and UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) Chair for Woman and Her Rights, for inviting me to Rabat, as well as Mohamed Laamiri of the University Mohamed I in Oujda, Morocco, for allowing me to try out Qur'anic exegesis in relation to excision on a warm and receptive Muslim audience. My gratitude also goes to Andrea Benton-Rushing, Ralph Faulkingham, Eliot Fratkin, Mitzy Goheem, Holly Hanson, and John Lehman, for being so receptive when I was lecturing on the subject in 1999 at the Five-College Area Mrican Studies Seminar in Amherst, Massachusetts. I am also grateful to Peggy Kamuf and the Comparative Literature Department at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, for the Visiting Fellowship in summer 2000, and the Five-College Centre for the Study of Women and Gender at Mount Holyoke, South Hadley, Massachusetts, for the Research Associateship in fall 2000, and especially Lillian Corti, Gail Horstein, Kathleen McLaughlin, and Carol Wayne-White. I am also most indebted to Theo D'Haen and the Leiden Seminar participants; to Marina Warner and the other speakers at London's Victoria and Albert Museum; to Bill Moebius, for inviting me to give a three-week Faculty Seminar on the subject at the University of Massachusetts and the Five-College Consortium; to Robbie Schwartzwald of the University of Massachusetts; to Eloise Briere at the State University of New York at Albany, for inviting me to speak on the issue in April 2003; and to Gareth Griffiths, for being, as usual, an intelligent sounding board. Louise Mallet and, later, Joanna Liddle, Caroline Wright, and Benita Parry also helped me considerably in the preparation of my work for publication, as did Irene Assiba d'Almedia, Elena Bonnelli, Gordon Collier, Hena Maes-Jelinek, and Geoffrey Davis. I also wish to thank Nawal El Saadawi, Nurrudin Farah, Koffi Kwahule, Abdourahman Waberi, Betti Marenko, and Vernon Rosario, for displaying a keen interest in what I was doing and keeping me up to date, as well as Fran 262 Initiation, 12, 13, 33, 38-44, 51, 57, 74, 8o-8r, 94, 145, r66, 215-218, 270. See also Rites In passing, 4, 75, 83, 85, 94, 95, 142 Intersexuality, 219 Introcision, 278nr4 Irigaray, Luce, 134 Irua. See Circumcision Irugu (Kikuyu unexcised woman), 45-50, 5557,68,70, 73-74>76 Isis, 103-109. See also Eve Islam, 91, IOD-!02, 105, 121-122, 148, 155, 202, 223, 226 Ivory Coast, 4, 145, 204, 206, 213, 219, 250.

See also other African countries Izett, Susan. See Toubia, Nahid

jahifiyya, IOO, IOI, 105 James, Stephen, n8, 122, 220

320

INDEX

Jewish circumcision. See Circumcision Judaism: Judeo-Christian story of creation, 31, 81, 104, 114, 203, 282m2. See also Christianity Ka, Aminata Maiga, La voie du salut, 52, 89, 146, 204, 210 . See also Excision: death by Kamel, Azi2a, 99-100 Kang' ethe, Joseph, 76. See also KCA KANU (Kenyan African National Union), 58 Karing'a (Kikuyu purity). See Purity Kariuki, J., school version of Kenyatta's Facing Mount Kenya, 38-41 Kassindja, Fauziya, 9, 146, 204, 221-234 KCA (Kikuyu Central Association), 38, 47, 50, 54· 56, 76, 77 Keita, Awa, 247 Kelta, Fatou, Rebelle, 52, 89, 146, 152, 158, 203, 204-214, 238-239> 248, 250 Kenya, 4, 11, 13, 31, 34, 62, So, 145-146, 177, 191, 219, 254-255, 260. See also other

African countries Kenyatta, Jomo, 29, 33, 35-37, 37-45, 47, 50, 52, 54, 58, 59, 64, 66, 69, 73, 77-78, 8o, 85, 239, 256, 268. See also Kariuki, J. Khady, Mutilee, 137, 146, 152, 183, 203, 227, 229, 234· 237-239· 241 Kherbiche, Sabrina, La suture, 184-185 Kibui, Laurence, 38-39 Kikuyu and Numbi, 31, 50, 56, 73, 74, 28om2 Kingston, Maxine Hong, 5, 96 Kinsey, Alfred C., 159-160 Knife. See Excision: instruments of Korn, Fadumo, Born in the Big Rains, 33, 142, 147, 164, 183, 200, 201, 229, 234· 243-244· 248 Koso-Thomas, Olayinka, 160, 278m5 Kourouma, Ahmadou, Suns of Independence, 205 Kristeva, Julia, 28om4 Kuoh-Moukoury, Therese, 205 Kwahule, Koffi, 68, 219, 248, 249-251 Labia: Bapedi (Transvaal), 50, 148; elongation of, axoti (Dahomey), 43; Hottentot apron (mfult), 23, 43 Labiadeccomy, n, 87, 169, 279n6 Lacan, Jacques, 6, 118, 134, 280m4 Ladebo, Ladi, 255 Lantier, Jacques, 6o-61, 64, So Laqueur, Thomas, 20, 21, 25, 26, 208 Latency, n2, 134 Lavater, Johan Caspar, 67

Lefeuvre-Deotte, Marcine, 21o-211 Leiris, Michel, 27, 172, 247. See also Griaule, Marcel Lejeune, Philippe, 7, 128, 129, 192, 277mo Lerner, Gerda, 104-105 Lesbianism, 21 Lessing, Gotthold Ephraim, 66-67 Levenkron, Steven, 12 Levin, Tobe, 48, 70, 86, 90, 120, 201, 244 Lewis, Oscar, 125, 126 Lightfoot-Klein, Hanny, 14, 160 Likimani, Muthoni, They Shall Be Chastised, 36, 61, 65-71, So, 85, n8 Lingis, Alphonso, 162, 198 Lionnet, Franc;:oise, 72, 95 Lowry, Thomas P., and T. S. Lowry. See Clitoris: etymology Mackie, Gerry, 37, 105, 148-149, 252. See also Reactance Macroclitoride, 22. See also Clitoris; Parsons, James Maimonides, 99 Male infibulation, 14 Mali, 4, 13, 26-27, 68, 105, 147-148, 212, 218, 250, 259. See also other African countries Malinowski, Bronislaw, 33, 38, 239. See also Kenyatta, Jomo Malti-Douglas, Fedwa, 107, 110 Mangua, Charles, 78 Marriage: arranged marriage, 213, 239, 243; child marriage, 130, 138, 229, 237; marriageability, 64, 81, 89, 105, 119, 135-136, 149, 165, 173, 213, 272; marriage by mutual consent, 173; marriage contract, 175, 18o181, 212; prohibition of marriage, 172 (El-) Masry, Youssef, 141, 161 Masters, William H., and Virginia E. Johnson, 159-160 Masturbation, 19, 4J, 43, 157-159, 204, 207209, 218, 278 Maternalism, 31, 103-104, no, 282mo Matriarchy, 31, 33, 74, 103 Matrilineage, 103, 105, 168, 239 Mau-Mau Uprising (in Kenya), 50, 58, 62, 75, 77, 78, So, 85, 91, 219, 228, 28om2 Mauritania, 23. See also other African countries Mbiti, John, 12, 79 Mead, Margaret, 36, 157 Medical discourse, 20, 155, 158-159, 216, 244, 257> 266 Medicali2ation (of excision), 55, 171, 206, 261 Memory: aberrations in, 18o-181; amnesia,

INDEX

n7; cued recall, u4; delayed recall, r8o, 241; episodic memory, m; experiential memory, rn-123, 266; false memories, II4II5, 117; flashbulb memories, n4; memorial consequences, II7, r8o; memory traces, II4-II5, u7; mood congruency theory, n7, r8o; pain memory, 231 Menstruation, 3, 7, 24, 41, 129, 130, 165, 171, r88, 225, 271, 288m5 Mernissi, Fatima, 105 Mike, Chuck, 249; Oyele, 259; SISTERHELP, 258, 288m2, 288m3; Tale of Ikpiko, 258-259, 26o; Uncut, 259-261 Mill, John Stuart, 122, 220 Minh-Ha, Trinh, 30 Miscarriages, 88, 89, 129, 135, 164, 176 Misch, Georg, 7 Modeling, 190-192. See also Fashion Mohel, 246 Moi, Daniep Arap, 64 Monarchy, 30 Monotheism(s), 104-105, 108, 109 Mother, II2, 177-179, 154, 192-198; antimom, n2, u5, 154, 180, 227, 246, 255; complicity with exciser, 182, 235; complicity with patriarchy, 226 Musafar, Fakir, 269-273 Mutilation, 10, 26, 31, 48, 49, u9, 155, r65r67, 219, 239-241, 257; male genital mutilation (MGM), 15, 197-198, 209, 210, 212, 232 Mutterrecht, 103-104 Myths: Adam and Eve, 104; African Creation, 17, 26, 162, 218, 301; Amazon, 32, 103; Dogon (Mali), 27-30, 31-33; Kikuyu and Mumbi (Kenya), 50; Termitehill, 27, 30, 33, r67, r8r, 199; and religion, 83, 104 Nandi (Kenya), n, 37, 43, 59-61, 167. See also Bryk, Felix Narjani, A. E. See Bonaparte, Marie Nathan, Tobie, 239-240. See also Roudinesco, Elizabeth Naylor, Gloria, 148 Ndoudi, Oumarou, 71. See also Bocquene, Henri Neotradionalism, 8o Neotribalism, 269-273 Ngaitana ("I will circumcize myself"), 71, 78-83, II3, 219, 254. See also Cutting without ritual; Rites Nietzsche, Friedrich, 83

321

Nigeria, 4, 13, 147, 222, 239, 255. See also

other African countries Njarna, Karari, 53 Njau, Rebeka, The Scar, 36, 61-65, 8o, 90, 254> 255· 256, 261 Nnaemeka, Obioma, 14 NOCIRC, 251, 286n24 NOHARMM, 286n24 Nubia, 8r, 105, 147, 148 Nwapa, Flora, Efuru, 86-90, 92, 210, 225226 Nymphomania, 21 Nymphotomia, 23 Obstetrics, 153-158. See also Pregnancy Odinga, Oginga, 71-72 Ogunmodede, Esther, 87 Okely, Judith, 128-129 Okoh, Julie, 249; Edewede, 255-258; In the Fullness of Time, 258 Olney, James, 53, 72, 74, 102-103 Orgasm, 25, 141, 158-162, 185 Osiris, 107-108, 109. See also Isis Ottah, Comfort, 120, r6r Pacific Islands, 98 Pain, 83, 88, 91, 93, n2, 121, 170, 220, 270, 272; ally in pain, 170, 215 Papua New Guinea, u Pare, Ambroise, 22, 23, 279n6. See also Clitoris: representations of Park, Katharine, 20, 24 Parmar, Pratibha. See Walker, Alice Parrinder, Geoffrey, 218 Parsons, Jarnes, 22, 25. See also Clitoris: representations of Patriarchy, 31, 32, 33, 94, 96, 103, 104, r68, 196, 200 Paul of Aegina, 21 Peer pressure, 64, 78, n3, 154, 168, 172-173, 182 Penile flaying, 15 Penile subincision, 271 Perfection of Creation (religious argument), 48, 67,97-102,138,142,149,202-203,206 Peri' ah Oewish), 14, 134. See also Circumcision Phallus, r, 30, 141, 150, 198-199 Pharaonic circumcision, 13. See also Infibulation Photography, n4, 192-196. See also Autobiophotography Piercing, 10, 266, 269-273. See also Body: body modification

322

INDEX

Pineau, Severin, 22. See also Clitoris: representations of Polygamy, 8, 69, 75, 225, 238 Pregnancy, 25, 31, 63, 88, 129, 135, 148, 150, qo-qr, 2u. See also Obstetrics Prison memoirs, prison diary, 221-222, 277lli3, 286ll20 Pritchard, Evans E. E., 33, 53 Prostitution, 7, 8, 95, 165, 172, q6-q8, I9II92, 195 Psychoanalysis, r8, 6r, 124, 153, 157-159• 239, 240, 266. See also Bonaparte, Marie; Freud, Sigmund Puberty, 12, 13, 33, IJO, 159, 209. See also Rites Pulaar (Peuhl, Fulani), r66, 226, 289m4 Purification, 53, 56, 66, 87, 99, u6, 137, 151. See also Rites Purity, 50, 51, 54, 57, 151, qo, 179, 197, 242; Kikuyu karing'a, 50, 55-57, 77 Qur'an, 98-ro2, ro6, II4-II5, 135, 136, 162, 168, 202, 223, 224, 225, 268 Ra, I09 Ramadanovic, Petar, n8 Rape, 7, JI, 63-64, 94, n7, 164, 175-18o, 189, 205, 233. See also Excision: as rape Ras-Work, Berhane, 260 Razor. See Excision: instruments of Reactance, 35, 37, 47, 57, 64, 77-78, 8o, 85, 156, 168, 219. See also Mackie, Gerry Reaves, Malik Stan, 64 Reinfibulation, 150, qo, q6, 182 Relationality (vs. individualism), 9, 71, 192193, 196, 200, 222, 228, 241; excessive relationality, 245 Relativism (cultural). See Culture; U niversalism Relexification, 69, 86 Remembrance. See Memory Repetition: aesthetics of, n2, n8, 154, 232. See also Memory Rhinoplasty, 190. See also Surgery Rich, Adrienne, !03 Rifaat, AJifa, 90-94, II2, II4, 131, 154 Riolan, Jean (the younger), 22; Riolan-Duval controversy, 22-23, 279n5 Rites (ritual): eradication of, 252-253, 269; rite of passage, 13, 67, 8r, 145, 2IO, 270, 273; ritual cure (Al-Zar), 173; ritual feast, 153, 154; ritual transmission (see Culture: transmission of); ritual without cutting, 57,

62, 64, 8o, IOI, 200, 206, 254, 255· See also Alternative rites Rosen, Harold, 5, 62, 96, nr, u3, 124-125, 127 Roudinesco, Elizabeth, 239-240. See also Nathan, Tobie Rousseau, Jean-Jacques, 7 Roy, Atundhati, 67-68, 246 El Saadawi, Nawal, 48, 90, 91, 97-123, 142, 152, 154, r66, qo, 183, 192, 202, 204, 206, 215, 222, 227, 232; Circling Song, w9; Izis, I09-no; Daughter of Isis, 96, IOJ, II4-n6, n8, 179; The Fall of the Imam, I07, ro9; Hidden Face of Eve, 94-99, roo, IOJ, I04, ro6, ro8, no, n6, n8, 120, 122, 142, 154, 155, r66, 169, 179, 184, 214; Innocence of the Devil, 107; Walking through Fire, I08, u5, 173-174, 251; Woman at Point Zero, 8, 9497, n1, 177; Women and Sex, 97 Sacrifice, 26, 28, 53· 56-57· 75· 9I, 94· I08I09, II2, II4, 140, 184, 229, 270 Said, Edward, 53 Saltman, Carlyn, Pourquoi done !'excision, 257· 261 Samo (Burkina Faso), 24, 28 Sarakole, IO, 289m4 Saurel, Renee, r8o Scar, 98, 185, 186, 188, 257, 271, 272; scarification, 63, 67, 69 Scarry, Elaine, 36, 52, I2I, 183. See also Body: body in pain Scott, Joan, 235 Self-mutilation, n, 12, 44, I02, 156, 271. See also Favazza, Atmando Sembene, Ousmane, Moolaade, 260 Senegal, 4, 5, 13, 146, 164, 183, 204, 212, 252, 253· See also other African countries Senghor, Uopold Sedar, 40, 71 Sex: as a legal category, 22; one-sex model, 24; sex( ual) education, 141, 180, 2oo; sex scarification, 2IO; sex segregation, I7, 44, 206, 218, 268; sex strike, 257-258; sexual abuse, ro8, n7, 172, q8, 180, 235, 272; sexual gratification, 159-r6o, 208; sexual intercourse, 42, 46, 156; sexual pleasure, 98, I4J, 142, 152, 157-164, 185, 271; two-sex model, 25; Victorian discourse on, 157 Sharp, Jane, 23. See also Clitoris: representations of Sheik-Abdi, Abdi, JI, !64, I8I, I82-I83, 202. See also Atrawelo Shell-Duncan, Bettina, and Ylva Hernlund, 2, 13, 253

INDEX

Sierra Leone, 4, 4-5, 8, 19, 62, 146, 204, 214, 219, 251. See also other African countries Simulacrum, 206, 248, 254. See also Alternative rites Sissoko, Oumar, Finzan, 258 Sisterhood (global), 192, 197, 230 Sister motif, n2, 154, 226; sisterhood, 230. See also Sorority Slack, Allison, 120, 122 Slave(s), slave trade routes, 109-no, 148, 282ll8 Smith, Sidonie (and Julia Watson), 5, 96, 164-165 Somalia, 4, 13, 19, 26, 27, 31, 33, 81, 145, 147, 150, 154, 155, 171, 191, 193, 199, 200, 204, 222, 242, 253. See also other African countries Songhai, 105, 148 Soninke, 10, 68, 210, 2n, 238-240 Sorority, 192, 197, 212; limits to, 245; vertical versus horizontal, 223, 228, 229-231 South Africa, 23. See also Labia: elongation of Spaltung, 95· See also Trauma Spivak, Gayatri, 26, 72 Steedman, Caroline, II3 Stigmatics, 69 Stowasser, Barbara, ro6, 288nr6 Strabo, 148, 284n2 Stratton, Florence, 88, 89 Srumpf, Hilda, 47-49, 68, 91, 98 Sudan, 4, 13, 19, 24, 55, Sr, 121, 140, 147, 149, 150, 151, 155, r68, qr, 220, 278n22 Sudanese circumcision. See Infibulation Sudanic belt, 20, 27, 62, 105, 145, r86, 204, 218. See also Excision, origins of; Infibulation Sunnah, n, 13, 55, 101, 149, 171, 199, 253 Surgery (reconstructive), 12, 66, 146, r86200, 219, 236 -versus cosmetic, aesthetic, r86-191 -genital, 12, 148 -intestinal bypass, r88 -pedicle grafting, r88; ear reconstruction (otoplasty), 66, 270 -rhinoplasty, 286nr5 -transgender, r88, 202 Surveillance, 4, So, 83, 134, 136, 142, 146, qr, 173, 185-186, 190, 207 Suture. See Infibulation Switzerland, 213, 236. See also other European

countries Symmetry, 14-17, 30, 37, 43, 162. See also Dissymmetry

323

El-Taher, Sheikh Ahmed, roo-101 Tanzania, 77, 147, 170, 177 Tattooing, u, 98, 129, 135, 266, 269-273 Termite-hill. See Myths Testimonio, testimony, 72, 125, 126, 129, r87, 201, 236, 239, 245 Thahu (Kikuyu uncleanliness), 50, 51, 55-57, 66. See also Purity Thiam, Awa, 6r, 200, 2n. See also Lantier, Jacques Thomas, Lynn, 77-78, 280. See also Ngaitana Tiamat, 30. See also Enuma Elish Toga, 4, 5, 13, 146, 201, 222, 223, 231, 233. See

also other African countries Torture, n9, I20-I2I, 182, 236, 243, 286n7 Toubia, Nahid (and Susan lzett), 14, r6o, 231, 260 Toure, Sekou, r67, 195 T ransgender. See Surgery Transmission. See Culture: transmission of Trauma, 5, 6, 15, 78, 83, 92-95, n2, u4, u6u8, 142-143, r8o, 192, 200, 235, 240, 241, 272, 285n6 Tribadism, tribade, 21-24, 279. See also Masturbation Tulvin, E., ur Al-Tusi, 99 Uhuru, 77· See also Kenya; Tanzania United Kingdom, 145, 207, 230, 236 United Nations, 191, 195, 232, 289nr6; UN Declaration of the Rights of the Child, II9 United States (of America), 125, 127, 145, 146, 153, 156, 158, 177, r8o, 197, 203, 207, 213, 214, 217' 220, 226 Universalism, 3, 2u, 239. See also Culture: cultural relativism Vagina, 30; versus clitoris, 158-r6o, :w8, 218, 267; erotogenic transfer from clitoris to vagina, 59; as a sign of absence, 157. See also Bonaparte, Marie; Clitoris; Freud, Sigmund Veil(ing of women), 105, 106, 174 Vesalius, Andreas, 20. See also Clitoris; Clitorophobia (de) Villeneuve, Annie, 149-150, 153, r8o Virginity, 47, 104, 105, 133, 138, 149, 155, 164, 165-166, 171, 250; Second virginity, 150, 165, r68, 173, q6, 185, 242, 247; Technical virginity, 175; Virginity test, 7, 142, 172

324

INDEX

Voyeurism, 148, 152, 179, 205, 215 Vulva, 26, 30, 109, 148, 150, 151, 155, 167, qo,

Welsh, Stephanie, 57· See also Film (documen-

186, 189, 206, 208, 210, 225, 271. See also

Were, Miriam, Your Heart Is My Altar, 36 WHO (World Health Organization), n, 236, 244 Whole woman, 185, 189, 201, 220. See also Body: bodily intactness Wittig, Monique, 267 Wolf, Naomi, 188 Womb (as-oasis). See Infibulation Women's rights. See Human rights Woolf, Virginia, 221-222

Clitoris Waberi, Abdourahman, 152, 284 Waciuma, Charity, Daughter of Mumbi, 9, 36, 61, 62, 63, 65, 71-80, 85-86, 87, !02, n8, 120, 199, 203, 224, 265

Walker, Alice, Possessing the Secret ofjoy, 3, ro, 27, 52, 120, 156, 212; Wfzrrior Marks (with Pratibha Parmar), 212, 230, 248, 261-263; Womanism, 212 Waiters, Barbara, 235 Wanjala, Chris, 63 Wa Thiong'o, Ngugi, The River Between, 36, 41, 50-58, 61, 71, 73, 74-75, 77, 79, 8o, 85, 210, 277nl3

tary)

Yeats, W. B., 8o Yemen, 13, 15, 147 AI-Zar, 173 Zwang, Gerard, 20, 159, 208