Project Director Prince Hillary, Kimilili, Kenya. 2 February, 2016.
I do believe there is an element of cultural imperialism among members of circumcising groups who believe they have something important to share with “primitive” non-circumcising cultures.
—Tim Hammond
Background
“Voluntary medical male circumcision” (VMMC) was approved as a means of reducing HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa by a network of policymakers in the West. Critics have opposed the circumcision campaign due to weaknesses in the clinical trials that are used as its basis (e.g. they were not placebo-controlled), and on ethical and human rights grounds grounds. However, the discourse on VMMC has been largely confined to the Western world where the body of VMMC-promoting literature only grows.
By 2014, six million men and children had been circumcised without follow-up, yet the global public had not heard a word from them. The VMMC Experience Project was established that year to give a voice to the people affected by the campaign. Our aim is to empower the most frequently overlooked contingent in the African circumcision regime: Africans.
Setting
Under the direction of Prince Hillary Maloba, we conducted interviews from 1–16 February, 2016 in Busia, Kumi, Pallisa, Tororo, and Soroti Districts.
Our focus was on three traditionally non-circumcising tribes targeted by VMMC: the Luo tribe in western Kenya (a predominately circumcising country), and the Bagwere and Iteso tribes in eastern Uganda. The Luo tribe faces ethnic discrimination for being uncircumcised, including barring from public office and forced circumcision attacks from the neighbouring Luhya tribe. The Bagwere and Iteso tribes have no cultural context for circumcision.
Interviews were conducted in English, Swahili, Dholuo, Teso, Lugwere, Luganda, and Samia languages.
What’s a mucous membrane anyway? Click here to see our analysis of VMMC science.