On women’s bodies. Religion and female circumcision in Egypt

Among discourses about female circumcision, frequent are those which attribute it to religious beliefs, in particular Islamic ones. An ethnographic research conducted in Egypt, lead me to deconstruct such simplistic association, in order to explore how we can (and if is it possible to) consider such a practice as a performing of religion on women’s bodies.
In fact, in the context considered, first of all not only the Islamic religion is called into question, but also the Christian one; secondly, social dynamics are deeply intertwined with spiritual beliefs. In this framework, female circumcision has a precise role in the definition of the healthy sexuality of the couple and in the maintaining of the very same social order insofar it reflects a cosmic one. As a matter of fact, on the one hand religion is functional to legitimize a practice exerted upon women’s bodies which is perceived as essential to regulate social interactions, in the domestic context as well as in the public space. On the other hand, discourses and acts promoting and abandonment of female circumcision rely they themselves on religious precepts.
These complex dynamics need to be deeply explored, in order to produce a wider knowledge about a controversial practice. The aim of my paper is to give voice to the literature on the subject and to the social actors involved in my ethnographic experience, among which several women themselves, so as to highlight in which ways religion (Islamic and Christian ones) and the practice of female circumcision are connected.