March 2003
Currently twenty-eight African countries are practicing Female circumcision and Ethiopia is one of these countries. It is an issue that has united women around the world, who are committed towards the eradication of this inhumane treatment of girls.
Susan McLucas is one of these women who are working to end female circumcision in Mali West Africa. About two months ago Susan McLucas called Adbar’s office and asked me if I could meet with her and other health professionals who are also working against female circumcision. So I went to meet with her and I ended up spending more time with her in her cozy home, than I have originally intended to.
We talked about the seriousness of the issue, listened to songs “Stop Execution for the dignity of women” and watched an educational video that Susan & a group of Malian women produced against circumcision.
I was so moved with Susan’s dedication and commitment to the cause, so I decided to share with others about her great yet challenging work that she is to perusing with great enthusiasm and determination. The following are her answers to our questions
Mela: Why are you interested in Female circumcision (FGM)?
Susan: I first heard about FGM when I read about Aminata Diop, who fled from Mali just before she was to be excised in preparation for her marriage. She had just spent 3 days with her best friend, after she had been cut, watching her die from her mutilation. I just kept thinking about how sad it is, with all the horrible things in life that cannot be avoided, that people do this practice and add to the misery of almost all the girls and women in so many places.
Whenever I went to the bathroom, I thought to myself, boy, am I ever glad that nobody cut me, so that I can pee with no particular problems and it doesn't take forever. It also seems so sad to me that, to prevent a few of the girls from being loose, all the girls are punished, even those who would have been the most well-behaved and faithful wives. The married lives of most of all the couples are hurt because of the fear that some wives might run around on their husbands.
Mela: Why Mali?
Susan: I chose Mali because of the erroneous report that infibulations is a common practice in Mali. It turns out it is less than one percent who practice it, though that's still pretty bad, when you think about all the pain associated with one woman being infibulated. The majority practice excision, without closing the opening. Since I speak French I thought that would be a good place for me. I don't speak Somali, Arabic or Amharic, so I wanted to avoid those countries. Now I hear that in Addis Ababa one can get by with English, though it's not ideal. Maybe some day I'll go there and see if I can do anything for the good of the cause.
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Mela: Why is this particular picture so important to you?
Susan: The picture of Sadio Sylla, Saly Kone and me is special to me because it was at this meeting at a restaurant that we came up with the idea of the Pledge Against Excision. They had both been asking me, for a number of months, what they should do, and tell their other colleagues to do, to help in the movement. They had both been talking about the movement with their colleagues at the health centers where they worked and they had been asking them what they should do. I had been giving them posters to distribute and they had been doing that, but we all thought that there must be plenty of other good things to do.
I asked many of my colleagues in the anti-FGM movement when they did with willing volunteers and nobody had any good ideas for me, so we made this appointment and I promised myself that we wouldn't leave until we had some kind of plan for how to use people who wanted to help. We started out by saying that we needed some way to show progress and decided to do a signature campaign. The Pledge says: "I am against excision and I promise to fight against this practice in all its forms. If I have a daughter, I will not have her excised and I will do everything to protect her from those who would like to have her excised."
So far, we have around a thousand signatures and we plan to give them to the press and the government, to encourage them to make a law against the practice, like so many other countries have. In the picture, Saly is holding the Childbirth Picture Book, which is produced in Lexington by Fran Hosken, and Sadio is holding up the poster that I made during my first trip in 1997 and that we have distributed all around Mali.
Mela: What is the biggest challenge that you are facing right now?
Susan: The biggest challenge that we all face in this struggle is the long-held, ingrained belief that this practice has to be done. The people don't know why, but they "know" that it must happen. But it is surprising to me how many people are ready to change. Once they see other people speaking out, they are willing to stick their necks out, too. This is what we kept finding, as we got signatures on the Pledge and in the course of making the album "Stop Excision."
A challenge that I face, as a white American in this struggle, is the feeling among many Africans that this fight should be fought by Africans, I agree that, ideally, it would be Africans who lead the way in this and in everything that I do, I make Sure that I am doing it with Malians taking important roles, but I am who I am and I have found that I have been able to make some important contributions in this struggle. If I could become a Malian, I would, but I can't, so they'll just have to take me the way I am. This is not my fight, but I have made it my fight. If I had lots of Malians telling me to get lost, I would re-evaluate, but I have lots of them thanking me and asking me what they can do to help, so I feel that I have found a place where I can make a difference, for whatever reason, and I intend to stay involved until my inspiration runs out, which I doubt will be any time soon.
It is a challenge to find the money to do the work. I am looking for Foundation support. I have been lucky enough to be able to do the work I have done so far with my own money, but now I need to find the money to continue. I hope that I will be able to. The government has made some efforts in the direction of stamping out the practice but I wish they were doing more, faster.
Mela: Do you consider yourself a feminist?
Susan: I am definitely a feminist, which means that I believe that women are equally deserving of respect and responsibility as men are. I have been able to make some important contributions in this struggle. If I could become a Malian, I would, but I can't, so they'll just have to take me the way I am. This is not my fight, but I have made it my fight. If I had lots of Malians telling me to get lost, I would Re-evaluate, but I have lots of them thanking me and asking me what they If people are interested in hearing the album, Stop Excision, that a number of us produced in 2000, they can buy if from me for a contribution of $10-$20, made out to Healthy Tomorrow and sent to 14 William St, Somerville, MA 02144. This album, which had 8 songs in 5 languages against excision, is still being played on Malian radio stations and is available in the market in Mali.
A translation comes in the cover booklet. I also have a video that I will happily share with any interested people. It's to one of the songs, and it acts out a rescue by neighbors of girls who were about to be cut. If anyone wants to help with our organizing efforts, please contact Susan McLucas, at :
Healthy Tomorrow, (617) 776-6524,
SusanMcL@StopExcision.net or SusanMcL@aol.com..
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