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TRADITIONAL MALE CIRCUMCISION AND EDUCATION:
AN ANALYSIS OF THE IMPACT OF TRADITIONAL MALE
CIRCUMCISION ON EDUCATION; THE CASE FOR THE
BUGISU REGION IN EASTERN UGANDA
Edrine Wanyama*
Abstract
Circumcision of the male child starts way back in history as far as the biblical
times. It has been increasingly encouraged globally. In Uganda, it is practiced
in the eastern parts on traditional or cultural justifications. The age usually is
between fourteen to sixteen years and in some circumstances at eighteen
years. The age of eighteen was usually recommended in the past but the
trend has changed to acceptance of males below eighteen years to get
circumcised traditionally wherein they can marry at will as they are deemed
as adults. In this article, some of the impacts of traditional male circumcision
are brought out with an analysis of the negative impacts of the ritual on
education and development
1. Introduction
The constitution of the Republic of Uganda provides for the rights of children
and thus, children have the right to know and be cared for by their parents or
those entitled by law to bring them up.1 Equally, they are entitled to basic
education which shall be the responsibility of the State and the parents of the
* LL.B (Hons) Makerere University (Uganda) PGD (L.P) Law Development Centre (Uganda), he is an Advocate of the Courts of Judicature of the Republic of Uganda and is currently an LLM student at the University of Dar es Salaam with the Tanzanian-German Centre for Postgraduate Studies in Law. He is extensively engaged in Research in economic, social and cultural rights and civil and political rights. Email: [email protected] or [email protected] 1 The constitution of the Republic of Uganda, 1995, article 34(1)
child.2 Further still, a child is defined as a person under the age of eighteen
years.3 The constitution further requires parents to protect their children from
social or economic practices that are likely to interfere with their education.4
The same constitution however on the other hand grants every person has the
right to belong to, enjoy, practise, profess, maintain and promote any culture,
cultural institution, language, tradition, creed or religion in community with
others.5 It however does not define whether a child is entitled in the same
measure as adults under the provision.
It is generally observed that globally, 30% of men are circumcised for religious
reasons.6 In the eastern part of Uganda, Traditional Male Circumcision (TMC)
is estimated to be at 20%.7 And the most recent statistics show that in Uganda,
males who have been circumcised for non religious reasons are at 14% while
the total number of males circumcised is at 0.8 millions.8 TMC is practiced in
the Bugisu region which is around mountain Elgon of eastern Uganda in every
leap year as a mark for the continuance of the tradition left behind by the fore
fathers of the Bugisu tribe. It is at this point that the male child is deemed to
be an adult and is given the title of a man. He can even build his own house
and marry because he is after the ritual given land by his father. Many male
2 Ibid clause (2) 3 Ibid article 257 (c); see also section 2 of the Children Act Cap 59 Laws of Uganda. 4 Ibid article 34(4); see also section 8 of the Children Act Cap 59 5 Ibid article 37 6Andrea Wilcken, Thomas Keil & Bruce Dick: “Traditional male circumcision in eastern and southern Africa: A systematic review of prevalence and complications” referring to Weiss H, Polonsky J. Male circumcision: global trends and determinants of prevalence, safety and acceptability. Geneva: World Health Organization & United Nations Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS; 2007. Also found at http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/88/12/09-072975/en/index.html accessed 29th January 2013 at 1214 hours. 7 Ibid. 8 Traditional male circumcision among young people: a public health perspective in the context of HIV prevention at p. 11, also found at http://www.malecircumcision.org/programs/documents/TMC_final_web.pdf accessed 29th January, 2013 at 1243 hours.
children at this point in time forget about education and the focus is twisted to
marriage. They do not marry trees but female and thus putting the female
children at a similar risk. They drop out of school and get married, the number
of school drop-outs increases and the trend continues through-out the life time
of every “man” and every male child.
2. Education or circumcision, the social perspective
Education is usually given lower status in comparison to TMC. As highlighted
above, TMC is an initiation to manhood and the one who undergoes the ritual
is accorded the status of a fully grown man regardless of the age at which it
has been done. The society also views one upon completion of the ritual as one
who is totally qualified to be called a man. Man in this society is viewed as one
who can cultivate his garden, produce food and feed a family. They therefore
have a passport to founding of a family.
The impact of this is that the man now focuses on keeping his family going
forward and therefore education is not given priority. Mafabi Steven who has
just completed this ritual had this to say in response to whether he wished to
continue with school;
“I have just done primary seven and I am sixteen years of age. I have also
been able to stand the pain of the knife of the Bagsu. I am now a man and
I do not need to waste time in school. I am going to marry and have
children. That is it and you know that this is what happens here after
circumcision.”9
9 Per Mafabi S. interviewed on the 13 January 2013 at Bunazomi village sironko district at 1023 hours.
To blame the cultural practice though is to miss hitting the nail with a harmer
and then look for a piece of wood to use to hit the nail. There is also the general
reluctance of firstly the government of Uganda to promote education amongst
its citizens and secondly, the parents of the children are under strongly biting
poverty that at the time the child undergoes the ritual, they feel it is a relief
from any other obligations towards their children. They regard the children as
adults and therefore old enough to take care of themselves.
Nagwere B. had this to say on this particular issue;
“Once my son gets circumcised, he is an adult and therefore like myself.
Haven’t you had our traditional song for TMC that says “eeh…..sheta
omwana afanane baba wee” (meaning circumcise the child so that he can
look like his father). I went through the same and my parent discharged
themselves of the duty to look after me and from then I managed to look
after myself, married, got these children; who have also grown. They must
therefore look after themselves since I do not have money to continue
sponsoring them in school. It is now up to them to decide whether to marry
or not. It would however be nice for them to be in school but I do not have
money. May be the government could help, but I don’t know.”10
The concretization of Mr Nagwere’s statement is that he cares less about his
sons the moment they undergo TMC. He at this point regards them as equals
who can ably look after themselves. He does not even consider looking at the
future of the children but considers his history more that the good of the
children in the future. Even though he maintains the claim that he is facing
biting poverty upon him that he cannot ably sponsor his children in school, his
mind is entrenched with cultural-social constructs that he cannot give it a
10 As interviewed on the January 2013 at Bunazomi village sironko district at 1101 hours
modern thought of the need to educate his children. “Like father like son” is
what he thinks can work for him?
To blame him alone is to window-dress the whole situation but to look at the
problem as a responsibility of the whole society is to create a platform for
future look into the problem and later come-up with suggestions that could
bring about fundamental change that would lead to a paradigm shift n the
social perspective of the people of this area towards TMC. There would be
positive change which would work for betterment of this community in terms of
educational advancement.
3. The impact of Traditional Male Circumcision on the girl child
education
While it is true that Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is practiced in Kapchorwa
district (one of the districts in Eastern Uganda that are prominent for FGM)
which is also located in the eastern part of Uganda around mountain Elgon,
the practice has however been declared illegal in Uganda.11 In the Bugisu
region however, FGM is not part of the cultural practices or rituals. The effect
on the young women comes in on the basis of the fact that those who have
been initiated to manhood look at marrying as the next step in their lives. They
marry their age-mates or those who are slightly younger than them. The young
women who get married to them usually drop out of school as well for marriage
to the newly initiated men for one reason or the other but the outstanding
being that they probably met while in primary school or lower secondary. The
biting effect is that both boys and girls end up staying together in what they
call marriage. This affects even the future generations that later come after
them.
11 See the Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation Act, No. 5 of 2010.
Nabukwasi G., a senior one dropout from Manafwa district had this to say
about her preference of early marriage to education;
“I first of all did not have school fees to continue with my studies and my
father always told me to get married. So there was a boy who had just got
circumcised and yet we had been friends for some time and he loved me.
When he got circumcised, he asked me to become his wife. Since he had
got circumcised in our traditional way, I was very happy to get married to
a real man, who did not fear the knife. I saw marriage as better than
school because even school was always disturbing me with frequent
asking for school fees.”12
It would then suffice to note that the rate at which young men drop out of
school is in equivalent to the young women that drop out of school for them,
that they may take them as their wives. This though does not vitiate the fact
that the number of women drop-outs is far much larger than that of the men.
The fact that remains however is that TMC has equally contributed to the
derail of education in the Bugisu community because of the social
constructions that it has on the young people of this particular community.
4. Traditional Male Circumcision as a waste of time
During the TMC, certain activities have to be followed before the final ritual is
carried out. It starts with the interest of the candidate to undergo the ritual, it
comes to dancing. Dancing involves moving with multitudes of people with
singing or with the accompaniment of drums to which the multitudes dance to
the tunes. It is usually a sort of strengthening relationships through
continuous visits to family members and friends.13 The preparations are
12 Interviewed as in manafwa district on the 15th January, 2013 at 1322 Hours. 13 Supra ote 8 at p.15
physical, social and spiritual with physical and psychological impacts.14 What
is very outstanding here is that there is a lot of time wastage. Everyone always
wants to be party to the activities. Students therefore abscond from school to
join the celebrations that mark ones manhood. It would even be minor if it was
an issue of one candidate a year but as earlier observed, each year leaves
thousands having undergone TMC.
In an interview with one of the students who I found in Uniform in one of the
social groups escorting the candidate to a relative, he opines that preference is
made to celebration to staying in school. He states that;
“This boy is my friend and I have to see him through the whole process
until he finally gets circumcised. I have to escort him because he has
decided to leave school for initiation to manhood. Now that I am also going
to undergo the same, I will need him to party to mine as well. I then after
go back to school because school can wait but for him, this is the one time
he has to do it and if I miss, I will never see him do it again.”15
The absurdity in Mafabi’s statement is that the traditional practice is given
priority over education. Repetitive missing of school mentally directs one to
finally give up on studies. It is outright that these young men do not attach any
value to education but consider traditional practices as more valuable. The
adults have continuously ignored such diverted minds of their children and yet
this has been the result of many school drop-outs in this region. Absurd indeed
is the only option for description.
14 Ibid. 15 Per Mafabi interviewed on the 30th of December, 2012 at 1400 Hours.
5. Traditional Male Circumcision and sexual immorality
During the process and preparation for circumcision, there is usually rampant
sexual activity especially during the night hours. It usually starts with heavy
drinking leading to drunkenness and finally ends up in sexual feasts. During
this time, school boys impregnate school girls. Men equally impregnate school
girls or young girls. Adultery also runs the sessions as people engage in the
immoral activities in the night and in bushes. The unfortunate part is that the
young girls end up leaving school while the young boys are sometimes arrested
by the parents of the young women and put in jail. They also drop out of school
as a result of staying long times in prison and out of school.
In an interview with one of the angry parents whose daughter had fallen victim,
this is what he had to say;
“We are fed up of this whole thing, men are now like dogs. They do not
consider the fact that our children are still in school. They are just as
greedy as hyenas. This circumcision thing needs to be removed because
our children are at risk and we cannot ably protect them as they even run
away from home without permission. I will not let this boy out of prison so
that we all lose. My daughter cannot go to school and so, this boy will also
not go to school.”16
Nothing less can be drawn from this statement that frustration and anger with
revengeful instincts. The respondent was so angry and was trying to
communicate that because of these TMC process, his daughter had dropped
out of school and he was not willing to forgive the boy who is responsible for
the pregnancy. He looks at jail as the only way of punishing the boy for having
impregnated his daughter. He also expresses his dismay for the continuance of
this ritual for the effects it carries along it.
16 Per Mwodi, a resident of Mbale town, Mbale district Eastern Uganda.
Equally so, upon completion of circumcision, the candidate initiated into
manhood tends to go on rampage for sexual relations with many different
women. This has exposed them to many Sexually transmitted diseases, the
worst of these being HIV/AIDS. This affects health to the extent that even if one
wanted to go back to school, the diseases contracted cannot allow them to
concentrate on studies. They usually just drop out of school.
6. Conclusion and Recommendations
While we agree that the constitution of the Republic of Uganda grants every
person the right to practice ones culture and custom, there is need to regulate
the practice of some of these cultures or customs. TMC is good for hygienic
reasons but on the other side almost next to cruel, human and degrading
treatment because it is usually done in total exposure of pain without any
medical aid to the candidates. It could also be taken as violating the right to
privacy granted under article 27.
There is the need to shift from TMC to safe male circumcision as the two have
the same effects in terms of appearance after circumcision. TMC usually gives
false hope to the man which is uncalled for. There is need for massive
education and information sharing on safe male circumcision so that all
persons including cultural leaders can embrace it. This will reduce on some of
the effects discussed above.
There is also need for change of thought about TMC amongst the societies that
practice it. This can only be possible with the support of the government
through the promotion of activities that aim bringing trends of change in social
cultural activities to modern ways of performing the related activities. This will
eventually bring about civilization in the masses.
TMC should really be based on voluntary basis and not on forced grounds.
Equally, there is need to separate TMC from the claims that it is one way of
initiation of one to manhood. This will help young men and girls keep in school
as opposed to the mentality that upon completion of the ritual, marriage is to
follow.
