Weibliche Beschneidung: (k)ein religionswissenschaftliches Thema?

Abstract

When looking at female circumcision, religion can be found on a wide variety of levels. Until now, these connections between female circumcision and religion are nearly unexplored in the study of religion. As a result, religious narratives of circumcised women remained unheard, which led to the popular notion that female circumcision is not religious but merely cultural. However, due to its broad understanding of religion as well as its self-conception of neutrality, it is precisely the study of religion that is capable of taking the diversity of empiricism seriously and questioning discourses that are too one-sided.In this article, we examine relevant English and German secondary literature on the topic of »female circumcision« and will demonstrate that it can be negotiated in religious terms. Therefore, we argue, it represents a valid research subject in the study of religion.

Keywords

• Religion
• Study of Religion
• Postcolonialism
• WHO
• Female Circumcision