2025 Theses Bachelor's

Between Nation and Tradition: FGM/C Elimination, Legal Governance, and Colonial Legacies in Uganda and Somalia

Dovale, Anabella

Since its emergence as a global human rights concern, female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) has sparked debate between universalist and cultural relativist perspectives. This study examines two divergent approaches to eliminating FGM/C in Uganda and Somalia, two countries with drastically different prevalence rates (Uganda at 0.3% and Somalia at 99.2%).

Through a comparative analysis of these states’ approaches, this study investigates how different dimensions of states’ regulatory strategies affect current-day prevalence. Findings reveal that the effectiveness of FGM/C regulation is heavily influenced by the complex interplay of historical and sociopolitical contexts, including colonial legacies, governance structures, legal frameworks, grassroots engagement, and reliance on foreign aid. Uganda’s distinct colonial history, relatively centralized governance structure, and grassroots engagement have enabled community cooperation with top-down FGM/C-focused policy and initiatives in a multi-pronged approach to elimination.

Conversely, Somalia’s fragmented legal and political systems, shaped by its colonial and postcolonial history, coupled with a heavy reliance on foreign aid and limited sustained local engagement, highlight the shortcomings of linear models of change—whether top-down or bottom-up. This study argues that effectively eliminating harmful cultural practices like FGM/C requires an adaptive, multi-pronged approach that accounts for a country’s specific historical and sociopolitical context, rather than relying on a one-size-fits-all strategy within the universalist-relativist binary.