Cutting tradition: the political regulation of traditional circumcision rites in South Africa's liberal democratic order

Vincent, Louise

Title: Cutting tradition: the political regulation of traditional circumcision rites in South Africa's liberal democratic order
Creator: Vincent, Louise
Date Issued: 2008
Date: 2008
Type: text
Type: article
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/141922
Identifier: vital:38016
Identifier: DOI: 10.1080/03057070701832890
Description: The South African Xhosa ethnic group, the majority of whom live in the country's Eastern Cape province, are one of several ethnic groups in southern Africa that practise the ritual of circumcision as part of a rite admitting boys to manhood. Recent years have seen a rise in casualties among those participating in traditional circumcision rites. Since 1995 more than 6,000 boys have been admitted to Eastern Cape hospitals, more than 300 have died and 76 have had their genitalia amputated due to botched circumcisions. The state has responded by putting in place a variety of mechanisms to regulate the practice, most recently in the form of the 2005 Children's Bill which gives male children the right to refuse circumcision and makes those who circumcise a child against his will guilty of an offence punishable by imprisonment. Attempts by the state to regulate traditional practices (of which circumcision is just one and virginity testing is another) have been met with outrage and resistance in some quarters.
Format: 15 pages
Format: pdf
Language: English
Relation: Journal of Southern African Studies
Relation: Vincent, L., 2008. Cutting tradition: The political regulation of traditional circumcision rites in South Africa's liberal democratic order. Journal of Southern African Studies, 34(1), pp.77-91.
Relation: Journal of Southern African Studies volume 34 number 1 77 91 February 2008
Rights: Publisher
Rights: Use of this resource is governed by the terms and conditions of the Taylor and Francis Online Terms and Conditions statement (https://www.tandfonline.com/terms-and-conditions)

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