ABSTRACT
Narratives make visible the personal and social feelings silenced by statistics and quantitative science. Female genital mutilation in fiction and memoirs reveals different aspects of patriarchal socio-cultural contexts. A collectivist patriarchal society imposes the need to be admitted by the community and the fear of cultural exclusion. The “circumcision makes clean” narrative serves as compensation for the unconscious feeling of guilt (before the self), humiliation, disempowerment. The sense of guilt is unavoidable, as they must choose between a “mother’s betrayal” and “acceptance of their girls to their community as its rightful members.” Confiscation of the women’s radios, burning them in front of the mosque, is a symbol of fear of women’s escape from “traditions,” from their “normal” status of silence replenished by ongoing transmission of received knowledge. The narratives show authentic feelings, make people question social traditions, and can be a starting point in making a difference, in fighting social evil.
