ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the practice of infibulation in the geographic regions in which it traditionally occurs, and among refugees and immigrant populations in the western host country context. Viewed from a current perspective, infibulation appears to be an archaic practice that has been assimilated and retained by societies currently in the throes of economic development and political upheaval. The combination of Islamic tradition and a social welfare structure dependent upon the institutions of lineage and family acts to strictly delineate the social role of women. In Islam, the Koran identifies that which consitutes normative behavior has traditionally had absolute authority. The main problem has been one of interpretation. Infibulation can only occur and persist in closed social systems where paramount importance is attached: to family; to the maintenance of family honor; to the perpetuation of its patrimony; and where women play a central role in the maintenance and propagation of this system.
