Tackling Female Genital Mutilations in France: between statist priority and underlying assumptions
Author
Debrock, Amy
Term
4. term
Publication year
2020
Abstract
Denne afhandling undersøger den franske stats nationale handlingsplan fra 2019, der gør bekæmpelse af kvindelig omskæring (FGM) til en statslig prioritet. I stedet for at deltage i den moralske og universalistiske debat om FGM analyserer studiet de magtrelationer, antagelser og betydningsrammer, der præger politikken, herunder hvordan praksissen fremstilles som et menneskerettighedsproblem i nordlige kontekster og som et rituelt overgangsritual i visse sydlige. Med Bacchis WPR-ramme (What’s the Problem Represented to be?) gennemfører afhandlingen en kritisk policyanalyse af handlingsplanens problemfremstilling, dens underliggende binariteter og kategorier, samt de diskursive og subjektiverende effekter, den kan producere – især for diaspora-miljøer i Frankrig. Studiet placerer politikken i en bredere fransk kontekst præget af kønsbaseret vold og digital feminisme, og inddrager feministisk teori om patriarkat, universalitet/relativisme og postkoloniale dynamikker. Metodisk er der tale om kvalitativ dokumentanalyse af handlingsplanen og relaterede kilder med opmærksomhed på sprog og oversættelse, etiske hensyn og forskerpositionering. Afhandlingen søger at afdække tavsheder og mulige alternative problemforståelser; konkrete resultater og policyanbefalinger er ikke fuldt fremlagt i det foreliggende uddrag.
This thesis examines the French state’s 2019 national action plan that designates the fight against female genital mutilation (FGM) as a statist priority. Rather than entering the moral and universalist debate on FGM, it explores the policy’s embedded power relations and underlying meanings, including how the practice is framed as a human rights violation in the Global North and as a rite of passage in parts of the Global South. Using Bacchi’s WPR approach (What’s the Problem Represented to be?), the study conducts a critical policy analysis of the plan’s problem representation, its underlying binaries and categories, and the discursive and subjectification effects it may produce—particularly for diaspora communities in France. It situates the policy within a broader French context of gender-based violence and digital feminism, and draws on feminist theory concerning patriarchy, universalism/relativism, and postcolonial dynamics. Methodologically, it employs qualitative document analysis of the action plan and related sources, with attention to language/translation issues, ethics, and researcher positionality. The thesis identifies silences and potential alternative framings; specific findings and policy recommendations are not fully available in this excerpt.
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