Education, Class, and Female Genital Cutting among the Samburu of Northern Kenya: Challenging the Reproduction of the “Ignorant Pastoralist” Narrative in Anticutting Campaigns

Abstract

Based on ethnographic research among the Samburu of northern Kenya, this article examines the association between formal education and the abandonment of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C). It challenges the notion that Samburu continue cutting out of “ignorance” of the health and legal implications of cutting. The findings show that, rather than a causal effect of “knowledge” on cutting-related attitudes and behavior, formal education can replace FGM/C as a source for status, respect, and adulthood. In addition, alternative expectations apply to formally educated Samburu. Challenging the reproduction of the “ignorant pastoralist” narrative in anticutting campaigns is important because of the harm such narratives inflict on pastoralist communities.