The sound of silence: The 1929–30 gikuyu ‘Female circumcision controversy’ and the discursive suppression of african women’s voices

Abstract

In 1929–30, British missionaries active in central Kenya sought the help of the British colonial government in banning and eventually eradicating the Gikuyu tradition of female circumcision. This was met with an uproar amongst the Gikuyu population, many of whom protested in the form of the Muthirigu dance song, giving rise to what is known as the ‘female circumcision controversy’. Contemporary sources demonstrate the numerous contributions to the debate on the issue that have come from missionary societies, colonial officials, British women, and Kenyan men, all of whom incorporated the controversy into their various agendas, be it concern for women’s health on the missionaries’ part, the anxiety of colonial officials over the impact of circumcision on Kenya’s long-term population growth, worry for their ‘sisters’ by British women Members of Parliament, or concern about Western infringement on Gikuyu traditions on the part of Kenyan men. What is most noticeable is the absence of Kenyan women’s voices in the sources on the matter, despite the fact that this is an issue that concerns their bodies. This article examines the different ways in which Kenyan women’s voices have been silenced on the issue and attempts to retrieve their voices from the sources available. In doing so, the article seeks to demonstrate the general tendency that exists to silence African women in history and in historical epistemology.