Harmful Traditional Practices – JSS3 Social Studies Lesson Note (First Term)

HARMFUL TRADITIONAL PRACTICES

Harmful traditional practices are traditional and psychological distress and damage to individuals.  The distresses include fear, emotions, pain, stigma, death, etc.

TYPES OF HARMFUL TRADITIONAL PRACTICES

1.                   Female circumcision
2.                   Slavery
3.                   Child marriage
4.                   Widowhood
5.                   Reference for male child
6.                   Violence against women
7.                 Female Circumcision:  it can also be known as female genital mutilation.  It involves the painful removal of sensitive female genital organs. It is mostly performed on infants.  This is being practiced in many communities in Nigeria to prevent girls from being promiscuous
8.         Slavery:  This is a slate of being subjected to all forms of hardship, suffering, and violence without any right to resist or fight back in any form.
9.                   Child marriage:  This is a practice in which female children are given out in marriage in their teenage years.  This is mostly practiced by the Hausa.
10.               Widowhood:  Maltreatment of widows is prevalent in many communities in Nigeria.  Some cultures force the widow to drink water used in bathing the dead while some widows cannot have their bath until their husbands are buried.

In some other societies, women cannot go out of the house until certain while some widows are compelled to wear black dresses for certain days or a year after the death of their husbands.

5.               Preference for a Male Child:  In many Nigerian cultures, there is a strong preference for a male child.  A woman with a female child in the family is not recognized and respected. She would receive all forms of insult, embarrassment, scolding, and maltreatment from her husband and his family until she had a male child.
6.               Violence against Women:  This is common in some societies where men beat their wives with cane, horse wipes, slaps, and rods.  The reason could be for coming back home late, not cooking on time, or not taking care of the children.

FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION

Female Genital- it refers to female outer or external sex organs;

Mutilation simply refers to damage or changing something so much that is completely spoiled or ruined.

Female genital mutilation is the removal or cutting off of some or all of the female external sensitive genitals part of the female organ (clitoris) to reduce her sexual urge. This act is also called female circumcision. The common parts affected are the clitoris, labia minora, and labia majora. This practice used to be very common in many African countries including Nigeria but with strong, continuous advocacy, campaigns, and education, the practice has been reduced to the breast minimum and is gradually fading away and tending towards total eradication.

               The various reasons for the practice of female genital mutilation are;

1. Some communities have the belief that cutting off a part of a female child will reduce her sexual sensitivity and promiscuous lifestyle.
2. In some communities, they believe that if any part of the mother`s genitals touches the baby`s head during delivery, he/she will die or grow up to be retarded child. This, therefore, leads to the removal of the clitoris.
3. In some communities, they believe that female circumcision promotes personal hygiene as it would be easier for the woman to wash and clean her genitals.
4. Some communities believe that carrying the practice would make the girl spiritually pure.
5. Also, in some communities, circumcision is a religious ritual, which every female child must undergo for eligibility to attend the matured-girls traditional ceremony before marriage.

Note that none of these beliefs are correct as science has proven that the practice is unpleasant, cruel, and dangerous.

 HEALTH IMPLICATIONS OF FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION.

Since female genital mutilation has no health benefits and is believed to harm girls, ladies, and women in many ways, since it involves removing and damaging healthy and normal female genital tissues and natural functions of girls and women’s bodies, it is, therefore, necessary to examine the health implications of FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION (FGM)

1. Depression and loss of sexual desire. As a result, the girl may eventually seek divorce or may never wish to marry.
2. Spread of infection as a result of using unsterilized instruments
3. Bleeding which can be minor or severe and can lead to shock and death due to the shortage of blood in the body
4. Difficulty in passing urine because of the severe pain
5. Urinary and reproduction tract infections

 CONSEQUENCES OF HARMFUL TRADITIONAL PRACTISE

1.                   It can lead to death
2.                   Sexual disorder
3.                   Spread of HIV AIDS
4.                   Emotional pains
5.                   Retard development
6.                   Infringement of human rights
7.                   IT CAN LEAD TO DEATH:  Some of the traditional practices come along with pains which may eventually lead to death.
8.       SEXUAL DISORDER:  female genital mutilation may cause serious relationship disorders when the girl or lady is married.
9.           Spread of HIV/AIDS:  If female genital mutilation is carried out with an infected surgical knife such a person automatically becomes an HIV/AIDS patient
10.                   Emotional Pains:  Women who are forced to undergo certain rituals like drinking water used in bathing the dead husband, and sleeping with the dead husband in the same room, suffer from pains emotionally.
11.             Retard Development:  child marriage usually denies a girl the opportunity of developing physically, emotionally, and psychologically.
12.         Infringement of Women’s Rights:  Most of the harmful traditional practices affect women more than men.  These constitute infringements that intrude on their health and reproductive rights.

PREVENTIVE MEASURES

1.                   Public enlightenment
2.                   Legislation
3.                   School curriculum
4.                   Non-governmental organization
5.                   The media