MovieChat Forums > The Sins of Rachel Cade (1961) Discussion > Brave film - first time I ever heard of ...

Brave film - first time I ever heard of genital mutilation

posted 11 years ago by allworkpeace
5 replies | jump to latest

I saw this movie in first-run in the theater back in the early '60s, and I've since had fleeting memories spring to mind of particular scenes. Strangely, the one that had the most impact was a small quick exchange between Angie Dickinson and Roger Moore. The missionary nurse convinces the doctor, who's been trying to distance himself from his medical career for a while, to help her by examining and treating the native people she's been helping, mostly on her own. She sends him in to her makeshift clinic to examine one woman, and he soon comes out with a shocked expression, telling her he can't believe what he saw. He reports, in the reserved language of the time, that the woman has been badly mutilated, if I remember the terminology. The nurse explains that it's a common practice to do that to young girls so they won't be distracted by the physical aspect of marriage and will concentrate on the 'pleasures' of taking care of the home and raising children.

This was the first time I'd ever heard any mention of genital mutilation, and as a young woman in my late teens, it barely registered in my consciousness. But somehow I never forgot this scene. When journalists began to report on such cases a couple of decades or more later, my mind was ready to comprehend and learn more about this criminal practice perpetrated upon millions of young girls and women around the world, especially in Africa and the Middle East!

In peace,
Debbie Jordan
Author: THE WORLD I IMAGINE; LION'S PRIDE; Peace Blogger

[–] scarletto_hare 10 years ago

If you're interested I know they made mention of the practice in Mogombo (1953). Mogombo is also a great movie.

The only Abnormality is the incapacity to love

[–] allworkpeace 10 years ago

Thanks for the info on "Mogambo," scarletto_hare! I'm putting it on my must-see-again list for when we can finally spring for Hulu and Netflix. I remember seeing the flick in a theater when it was new, but I was only 9 or 10 at the time, and the point flew over my head. Also, the first time I saw "Rachel Cade" I was still youngish and didn't quite get it. When I saw it on TV in the '70s, the point finally stuck, and I paid more attention when I heard news reports in the late '80s/early '90s.

In the late '90s, I met the parents of a D.C. attorney who was defending a young woman who'd fled her native Africa to save herself from the procedure as a ritual preparation for marriage to a much older man who already had several wives. It was the first time immigration authorities finally granted asylum because of the threat of genital mutilation. The attorney, Layli Miller Bashir, wrote a book about Fauziya Kasindja's experience and legal case: "Do They Hear You When You Cry." Besides female mutilation, Bashir and Kasindja share a great deal about the ordeal immigrants suffer in prison as they wait to state their cases before the law. Shocking!

In peace,
Debbie Jordan
Author: THE WORLD I IMAGINE; LION'S PRIDE; Peace Blogger

[–] mdonln 9 years ago

I had heard of this before and was not surprised it was an issue in a movie based in Africa. What's amazed me when I first learned of genital mutilation is how accepted it has become. Most families want this for their daughters because without it they won't be able to marry. Most men won't marry a girl who has not had it done.

However it got started, one would hope once word of it spread people would be outraged and put a stop to it. Instead it became culturally embraced and spread as a ritual ceremony that marks a girl's initiation into womanhood.

Beyond the craziness of the mutilation itself, things like this have to make us look at ourselves. Why are some, I dare say, most, humans so willing to follow and accept things that make absolutely no sense? We all have brains but it seems so few of us are interested in using them. Many would prefer to let others do their thinking for them.

I understand at one point sticking with the crowd, not making waves, was a survival instinct but today it's not; not really. Why do we still feel the need to do it? I see it happen in many ways particularly in today's society. Personally, I think it will lead to the end of all of us. That trait of ours may be more dangerous than the deadliest weapons man could ever manufacture.

Woman, man! That's the way it should be Tarzan. [Tarzan and his mate]

[–] allworkpeace 9 years ago

I understand that genital mutilation, along with most other customs designed to keep women enslaved in areas scattered throughout Africa and the Middle East were practiced long before Islam and even Christianity in the more isolated cultures. When the religions began to spread from their places of origin, people inured to these beliefs simply brought them along into their new religions. That's why not all Muslims practice genital mutilation, though it is most prevalent within those cultures. Sadly.

In peace,
Debbie Jordan
Author: THE WORLD I IMAGINE; LION'S PRIDE; Peace Blogger

[–] grumpy736-1 8 years ago

I am 80 and only recently discovered circumcision is also Islamic as well as Hebrew. Anyway I enjoyed this "woman's picture" for the writing and Hollywood Congo scenes with familiar handsome Africans. I admire 'strong' women, so the ending was 'right' and the entire production was first class.

I miss Big Band music and talented singers. Leonard Cohen is my idol. Civility, harmony, unity!