Is it cultural prejudice to think that female genital cutting (FGC) is wrong?

Order Instructions

In this lesson, we have looked at the claim that ethics is nothing more than a matter of cultural opinion, as well as some important objections to that view. Consider now a specific example: female genital cutting (FGC), a procedure which 3 million girls undergo year.

“In FGC, all or part of the female genitals are removed. The procedure, used mostly in Africa and the Middle East, is usually performed on girls between the ages of four and eight, but sometimes on young women. A report in the Yale Journal of Public Health states that in Sudan 89 percent of girls receive FGC and that the cutting tools ‘include knives, scissors, razors, and broken glass…’ The practice occurs for various reasons, including religious and sociological, and is defended by some who say that it prepares girls for their role in society and marriage and discourages illicit sex. Public health officials regards FGC as a serious health problem. It can cause reproductive tract infections, pain during intercourse, painful menstruation, complications during childbirth, greater risk of HIV infection, bleeding, and even death.”

Is it cultural prejudice to think that FGC, as practiced in societies other than our own, is wrong? Can we ever be justified in thinking that the practice of another culture is wrong?