Education Alone Won't Work...

It is too easy for outsiders to look at a situation, like female mutilation, and say "why don't you just refuse to take part?" Regrettably, the video below touches briefly on why it is not that simple to escape such a customary tradition. For many girls they may be disillusioned about how harmful the operation is, others may know but do not want to face social exile.
Possibly, these individuals who take part in priming young girls into participating in the ritual are seeking confirmation that the tradition is a good thing. Whenever, a woman falls victim to this act she may be feeling a longing for another to join her. Group cohesion seems a vital necessity for the continuance of any harmful practice. As long as women who have gone before manage to coax younger generations into doing it, it will continue. Older siblings and other women want these young girls to believe they are not a real woman and/or desirable until they undergo circumcision. Since those who have had the operation probably were told what beautiful women they were afterwords, and because they likely found a husband they believe it is because they were circumcised.
As discussed in this video, education alone may not eradicate this practice. The example of the young girl, who was able to get an education but still chose to take part, is a clear indication of this. The simple knowledge she gained about how truly harmful it is could not over-come her fear of being shunned by her community. Fortunately, there is hope that as efforts to increase education increase more will become aware of the dangerous effects, and unfounded myths. This will hopefully, create a group onto it's own, that will take a stand AGAINST female circumcision.