Fuambai Ahmadu
Fuambai Sia Ahmadu | |
|---|---|
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| Education | London School of Economics |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Anthropology |
| Workplaces | University of Chicago |
Fuambai Sia Ahmadu is a Sierra Leonean-American anthropologist.[1] She has worked for UNICEF and the British Medical Research Council in the Gambia.[2]
Ahmadu obtained her PhD in social anthropology from the London School of Economics and undertook post-doctoral work at the Department of Comparative Human Development, University of Chicago.[2]
Ahmadu is known for her work on female genital mutilation (FGM) and, in particular, for her decision as an adult and member of the Kono ethnic group to undergo it as part of initiation into the female-controlled Bundu secret society.[3][4] Contrary to the position of the World Health Organization, UNICEF and other UN bodies, she has argued that the health risks of most types of FGM are exaggerated, its effect on women's sexuality misunderstood, and that most affected women do not experience it as an oppressive practice.[5][6] Ahmadu's views are shared by some other anthropologists.[7]
In December 2025, she published a study, alongside other researchers such as Brian Earp, detailing their perceptions of harm of anti-FGM campaigns.[8]
Notes
- ↑ Hernlund, Ylva (2003). "Childhood: Coming of Age Rituals", in Suad Joseph, Afsāna Naǧmābādī (eds.). Encyclopedia of Women & Islamic Cultures: Family, Body, Sexuality And Health. Volume 3, Brill, p. 74.
- 1 2 "About Fuambai", fuambaisiaahmadu.com.
- ↑ Ahmadu, Fuambai (2000). "Rites and Wrongs: An Insider/Outsider Reflects on Power and Excision", in Bettina Shell-Duncan and Ylva Hernlund (eds.). Female "circumcision" in Africa: Culture, Controversy, and Change. Lynne Rienner Publishers, pp. 283–312.
- ↑ Ahmadu, Fuambai S.; Shweder, Richard A. (December 2009). "Disputing the myth of the sexual dysfunction of circumcised women: An interview with Fuambai S. Ahmadu by Richard A. Shweder". Anthropology Today. 25 (6): 14–17. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8322.2009.00699.x. S2CID 17286057.
- ↑ Tierney, John (30 November 2007). "A New Debate on Female Circumcision". The New York Times.
- ↑ "Advocate: 'Female genital mutilation' horrors exaggerated | Fox News Video". Fox News. 2017-09-12. Retrieved 2026-04-11.
- ↑ Londoño Sulkin, Carlos D. (December 2009). "Anthropology, liberalism and female genital cutting". Anthropology Today Vol. 25 No. 6, pp. 17-19.
- ↑ Ahmadu, Fuambai Sia Nyoko; Bader, Dina; Boddy, Janice; Camara, Mamasa; Carver, Natasha; Duivenbode, Rosie; Earp, Brian D; Essén, Birgitta; Gruenbaum, Ellen; Hodžić, Saida; Johnsdotter, Sara; Karlsen, Saffron; Koukoui, Sophia; Kraus, Cynthia; La Barbera, MariaCaterina (2025-09-14). "Harms of the current global anti-FGM campaign". Journal of Medical Ethics: jme–2025–110961. doi:10.1136/jme-2025-110961. hdl:10261/423741. ISSN 0306-6800.