While doing research on the Sande, a secret society of women in Africa dating back to at least the 1600s, I came across something interesting – the idea that the practice of clitoridectomy could be a source of female bonding and empowerment.

Clitoridectomy is the surgical removal of the clitoris and sometimes parts of the labia as well; also known as female circumcision and female genital mutilation. Not to be confused with infibulation, which is when the vulva is sewn together, leaving only a small opening to pee from, to ensure a girl remains a virgin before marriage (although clitoridectomies are typically preformed with infibulations).

From Susan Sered’sPriestess, Mother, Sacred Sister: Religions Dominated by Women:

According to [Carol] MacCormack, the gender ideology taught by Sande stresses sex distinction (women and men are clearly different), respect for women’s bodies, dependence on fellow women, preserving women’s secret knowledge and power, and a cultural rather than a purely biological understanding of fertility. Sande training stresses their value as women to society. ‘In this institutional setting women dramatically pass on a strong, positive self-image to other women’ (MacCormack 1977, 98).

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