Côte d'Ivoire: The practice of excision among the Malinke, including the frequency and age at which the excision is practiced; whether it is customary for a young woman to be excised before marrying; legislation on excision; the possibility of refusing excision and the consequences of such refusal; recourse available (2014-2016)

Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ottawa

1. Malinke Ethnic Group

The website of the National Institute of Statistics (Institut national de la statistique, INS) of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire states that the Malinke are one of the main people who make up the Mande [Mandingo] ethnic group, which is present in the north-western part of the country (Côte d'Ivoire n.d.). The Mande ethnic group is made up of Mande from the north, to which the Malinke belong, and Mande from the south (ibid.). Other sources state that the Malinke come from the north (UN 1 Mar. 2016; AFJCI 26 Feb. 2016) or the north west (associate professor of history 8 Mar. 2016) of the country. According to sources, today, the Malinke are present all across Côte d'Ivoire (ibid.; professor of sociology 10 Mar. 2016; UN 1 Mar. 2016). In correspondence with the Research Directorate, a professor of anthropology from the Northwestern University who studies Muslim minorities involved in the trading tradition in Côte d'Ivoire explained that the Mande from the north speak Mandingo, which includes a number of dialects (professor of anthropology 4 Mar. 2016).

During a telephone interview with the Research Directorate, an anthropologist who is a professor of sociology at the Université du Québec in Montréal and who is interested in social transformations in postcolonial societies in Africa, including Côte d'Ivoire, stated that the Mande group, aside from the Malinke, includes [translation] "for example, the Bambara, the Mandika or Mandiga and the Dioula" (professor of sociology 10 Mar. 2016). According to the Professor of anthropology, the terms Malinke, Mandingo [Manding] and Dioula [Jula, Dyula] [translation] "tend to confuse" (4 Mar. 2016). Similarly, the Professor of sociology stated that the terms Malinké, Mandingo and Dioula refer [translation] "more or less [to] common categories" (10 Mar. 2016).

2. Practice of Excision Among the Malinke of Côte d'Ivoire

2.1 Frequency of Excision

Sources state that excision is a [translation] "common" practice among the Malinke (associate professor of history 8 Mar. 2016; UN 1 Mar. 2016). In correspondence with the Research Directorate, a teacher and researcher at the Department of Criminology at Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny in Abidjan, who has researched excision, including within a community identified as Malinke, stated that this practice, while [translation] "very common," is "becoming much less so, especially in large centres" (Teacher and researcher 1 Mar. 2016). During a telephone interview with the Research Directorate, the Secretary General of the Association of Women Lawyers of Côte d'Ivoire (Association des femmes juristes de Côte d'Ivoire, AFJCI), an organization that aims, among other things, to promote the rights of women, the family and the child (AFJCI n.d.), stated that excision is no [translation] "longer widespread" among the Malinke, although it does exist, "especially in rural areas" (ibid. 26 Feb. 2016).

The 2011-2012 Demographic and Health and Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (Enquête démographique et de santé et à indicateurs multiples, EDS-MICS) [1], conducted jointly by the Ministry of Health and Fight Against Aids and the INS of the Côte d'Ivoire, finds that 38 percent of Ivorians surveyed, ages 15 to 49, have been excised (Côte d'Ivoire June 2013, 329). That survey revealed regional disparities, with a higher frequency among respondents from the north-western regions (80 percent) and from the north (74 percent) of the country (ibid., 330). The US Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2014 reports that, in 2014, [US English version] "[female genital mutilation/excision] was most common among rural populations in the northern and northwestern regions [of Côte d'Ivoire], where more than 75 percent of women were subjected to the practice" (US 25 June 2015, 20). According to the EDS-MICS 2011-2012 survey, about 67 percent of respondents who had been excised belonged to the Mande ethnic group in the north (Côte d'Ivoire June 2013, 329).

The AFJCI Secretary General stated that excision, among the Malinke, is [translation] "handled only by the women" (AFJCI 26 Feb. 2016). In correspondence with the Research Directorate, an associate professor of history at Howard University in Washington, whose work regards the history of Côte d'Ivoire, stated that women have control over the excision ceremony and the [translation] "'economy' of it," which includes, for example, gifts exchanged during the ceremony (associate professor of history 8 Mar. 2016).

2.2 Age when Excision Is Practiced

The EDS-MICS 2011-2012 survey reveals that a [translation]"high proportion" of excision cases, that is, 55 percent, occur before the age of five among the Mande in the north (Côte d'Ivoire June 2013, 331). This survey also reveals that [translation] "almost all" of the respondents belonging to the Mande in the north and who had been excised, that is, about 91 percent, were subjected to it before the age of 15 (ibid., 331-332).

In correspondence with the Research Directorate, a program manager for protection, education and capacity building for the National Organization for the Child, Woman and Family (Organisation nationale pour l'enfant, la femme et la famille ONEF), an Ivorian organization that works to prevent excision (ONEF n.d.), stated that excision is practiced among the Malinke between the ages of 12 and 15 (ibid. 6 Mar. 2016). Similarly, the President of the Women's Centre for Democracy and Human Rights (Centre féminin pour la démocratie et les droits humains en Côte d'Ivoire, CEFCI), an Ivorian NGO founded in 2003 (CEFCI n.d.), stated in correspondence with the Research Directorate that excision affects Malinke girls between the ages of 13 and 15 (ibid. 1 Mar. 2016). In an article published in December 2015 in the European Scientific Journal, three university academics affiliated with the Department of Criminology at the Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny in Abidjan, stated that, [translation] "among the Koyaka Malinke, excision is rarely practiced on young children; it is instead practiced just before marriage or before the first pregnancy" (Koudou et al., 229). These university academics stated that the Koyaka Malinke ethnic group is the ethnicity of the city of Mankono, the location targeted by this study and located in the centre-west region of Côte d'Ivoire (ibid., 227).

The ONEF Program Manager made the following clarification: according to him, although excision is generally carried out at puberty, [translation] "communities [now] tend to excise babies" to counter the awareness campaigns and "repression" (ONEF 6 Mar. 2016). Similarly, the Associate Professor stated that it was aimed at [translation] "increasingly younger victims," to prevent potential "disputes" (8 Mar. 2016). According to the AJCI Secretary General, excision currently affects victims aged 0 to 7, [translation] "especially in rural areas, where police forces and gendarmerie are lacking" (AFJCI 26 Feb. 2016).

2.3 Excision and Marriage

In correspondence with the Research Directorate, a program manager who works at the Abidjan office of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and who is dedicated to the campaign to end fistula, stated that the Malinke custom [translation] "recommends … excision before marriage" (UN 1 Mar. 2016). The Professor of sociology stated that it is [translation] "generally" customary (10 Mar. 2016). The ONEF Program Manager stated that [translation] "among the Malinke, excision is essential to the marital process" (ONEF 6 Mar. 2016). That same source explained that excision provides girls with their status as a woman (ibid.). Similarly, the CEFCI President explained that, once excised, [translation] "the young girl truly feels like a woman …, becomes respected by her family and community and …]then has the right to a spouse" (CEFCI 1 Mar. 2016). According to the teacher and researcher, [translation] "[a]mong some, [excision] is a vital prerequisite and a sign of purity that opens the door to marriage" (Teacher and researcher 1 Mar. 2016). However, he added that "[a]mong other Malinke groups, it is not a requirement of marriage" (ibid.). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

3. Legislation

Sources state that excision is illegal in Côte d'Ivoire, under Act No. 98-757 of 23 December 1998 (Fédération nationale GAMS 11 Mar. 2016; CEFCI 1 Mar. 2016). The UNFPA Program Manager stated that this legislation punishes [translation] "the perpetrators, accomplices and co-perpetrators [of an] excision" (UN 1 Mar. 2016). Act No. 98-757 of 23 December 1998 on the repression of certain forms of violence against women (Loi no 98-757 du 23 décembre 1998 portant répression de certaines formes de violences à l'égard des femmes) states that the following:

[translation]

Art. 2. - Everyone who commits genital mutilation shall be imprisoned for one to five years and receive a fine of 360,000 to 2,000,000 CFA francs [between about C$804 and 4,466].

The sentence is doubled if the perpetrator belongs to the medical or paramedical corps.

The sentence is imprisonment for five to 20 years if the victim has died.

When the perpetrator belongs to the medical or paramedical corps, the jurisdiction of the judgment may prohibit the individual from practicing their profession for a period not exceeding five years.

There is no offence when the mutilation was carried out under the conditions set out in Article 350 of the Penal Code.

Assault is punishable.

…

Art. 4. - Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 279 of the Penal Code, any father or mother, allies and parents of the victim including to the fourth degree, who orders the genital mutilation, or who knows it to be imminent, or anyone who has the capacity to prevent it, and fails to report it to the administrative or judicial authorities, shall be punished by the penalties set out in the first paragraph of Article 2(1).

The penalties set out in the first paragraph of Article 2 also apply to spouses, allies and parents of the perpetrator of the act, including to the fourth degree inclusively.

The statements in the preceding paragraphs do not apply to the minors belonging to the families of the victim or of the perpetrator of the act. (Côte d'Ivoire 1998)

Article 350 of the Ivorian Penal Code, to which Article 2 of Act No. 98-757 of 23 December 1998 refers, states the following:

[translation]

There is no charge when the homicide, injury or assault results

from medical acts, as long as they are:

consistent with scientific data, medical ethics and standard trade practices;

carried out by a person who has the legal authority to practice them;

carried out with the consent of the patient or, if this individual is unable to provide consent, with the consent of their spouse or their guardian, unless it is impossible, with no risk to the patient, to communicate with them;

from acts carried out during a sporting event as long as the perpetrator complied with the rules of the sport practiced. (ibid. 1981, Art. 350)

4. Possibility of Refusing Excision and Consequences of Such Refusal

The CEFCI President stated that [translation] "a young girl may not refuse the excision" (CEFCI 1 Mar. 2016). According to that same source, [translation] "the social weight" of the excision is such that "it is for the good of their daughter that the parents want her to be excised" (ibid.). The AFJCI Secretary General stated [translation] "[t]hat, in general, the women in the villages will accept the excision of their child," considering that "it is a good thing" (AFJCI 26 Feb. 2016). Other sources stated that a young woman may refuse the excision but she typically must run away (ONEF 6 Mar. 2016; UN 1 Mar. 2016; teacher and researcher 1 Mar. 2016). The teacher and researcher stated that the ability to refuse is, however, dependent on the young woman's age: [translation] "it is almost impossible for the youngest" to refuse the excision (ibid.). The ONEF Program Manager explained that, among the Malinke, such a refusal

[translation]

is considered by the parents, grand-parents and community as a betrayal, [so much so that] returning to the family is never easy for the girl. (ONEF 6 Mar. 2016)

The UNFPA Program Manager stated that refusing excision leads to [translation] "social exclusion of the 'rebel' by the community" (UN 1 Mar. 2016). The teacher and researcher cited [translation] "exclusion, banishment, renunciation of the family and abandonment" as consequences to be faced by a Malinke teenager who refuses excision (1 Mar. 2016). In correspondence with the Research Directorate, the General Director of Fédération nationale GAMS [2] stated that, although it is not generalizable,

[translation]

when a woman refuses excision for herself or her child, she risks disgracing them and being shunned by her family, and even her village. … [E]ven for people living in urban areas, particularly if the excision is considered necessary to enable the marriage, the family will continue to pursue (psychological abuse, moral harassment, physical violence) the "uncooperative" person in order to succeed and eventually put her on the street and, in some cases, renounce the mother. (Fédération nationale GAMS 11 Mar. 2016)

According to the CEFCI President, in cases where excision is refused, the families of the young girls will also be stigmatized and lose [translation] "their social status" (CEFCI 1 Mar. 2016). However, the AFJCI Secretary stated that, [translation] "in the north of Côte d'Ivoire, if a woman refuses excision for her child, she will not be rejected" (AFJCI 26 Feb. 2016). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

5. Recourse

Sources state that, in the case of excision, a complaint may be made to the police, gendarmerie or public prosecutor (ONEF 6 Mar. 2016; AFJCI 26 Feb. 2016). The ONEF Program Manager stated that, if the victim is a minor, the complaint may be filed by their parents (ONEF 6 Mar. 2016). According to the AFJCI Secretary, [translation] "the mother or any other parent" of the victim of excision may seek judicial recourse for the matter (AFJCI 26 Feb. 2016).

The ONEF Program Manager noted that it is [translation] "often" the parents themselves who ask for their daughter to be excised (ONEF 6 Mar. 2016). He stated [translation] "that perpetrators are very seldomly identified and pursued," and he described the judicial recourse procedure in the case of excision as "theoretical, … friendly settlements between community members still override legislation" (ibid.). Similarly, the teacher and researcher stated that, since the coming into effect of the 1998 law prohibiting excision, victims of excision have [translation] "[r]arely or never … sought recourse with the authorities" and that cases of refusing excision are managed within the concerned community (Teacher and researcher 1 Mar. 2016). That same source added that [translation] "[t]he young Malinke girl is not accustomed to filing complaints with the police" (ibid.). The AFJCI General Secretary noted that complaints are [translation] "rare," as people prefer to make anonymous reports "out of fear of reprisal" (AFJCI 26 Feb. 2016). She explained that [translation] "[i]f you file a complaint against a relative, you are up against the entire community" (ibid.).

According to the same source, at present, [translation] "impunity in the case of excision is fairly uncommon" (ibid.). Country Reports 2014 notes that the [US English version] "government successfully prosecuted some [female genital mutilation/excision] cases during [2014]" (US 25 June 2015, 20). In a report published in June 2014, the Ministry of Solidarity, Family, Women and Child in Côte d'Ivoire reported a total of seven convictions since the law came into effect prohibiting excision, more specifically in the following cities: Katiola, Danané, Seguela, Odienné, Bouaké and Tabou (Côte d'Ivoire June 2014). According to sources, the first conviction took place in July 2012 (ibid.; VOA with AFP 26 Mar. 2015), in Katiola (ibid.). Country Reports 2014 gives the example of a practionner found guilty and sentenced to a one-year prison term in April 2014 by a court in Seguela (US 25 June 2015, 20). Sources state that in March 2015, in northern Côte d'Ivoire [in Katiola (VOA with AFP 26 Mar. 2015)], a mother who had her four-year-old daughter excised was sentenced to one year in prison (Intellivoire 25 Mar. 2015; VOA avec AFP 26 Mar. 2015). According to those same sources, a family member accompanying the mother was also sentenced to one year in prison and a fine of 360,000 CFA Francs [about C$804] (ibid.; Intellivoire 25 Mar. 2015).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Notes

[1] The survey, conducted from December 2011 to May 2012, concerned a "national sample of 10,413 homes … selected … in order to provide an adequate representation" (Côte d'Ivoire June 2013, 7).

[2] The National Federation Group for the elimination of female genital mutilation, forced marriages and other traditional practices harmful to the health of women and children (Fédération nationale Groupe pour l'abolition des mutilations sexuelles féminines, des mariages forcés et autres pratiques traditionnelles néfastes à la santé des femmes et des enfants, Fédération nationale GAMS) is a French NGO found in 1982 by a group of women, including African women living in France, working to fight violence against women in immigrant populations (Fédération nationale GAMS n.d.).

References

Associate professor of history, Howard University, Washington, DC. 8 Mar. 2016. Correspondence with the Research Directorate.

Association des femmes juristes de Côte d'Ivoire (AFJCI). 26 February 2016. Telephone interview with the Secretary General.

Association des femmes juristes de Côte d'Ivoire (AFJCI). N.d. "Objectifs et missions." [Accessed 14 Mar. 2016]

Centre féminin pour la démocratie et les droits humains en Côte d'Ivoire (CEFCI). 1 Mar. 2016. Correspondence with the Research Directorate by the President.

Centre féminin pour la démocratie et les droits humains en Côte d'Ivoire (CEFCI). N.d. "Présentation du CEFCI." [Accessed 15 Mar. 2016]

Côte d'Ivoire. June 2014. Ministère de la Solidarité, de la Famille, de la Femme et de l'Enfant. Rapport de la Côte d'Ivoire sur la mise en oeuvre du programme d'action de Beijing 20 ans après. [Accessed 3 Mar. 2016]

Côte d'Ivoire. June 2013. Ministère de la Santé et de la Lutte contre le sida and Institut national de la statistique (INS). Enquête démographique et de santé et à indicateurs multiples (EDS-MICS) 2011-2012. [Accessed 3 Mar. 2016]

Côte d'Ivoire. 1998. Loi no 98-757 du 23 décembre 1998 portant répression de certaines formes de violences à l'égard des femmes. Sent to the Research Directorate by the Program Manager, Campaign to End Fistula, United Nations Population Fund, Abidjan office, 3 March 2016.

Côte d'Ivoire. 1981 (amended in 2015). Le Code pénal. [Accessed 3 Mar. 2016]

Côte d'Ivoire. N.d. Institut national de la statistique (INS). "Langues officielles et langues nationales." [Accessed 3 Mar. 2016]

Fédération nationale Groupe pour l'abolition des mutilations sexuelles féminines, des mariages forcés et autres pratiques traditionnelles néfastes à la santé des femmes et des enfants (Fédération nationale GAMS). 11 March 2016. Correspondence from the General Director to the Research Directorate .

Fédération nationale Groupe pour l'abolition des mutilations sexuelles féminines, des mariages forcés et autres pratiques traditionnelles néfastes à la santé des femmes et des enfants (Fédération nationale GAMS). N.d. "Qui sommes-nous?" [Accessed 11 Mar. 2016]

Intellivoire. 25 Mar. 2015. "Côte d'Ivoire : une mère condamnée à un an de prison pour la mutilation génitale de sa fille de 4 ans." [Accessed 29 Feb. 2016]

Koudou, Opadou, Fatoumata Traoré and Ismaila Bakayoko. December 2015. "Sujet - La résistance au changement chez des femmes violentes en Côte d'Ivoire : cas des exciseuses." European Scientific Journal. Vol. 11, No. 35. [Accessed 29 Feb. 2016]

Organisation nationale pour l'enfant, la femme et la famille (ONEF). 6 Mar. 2016. Correspondence from a program manager for protection, education and capacity building to the Research Directorate.

Organisation nationale pour l'enfant, la femme et la famille (ONEF). N.d. "Connaître l'ONEF : domaines d'intervention." [Accessed 15 Mar. 2016]

Professor of anthropology, Northwestern University. 4 March 2016. Correspondence with the Research Directorate.

Professor of sociology, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM). 10 March 2016. Telephone interview.

Teacher and researcher, Department of Criminology, Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Abidjan. 1 March 2016. Correspondence with the Research Directorate.

United Nations (UN). 1 March 2016. United Nations Population Fund (UNPF), Abidjan office. Correspondence from a program manager, Campaign to End Fistula, to the Research Directorate.

United States (US). 25 June 2015. Department of State. "Rapport 2014 sur les droits de l'homme en Côte d'Ivoire." Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2014. [Accessed 26 Feb. 2016]

La Voix de l'Amérique (VOA) with Agence France-Presse (AFP). 26 Mar. 2015. "Excision : une mère condamnée en Côte d'Ivoire." [Accessed 29 Feb. 2016]

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: Côte d'Ivoire - ministère de la Solidarité, de la Famille, de la Femme et de l'Enfant; Fondation Djigui, La Grande Espérance; Ligue ivoirienne des droits de l'homme; United Nations - Abidjan office of UNICEF.

Internet sites, including: 28 Too Many; Afrik.com; AllAfrica; L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde; Amnesty International; Child Rights International Network; Côte d'Ivoire - Commission nationale des droits de l'homme; ecoi.net; Ethno-Net Africa; Excision, parlons-en!; Factiva; Freedom House; Genre, parité et leadership féminin; Human Rights Watch; Intact Network; Inter-African Committee on Traditional Practices; IRIN; Minority Rights Group International; Réseau des observatoires de l'égalité du genre; Rezo-Ivoire.net; Save the Children; UN - UN Development Program, UN Operation in Côte d'Ivoire, UN Women, Refworld; Women in Law and Development in Africa.