In December 2016, I received an e-mail of Syerramia Willoughby, the Editor of the 'Africa at LSE blog' which is based at the London School of Economics and Political Science. She invited me to review the book Making the Mark. Gender, Identity and Genital Cutting by Miroslava Prazak.
The Africa at LSE Blog
The 'Africa at LSE blog' provides expert analysis and debate on African issues and Africa’s place in the world. The blog also showcases research produced by LSE academics. The blog was launched in June 2011 and is part of the Firoz Lalji Centre for Africa. This centre promotes independent academic research and teaching; open and issue-oriented debate; and evidence-based policy making.
The book review
I was very enthusiastic about this opportunity to review a book for the 'Africa at LSE blog'. Over the Christmas Holiday I read this interesting book about both male and female genital cutting among the Kuria people in southwest Kenya. The author, Miroslava Prazak, is a scholar of development and cultural change at Bennington College. She has spent more than twenty years with the Kuria people in Kenya and came to know the Kuria life from the inside. In her book, Prazak shares her experiences in relation to initiation rituals of both men and women, as she has “listened to many voices, collected many stories, and watched, discussed, and participated in rituals of initiation for more than a decade." I was very impressed by the book and I highly recommend this ethnographic study.
Please click on the page below to read the full book review.
