ALTERNATIVE RITUALS
Alternative Rites of Passage (ARP) are a strategy used by NGOs in their FGM/C eradication work, largely in East Africa. The organisers of ARP seek to replicate most of the cultural aspects of traditional initiation for girls, apart from the physical cut. These two chapters offer different perspectives on this intervention: one from an NGO perspective (drawing on quantitative research), the other from a scholarly one (using qualitative research).
The authors agree that ARP/CLARP are well-meaning attempts to replace FGM/C with something less ‘harmful’. They also agree on the need for more evaluation and long-term monitoring of girls who have undergone ARP. But they disagree on some fundamentals, such as the cultural components of ARP (and their usefulness), and whether there is hard evidence of ARP’s effectiveness. Chapter 13 (Hilke Conradi et al.), written by Amref Health Africa staff, describes how and why the NGO developed Community-Led Alternative Rites of Passage (CLARP) in Maasai communities in Kajiado County, Kenya. CLARP addresses many of the weaknesses of traditional ARP models. It is ‘co-created’ with communities and places strong emphasis on dialogue between local stakeholders. Particularly innovative aspects include the NGO’s research methods. The authors discuss how they have responded to scholarly criticism of CLARP, and how this has shaped Amref’s thinking and ongoing refinement of the CLARP model.
Chapter 14 (Lotte Hughes) is critical of the claims made for the efficacy of ARP and CLARP, especially in the long term. After unpacking the meaning of culture, and the uses to which it is put, the author suggests that NGOs misuse ‘notions’ of culture in the design of their ARPs, particularly in ceremonies that bear little resemblance to the traditional rituals that ARP purports to mimic. She draws upon Corinne Kratz’s work on initiation ritual among the (Kenyan) Ogiek community to show the ways in which ritual can be truly transformative, and doubts whether ARP is capable of achieving this.