Las mutilaciones genitales en la población senegambiana en Cataluña y África: El debate entre universalismo y relativismo cultural

Female circumcision has in recent years received special attention in different social spheres as one of the most conflictive aspects of interculturalism in plural societies. In a context in which the trend is towards transnational multiculturalism, a framework in which, to a certain extent, cultural peculiarities can coexist with a common public culture (structural equality), there is broad consensus that the practice of genital cutting is one of the limits of diversity in plural democracies. The complexity of the issue requires, nevertheless, in-depth anthropological analysis in order to tackle a highly complex question, the simplification of which has perverse consequences. The controversy regarding the practice of genital cutting among the population from Senegal and The Gambia living in Catalonia, Spain—a new country of immigration that has recently started dealing with the challenges of international migration and the accommodation of cultural diversity—will serve as a key example through which to debate current tensions between cultural relativism and universalism in plural societies.