Skip to content

My mother, my grandmother and my great-grandmother all…

“My mother, my grandmother and my great-grandmother all told me it was right, that without it a woman wouldn’t be able to control herself, that she would end up a prostitute,” said Aset, a beautiful twenty-eight-year-old whose own genitals had been mutilated when she was about seven years old.” quote by Geraldine Brooks
Download Open image
““My mother, my grandmother and my great-grandmother all told me it was right, that without it a woman wouldn’t be able to control herself, that she would end up a prostitute,” said Aset, a beautiful twenty-eight-year-old whose own genitals had been mutilated when she was about seven years old.””

Geraldine Brooks

About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

A woman recounts how generations of women were taught that genital mutilation is necessary for self‑control, revealing cultural oppression and trauma.

In simple terms: Women were forced to accept harmful traditions.

Key Takeaway

Challenge harmful traditions.

Themes

gender oppression culture trauma

Mood

anguished determined

Type

testimonial social critique

When to use this quote

  • human rights advocacy
  • education programs
  • community support
  • policy reform

Key Concepts

patriarchal norms bodily autonomy generational trauma

Questions to Reflect On

  • How do we empower women to reject harmful traditions?
  • What role can education play in breaking cycles of abuse?
A Different Perspective

Cultural resistance can be deeply ingrained and hard to change.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet

More by Geraldine Brooks

Explore all 256 Geraldine Brooks quotes

More Parenting quotes

Browse all 55,672 Parenting quotes