Born in the Big Rains: A Memoir of Somalia and Survival (Women Writing Africa) [Hardcover]

Fadumo Korn (Author), Tobe Levin (Translator), Sabine Eichhorst (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2006 | Series: Women Writing Africa

This powerful memoir portrays the life-altering transformation of a feisty nomad girl who undergoes genital excision. Crippled with rheumatism as a result of the cutting, Fadumo Korn, who once freely roamed the deserts of her native Somalia, is sent to live with a wealthy uncle, brother to the Somali president. She enters a world of luxury underpinned with political instability and cruelty, but receives an invaluable education. Korn eventually moves to Germany for therapy and recounts her life there—her marriage, the birth of her son, and her involvement in the movement to end genital cutting—with warm and inspiring humor.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Beginning with its evocative opening sentence—"In the distance, a lion roared, deep and long, dismissing the night"—this impassioned, beautifully written memoir is a testament to the possibility of wedding literary prose to sophisticated political arguments. Korn grew up as a spirited girl in an Islamic Somalian nomadic tribe in the late 1960s. At seven she was forced to undergo female circumcision, in which her clitoris and labia minora were removed with crude utensils and her vagina sewn up. After chronic pain, illness and rheumatism set in, Korn went to live with her rich uncle, a government official in Mogadishu, until her circumcision-related ailments became debilitating; she was taken to Germany for medical treatment, and years later her circumcision was undone. Married to a German, Korn became involved in the European campaign against female genital mutilation (FGM). While the bulk of the book is a devastating and swiftly moving account of Korn's tragedy-filled life, it also persuasively argues that health workers must understand the power of traditional customs even as they work to end FGM. Written with German writer Eichhorst, this is a brutally honest, politically sensitive and bold addition to literature on global women's health. (Nov.)
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From Booklist

Korn's remarkable memoir traces her steps from her childhood as part of a nomadic tribe in Somalia, where she was born in 1964, to her position as a spokesperson against FGM--female genital mutilation. She herself was circumcised, and sewn back up, or infibulated, at age seven. Touted as an "ancient tradition," the brutal procedure can lead to infection, chronic ailments, and loss of fertility. In Korn's case, the resulting infection led to severe joint disintegration. Her parents sent her to relatives in Mogadishu while she received treatment; from there she went to a hospital in Rome, then a clinic in Germany, where she endured operations to straighten her fingers and toes. Only after her marriage, and corrective surgery to be "opened," did she experience urination or her periods without pain. Now a German citizen, Korn helps to reeducate young African women about their societal status without this horrific procedure. Deborah Donovan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: The Feminist Press at CUNY; 1st ed edition (September 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558615318
• ISBN-13: 978-1558615311
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,066,121 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #52 in Books > History > Africa > Somalia

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Informative, February 8, 2007

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Avid Reader "Avid Reader" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Born in the Big Rains: A Memoir of Somalia and Survival (Women Writing Africa) (Hardcover)

An informative book that paints a moving picture of what life was like in Somalia and what it was like to grow up within a culture that accepts female genital mutilation as ritual. From her story, you are able to come away understanding the love she has for her life, family, and culture. Yet, Mrs. Fadumo Korn appeals to society to be culturally sensitive to an ancient practice, that can lead to future health problems and potential death, which she is actively trying to dissuade .

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars amazing, August 14, 2009

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J Fo "human rights fan" (tucson, arizona) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Born in the Big Rains: A Memoir of Somalia and Survival (Women Writing Africa) (Paperback)

This book was quick and easy read but still captivating and intriguing. I found this very interesting to read after Infidel - written also by a Somali woman. The two books both speak strongly about FGM yet this book was very little about Islam. I think this book is imperative to read in conjunction with Infidel to equal the negatives and positives discussed about Islam. Another amazing book on this same topic is called Do they hear you when you cry? By Fauziya Kassindja - it truly amazing!!!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Challenging our cultural attitudes, June 13, 2010

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Linda Bulger (United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Born in the Big Rains: A Memoir of Somalia and Survival (Women Writing Africa) (Paperback)

Fadumo Korn was born into a nomadic Somali tribe in 1964, and her childhood was unusually free for a Somalian girl. Though her parents doted on her, they did not spare her the culturally prescribed ordeal of female circumcision when she was seven years old. The circumcision, otherwise known as female genital mutilation (FGM) changed everything about Fadumo's world: first the ordeal itself, performed by a native practitioner with unclean implements, and then the infection that took hold and gradually ruined her health.

Fadumo was sent to stay with wealthy and politically-connected relatives in Mogadishu for medical care. Eventually, in the midst of political upheaval in her country, she was sent to Europe and settled in Germany where she married and eventually found culturally sensitive medical care. After reconstructive surgery she was able to experience bodily functions without pain, and gave birth to a son. She now works with the Foundation for Women's Health, Research and Development (FORWARD), an international NGO committed to " eliminating gender-based violence against African girls and women, particularly female genital mutilation and child and forced marriage" (quote from FORWARD's website). These practices are the cultural norm in certain areas of Africa, Asia and the Middle East, and in some immigrant communities in Europe and North America. According to the World Health Organization, "An estimated 100 to 140 million girls and women worldwide are currently living with the consequences of FGM."

Born in the Big Rains: A Memoir of Somalia and Survival (Women Writing Africa) sets itself and the reader a challenging task. On one hand it inspires anger with a horrifying description of FGM and of the terrible after-effects. Yet on the other hand it asks the reader to explore and try to understand the cultural significance of the practice as a step on the road to its eradication. Ms. Korn achieves both goals very well with this memoir. I respect her openness in telling her intensely personal story; she wears her empowerment well and we can only wish the same for all African women who live under the threat of this painful practice.

Linda Bulger, 2010