The Power of Positive Deviance

THREE

Female Circumcision in Egypt

Reconciling Tradition and Change

Cultures have their layers of complexity, but some are more labyrinthine than others. The first weeks in Cairo were packed with official meetings and social gatherings, introducing a network of contacts from across the city’s social strata. The welcome featured the grace and hospitality for which Egyptians are renowned. But it would not be long before complex undercurrents would bubble up through surface impressions. Beneath the layer of authentic courtesy lay deeper challenges and conventions of Egyptian life. As Monique describes, all this proved relevant in applying the positive deviance process to a seemingly intractable problem in Egypt.

FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION (FGM) ...