Female Genital Mutilation is a cultural and historical practice engrained in the African Culture. This practice is part of the African Rite of Passage; where a young girl passes on from being a child into being a grown woman. According to Martha Nussbaums’s Capability Approach this practice undermines the woman and violates her rights as a human being, on the other hand Melville Herskovits’ Cultural Relativist theory encourages acceptance and respect of the various cultures and their beliefs; thus making female genital mutilation a cultural tradition that should be respected like any other tradition around the world.