Are fears of legalization of female genital mutilation in Egypt real?

Despite a 1996 ban on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in Egypt, the issue continues to be a divisive one, especially amid fears that the ban could be reversed under an Islamist government.

Many Egyptians find it difficult to accept the issue is a pressing one and deny the alarmingly high statistics, like one by the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNIFC) which states that 91 percent of women are circumcised in the country.

Updated in January 2012, the UNIFC global databases are grounded on Demographic Health Surveys, Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys and other national surveys collected from 2002 and 2008.

With the toppling of the Egyptian regime and the Islamists escaping the grip of Hosni Mubarak’s iron fist, talk of reversing the 1996 ban based on religious grounds has resurfaced.

Amid the rising speculations that FGM would be legalized in Egypt, the Freedom and Justice Party was accused in May of sending a large medical convoy into the village of Abu Aziz in the Minya governorate, south of Cairo which offered to perform the operation for as little as 30 Egyptian pounds ($4.90).

When asked about such reports, Muslim scholar and member of the Muslim Brotherhood Sheikh Gamal Qutb, told Al Arabiya: “Why bring up the topic of female genital mutilation at this time? There is absolutely no evidence that the Islamists support it. The fear about it being legalized again in Egypt is a result of unethical media practices where young reporters have nothing better to do than speak about this topic. If it is indeed carried out, it is done so for traditional reasons, not religious. It is irrelevant to the Muslim Brotherhood and has nothing to do with Islam whatsoever.”

However, other religious figures have publically endorsed the practice. Nasser al-Shaker, a member of the dissolved parliament and a member of the Salafi Nour Party, declared on Mehwar Satellite Television station last May that FGM was Sunnah, denoting a practice done during Prophet Mohammed’s, as reported by Egypt Independent.

This view often clashes with liberals, especially feminists, who, along with NGOs, have campaigned against FGM in Egypt.

The Egyptian feminist, writer and physician Nawal el-Saadawi was the first to shed light on the issue across the region. Circumcised at the age of six in the summer of 1937, she grew up to see her patients suffer serious health consequences when she became a practicing physician. Her writings on the subject led to her dismissal as Director of Public Health in the 1960s.

“Everything is possible depending on the ruling party. The government controls everything in the country; they own weapons, money, and media. When any new government comes to power, they definitely implement changes,” she told Al Arabiya.

According to the World Health Organization, FGM is recognized as a violation of human rights of women and children, as it is often carried out on minors, reflecting gender inequality that violates a person’s right to health, security, and physical integrity.

By Yasmin Helal. If you would like to read the full article, click here.

Female genital mutilation in Pakistan, and beyond

August 18, 2011
The Express Tribune Blogs
Aneka Chohan


According to the World Health Organisation, female genital mutilation (FGM) is defined as all “procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.”

The process is carried out for a wide number of reasons, none of which have positive health implications. As a social cause, young girls and their families are pressurized to surrender to the tradition of FGM that has been carried out for generations.

People who practice female genital mutilation are motivated by the belief that by mutilating the female genitalia, a girl will feel no difficulty in resisting “illicit” sexual acts. Moreover, the fear of experiencing pain that comes with the opening of the stitches of the narrowed/covered vaginal opening is said to prevent further “illicit” relations amongst women and men.

However, women who have been through the ordeal of FGM have clarified that the practice has not benefited them in any way. In fact, it is the source of incredibly painful ordeals throughout pregnancy, childbirth and intercourse.

The sad reality, however, is that although FGM is widely common in African countries, most people are unaware that this brutal practice is in Pakistan too.

What happens in Pakistan

In Pakistan, the act of FGM is practiced amongst select areas and communities – one example being the Bohra Muslims. There are roughly about 100,000 Bohra Muslims in the country, mostly in the southern regions of Pakistan, such as Sindh. In recent years, due to a rise in strict sect religious compliance by the Bohra Muslims, the practice of FGM has increased. Unless the Bohra chief, known as Dai, issues a decree to forbid the act, the practice will remain firmly rooted in the people’s culture and will continue to be practiced.

Countless news reports from all over the world have provided sound proof to support the immense damage that FGM can cause.

Take, for instance, the news report about a girl who went through the traumatic ordeal of FGM at the age of six – a fact uncovered at age 12, when doctors were investigating what they thought was a cyst. However, the girl had become infertile due to years of menstrual blood being blocked, prevented from leaving her body due to the stitching of her vaginal opening.

Another report mentioned a story of a woman who went for a check-up. The midwife was examining her and suddenly ran out of the room, retching and crying after she saw the state of the patient’s genitals.

It is not just the young women of Pakistan but also British girls of Pakistani origin who are subjected to this procedure. Young British girls pack their bags with their favourite outfits, books and toys and jump with joy at the thought of six weeks of holiday with their relatives. However, many young girls are unaware that their parents are taking them to Pakistan to carry out the FGM procedure.

What clerics say

Since the State of Pakistan is an Islamic country, let’s take a look at what Islam says about the practice.

To begin with, the Holy Quran does not bear even a single mention of female circumcision. In addition to this, there is no Hadith that mandates this practice. However, some have argued that one Hadith, although not requiring it, appears to accept the practice:

“Circumcision is a commendable act for men (Sunnah) and is an honourable thing for women” (Makromah).

This Hadith is criticised on the grounds that a distinction is made between male circumcision, which is described in a stronger way, whilst a weaker explanation is offered for female circumcision, which is not required religiously.

But ask yourself: how is cutting or partially/completely removing parts of the female genitalia an honourable thing for women? What is it that makes it honourable? Is it the pain or the abnormal sight of a mutilated body?

The glaring fact is that this practice leads to a tremendous amount of pain, infections, a battle with child birth, infertility in women, and in severe cases, even death.

Sheikh Talib, Dean of the Faculty of Shariah of Al Azhar, has said:

“all practices of female circumcision and mutilation are crimes and have no relationship with Islam.”

This statement is supported by the fact that the procedure of FGM pre-dates the life of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and the beginning of Islam.

FGM is not something that “purifies” a woman or preserves their virginity. It is a practice that mutilates a woman’s body and damages her in the most appalling of ways. Parents who hold their daughters’ arms and legs down, forcing them to go through this terrible crime, are not maintaining their family’s honour. They are, in fact, severely reducing the chances of their daughter’s bearing children. They are, thus, eliminating opportunities that may bless them with future generations and eventually, they will have no trace of themselves on earth.Once again, from an Islamic perspective, God creates men and women alike, in the best design possible. Surely, it is wrong to alter the design that God has put together in the human form. Everyone has the right to respect their body and demand the same respect from everyone else. No one, regardless of whether they are parents or so-called health professionals, has the right to destroy a woman’s ability to bear children or damage her body. FGM is, hence, a crime, sitting at the top rung of immorality.

Perhaps, a young girl is screaming in pain right, at this very moment, as you read this article.

However, it is not too late – we can still make a difference.

We can rise up, and raise our voices for those innocent girls whose families have FGM in plan for them. One voice may not be loud enough but when an entire assembly of voices resound together, it makes a difference and causes peoples’ heads to turn. Let us, thus, rise up together, and put a stop to this torture.

Fatal traditions: Female circumcision in the UAE

July 23, 2011
The National
Wafa Al Marzouqi


"I was 8 years old when my mother took me and my sisters to the hospital. I was really terrified because I didn't know what was going on. I entered a white room and was told by the nurse to lie on the bed. A few minutes later, I felt severe pain and then everything ended," Asma Obaid, 21, says about the day her mother took her, together with her five sisters, for "a quick trip".

Female circumcision is a controversial topic in UAE society since people still argue about whether it is recommended Islamically or simply practised because of tribal traditions. A significant number of UAE nationals follow in the footsteps of their parents and grandparents without questioning the practice.

If Islam encourages female circumcision, why do experts consider the practice medically and psychologically harmful to women? Is there any religious text people should refer to? What is the medical point of view? Are there benefits to this practice? Many questions need answers.

Female circumcision originated in Egypt in 100BC, when pharaonic circumcision was established. It is based on the mutilation of the sensitive female genital area, which leaves only a small aperture for the passage of urine and menstruation. This type of female circumcision is still popular in some Arab countries such as Egypt and Sudan. In the Gulf countries, and specifically in the UAE, female circumcision is to some still a tribal tradition and to others a religious tradition. Although it has been banned in Government hospitals, it is still performed secretly in the country. The common type of circumcision in the UAE is the one in which a small portion of the female genitalia is removed.

Opinions on female circumcision vary because of cultural sensitivity and different levels of education. In a Desert Dawn survey of 200 Emiratis of both sexes on the subject, 34 per cent of female respondents said they were circumcised because of customs and tradition. Forty per cent of circumcised female participants were in favour of female circumcision and said they would circumcise their daughters. Eighty-two per cent of female respondents opposed the practice, as did 99 per cent of male participants.

Mariam Humaid, a 21-year-old university student, was 7 when she was taken to the house of her grandmother, who was known for her medical knowledge in the tribe.

"I was feeling every needle prick as I was circumcised without any painkillers," Humaid says. She says that female circumcision is a "must" in her tribe; those who are circumcised will be respected and appreciated while those who are not will be looked down on. "Of course, I will circumcise my daughters and if my husband doesn't like the idea, I will do whatever it takes to persuade him."

Humaid tells the story of her friend, Alia Saeed, 22, who was circumcised against her will when a man proposed to her and made the circumcision a condition of marriage.

"I researched the topic and discovered that if it was done in the correct way, it is all right," Saeed says. So she agreed and married him.

Sara Ali, a 23-year-old university student, was circumcised at the age of 9 with her six sisters at a Government hospital before the ban. One of her sisters was not circumcised after the authorities banned the practice.

"My father didn't like the idea of female circumcision," Ali says, "but the pressure from my grandmother and aunts was greater than his wish." Ali believes female circumcision violates women's rights.

Fatma Essa, a 22-year-old bank employee, is the only circumcised girl in her family, even though she is the youngest. Her mother took her with the mother's friend and daughter to get both daughters circumcised.

"I don't know the reasons behind the circumcision and I don't know whether I am for or against it," she says. "But I'm sure that my mother won't do anything that will cause me harm." She says every mother wants the best for her daughter and so if circumcision were harmful, her mother would not do it.

Mona Ahmed, a 22-year-old student and mother of two boys, says she will circumcise her daughter if she has one. She will do as her mother did to her when she was only two days old.

"In case my husband refused to circumcise our daughter," she says, "I won't object to him because my only objective for circumcising her is to follow the sunnah of the Prophet." She says, however, that if she circumcises her daughter, it will be in the girl's early days and not when she grows up.

On the other hand, Um Reem, a circumcised mother of two girls, did not circumcise her daughters because she believes the practice does not offer any benefits.

"When I know that the damage caused by girls' circumcision is much bigger than its benefits, what's the point of endangering the lives of our daughters?" she asks.

Fatma Al Marzouqi, a 25-year-old in Abu Dhabi, opposes female circumcision, saying it is a violation of women's rights.

"Most people who circumcise their daughters are people who cling to tribal traditions and customs that have nothing to do with religion or medicine," she says.

Agreeing with Al Marzouqi, Maitha Mohammed, a 22-year-old student, encourages the Government to act.

"The authorities must play a better advocacy role," she says. "We are suffering today from the lack of resources and information regarding the circumcision of girls, which prevents individuals from gaining the knowledge about such procedures, especially if it was carried out by unqualified doctors or individuals."

According to the Desert Dawn survey, the vast majority of UAE men agree there is no point to female circumcision, rejecting the idea because of its many disadvantages, especially if it is performed improperly.

Mohammed Ahmed, a 28-year-old bank employee, opposes the practice because, he says, it leads to physical and psychological problems. "Many who circumcise their daughters have misunderstood Islam and most of them perform it due to cultural reasons which do not have anything to do with religion," he says.

Majed Ahmed, a 19-year-old university student, agrees. "The real reasons behind female circumcision are the traditions and customs without referring to the advice of experts," he says. He believes the practice of circumcision is unjust to females.

"Many people are afraid their daughters will misbehave, so they circumcise them," Ahmed says. "Good manners and sticking to real Islamic practices will guide the girls to proper behaviour. Circumcising them won't make them better behaved."

With reference to the origin of female circumcision in Islam, Dr Ahmed Al Haddad, Grand Mufti of the UAE and director of Ifta Department, notes that, historically, Arabs always knew about female circumcision, but only "medicine women" performed the procedure. He quotes the Prophet Mohammed as saying to a woman whom he saw circumcising a girl: "Cut off only the foreskin but don't cut deeply, for this is brighter for the face [of the girl] and more favourable with the husband."

While circumcision is performed on men and women, there is no evidence from the Quran or sunnah requiring female circumcision, says the Grand Mufti. The four Sunni schools of jurisprudence in Islam have slightly different interpretations. The Al Shafi'i school views circumcision as obligatory for both men and women, but on a small scale for women. The Hanbali and Hanafi schools believe female circumcision is desirable, and the Maliki school thinks it is an honour for the girl.

Dr Ahmed Al Qubaisi, former president of the Department of Islamic Studies at the University of Baghdad, and recently at the UAE University, agrees with Al Haddad that circumcision is a personal, not religious, choice. To him, many Muslims do it without any clear evidence from the Quran or sunnah. He cites the significance of the statement released by the United Nations two years ago that prohibits female circumcision and the harm it causes.

"Even if the simplest female circumcision is beneficial to men," Al Qubaisi says, "we should not forget that it may harm the girl physically and psychologically and in Islam we are not allowed to favour one party over the other."

Dr Yusuf Al Qaradawi, an Islamic scholar noted for his study on women's issues in Islam, writing on his website (www.qaradawi.net), rejects the notion that people, including doctors and scholars, support female circumcision to prevent females from committing sins: "Many Muslim countries do not circumcise their women and we do not notice increased levels of females' sinful acts there."

Al Haddad argues that if female circumcision is to be performed, it should be done at birth and not later, which is forbidden in Islam. "It will harm the girl and reveal her private area," he says. Men, however, can be circumcised at any age for hygienic reasons.

Medically speaking, and according to one female doctor who asked not to be identified, male circumcision is a must because it prevents serious infections that could cause diseases such as cancer. She argues, however, that female circumcision is medically unacceptable since there is no benefit to the practice other than reducing the female's sexual desire. Pharaonic circumcision, in fact, can be deadly as it may cause bleeding and infections during intercourse or while giving birth.

The role of the Government in putting an end to this fatal tradition is being questioned and a clarification is needed on the legality of female circumcision in the country. If it is banned in Government hospitals, why is it performed in other health facilities? Many health officials refused to talk about female circumcision, preferring to keep silent. But how effective is that?

A Ceremony Celebrating Change: Abandoning Female Genital Cutting in Guinea

June 24, 2011

Pathfinder International

“From now on, you are one of the great pioneers of ending female genital cutting and soon your example will be followed by other communities,” said Dr. Hawa Toure, a representative of the Minister of State of Social Affairs in Guinea.

On June 5, Dr. Toure delivered the closing speech at a female genital cutting abandonment ceremony in Bissikima, where leaders from 197 Guinean communities gathered in solidarity to declare their rejection of female genital cutting and other cultural practices harmful to the health of mothers and children. Made possible with USAID support, the ceremony was organized by community leaders who wanted to send a public message about the dangers of female genital cutting and the growing movement to end it in Guinea. In total, more than 1,000 people attended the event, including hundreds of community members, former “cutters,” national and local authorities, bilateral and multilateral institutions, and national and international NGOs.

Powerful testimony from community leaders like Mamy Diallo moved the crowd and emphasized the central theme of the ceremony.

 

As a former “cutter” from Sampolia village, Mamy performed genital cutting on girls for nearly 40 years. Accompanied by two other former “cutters,” Mamy pledged her total abandonment of the practice, thanking the community management committees for raising her awareness to the damaging health effects cutting can cause.

For many girls and women, female genital cutting results in severe physical, social, and psychological consequences. Despite growing recognition that the practice is harmful, it remains deeply rooted in Guinean society, with 95 percent of Guinean girls or women having experienced it.

Female genital cutting remains prevalent in many communities, in part, because it is considered a religious obligation. But this is beginning to change.

Sharing his testimony at the ceremony, Imam El Hadj Mamadou Barry explained that female genital cutting is not an Islamic Sunnah, a practice of Prophet Muhammad; and, since cutting causes serious health problems for women, it is appropriate to abandon it. He also added that Islam condemns any act of violence against women.

 

The ceremony ended with a public recitation by all participants of an oath to abandon female genital cutting. Written in both French and Malinké, the oath roughly translates to:

“We solemnly make the decision to permanently abandon female genital cutting—and other harmful traditional practices—to ensure and assert the rights of girls and women to good health and the preservation of their physical integrity and human dignity.”

Ultimately the event inspired and educated, representing a culmination of two years of work by Project ESPOIR, a USAID-funded, Pathfinder-led initiative to reduce and eliminate the practice of female genital cutting in Guinea. Pathfinder joined partners Tostan and Population Services International to build on previously successful female genital cutting reduction programs using Tostan’s community-centered approach to change attitudes about and the practice of female genital cutting.

Naini District Head Circumciser Declares No to FGM

January 31, 2011
Foroyaa Newspaper: The Gambia

The head female circumciser in the Niani District Na Jontang Jawneh has declared to stop practising Female Genital Mutilation. This declaration was made during a series of training workshops organised in Bakadagi Mandinka and Kuntaur Jakaba in the Naini District. The workshops organised by GAMCOTRAP were funded by UNFPA joint programme for the acceleration of the abandonment of Female Genital Mutilation in one generation in Africa. Bakadagi Mandinka hosted 10 other communities in the cluster, while Jakaba hosted fifteen (15) Communities.

GAMCOTRAP was welcomed in a fan fare of Kankurang dance at Bakadajie Mandinka which hosted Circumcisers, Traditional Birth Attendants and Women Leaders from other surrounding communities in the cluster. At Jakaba participants of the reproductive age from 15 communities were reached to raise their consciousness on the effects of Female Genital Mutilation, Gender Based Violence and Rights of Women and Children amongst others.

Speaking on Islam, FGM and the rights of women and children, religious scholar Oustass Abubacarr Kanteh noted that FGM is not an obligation in Islam and parents have responsibility to protect their children from all forms of harmful practices. Oustass Kanteh further noted that Islam promotes knowledge seeking and called on parents to educate their children - girls in particular. He cautioned parents to stop early and forced marriages and take responsibility to educate their daughters as education is the key to success.

The Executive Director of GAMCOTRAP Dr. Isatou Touray expressed appreciation of the leadership role Na Jontang Jawneh, head of the Circumcisers in Niani district took to publicly declare her support to support GAMCOTRAP in the campaign to stop Female Genital Mutilation - FGM and highlighted the importance of community consensus to protect girls from the practice and all other forms of Violence. The training workshops provided opportunity for communities to discuss women’s rights issues, Gender Based Violence and FGM in the context of sexual and reproductive health. Several participants gave testimonies on the issues raised during the training and contributed to the debate to promote and protect women and children’s rights.

Participants from both training programmes came to consensus to stop FGM and pledged to share the knowledge gained during the training. It was noted that gender based violence and sexuality issues were of great concern to women of reproductive age. It was courageous to hear several women share their experiences with others.

Prepared by GAMCOTRAP
January 2011

Female Genital Mutilation Banned by Islamic Leaders in Mauritania

January 27, 2011
Yahoo News
Wendy Rose Gould 

This week, 34 well-regarded Mauritanian religious and national leaders signed a fatwa, or Islamic law, banning female genital mutilation (FGM). The fatwa is considered a huge stride toward women's rights in the Islamic world.

Female genital mutilation, or genital cutting, is a form of female circumcision. It entails removing all or part of the external female genitalia, including the clitoris and labia.

It is often practiced on girls between the time they're born and their early teen years. After the circumcision is complete, many experience severe bleeding, difficulty urinating, childbirth complications and, in some cases, death.

According to the World Health Organization, the procedure has no medical benefits.

Female circumcision is not a religious practice. However, it has become a "law by custom," says Jacqueline Castledine in an article posted on the Mount Holyoke College website.

She states, "The practice has become important to Islam because it is associated with female sexual purity. FGM is intended by its practitioners to both control women's sexual drives and also to cleanse women's genitalia by removing the clitoris, which is seen as masculine, a female penis."

The law was passed on Jan. 15, 2011, by 34 Mauritanian religious and national figures. It prohibits the practice of FGM within the country.

According to Magharebia.com, "The authors cited the work of Islamic legal expert Ibn al-Hajj as support for their assertion that [s]uch practices were not present in the Maghreb countries over the past centuries."

This new law will certainly curb the practice of female genital mutilation in Mauratania.

"It removes the religious mask such practices were hiding behind," says Dr. Sheikh Ould Zein Ould Imam, professor of jurisprudence at the University of Nouakchott in a Magharebia.com article. "We do need, however, a media campaign to highlight the fatwa, explain it and expound upon its religious and social significance."

Many men and women -- both Islamic and not -- declared this a victory for female rights, saying the fatwa was long overdue.

"Where were those imams for the past decades, when [FGM] killed dozens of girls each year? Were the imams and circumcision victims on two different planets? Personally speaking, I find no answer to those questions. All I am trying to say is that we needed that circumcision-prohibiting fatwa a long time ago. I was victimized by that brutal custom when I was seven, and it left an indelible psychological scar," said Miriam, a 30-year-old housewife circumcised as a young girl.

Cleric Says Female Circumcision Recommended by Islam

December 8, 2010
Rudaw

SULAIMANI, Iraqi Kurdistan: The Imam of Hajji Osman Alaf Mosque in Iraqi Kurdistan’s second largest city, Sulaimani, has told his followers that anyone who believes female circumcision is not a recommendation from the prophet Mohammed is “ignorant.” 

During his Friday sermon on December 3rd, Imam Mala Yassin Hakim Piskandi said female circumcision was a “Sunnah," a term used to refer to the practices carried out or recommended by Mohammed, the prophet of Islam. 

He said, the Sunni Shafeyi, a school of jurisprudence which most Kurds follow, took a tougher stance regarding female circumcision, considering it an “obligation," but that the other three Sunni schools of jurisprudence regarded it merely as a Sunnah, meaning it was recommended, but not compulsory.   

The Islamic practice of female circumcision, known among rights groups as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), has a deep history dating back to the prophet Abraham. Prophet Mohammed followed in Abraham’s footsteps by remaining silent about the prevalence of the practice in the city of Medina, where he established the first Islamic system of law, said Piskandi. 

“When men and women have intercourse, their sexual organs should be circumcised and clean,” he quoted Prophet Mohammed as saying.

He added that practicing a Sunnah act is “good,” but that not practicing it is “not sinful.” But in some cultures, including among some Kurds, uncircumcised women are regarded as unclean and are not allowed to cook. 

Piskandi’s remarks come at a time when a recent gathering of Islamic scholars in Egypt has ruled that female circumcision is not necessary, because it endangers women’s health.

Also, Ali Qaradakhi, a Kurd who is secretary general of the International Union for Muslim Scholars (IUMS), recently told a local newspaper that female circumcision is not an obligation in Islam.

“Female circumcision is an old issue that keeps resurfacing,” said Qaradakhi. “Islamic scholars have several opinions on it. To me the most appropriate opinion is that female circumcision is not necessary in Islam.”

Female circumcision has been practiced in Iraqi Kurdistan for years, mostly in rural areas. According to statistics published by Kurdistan’s Ministry of Health last week, 41 percent of Kurdish women had been circumcised. The data points to a decline in the number in recent years. 

Imam Piskandil, who holds a master’s degree in Islamic jurisprudence, said Islam does not condone the killing of women, adding that men “should not be blamed so much for women who burn themselves to death.”

Banning the Cutting Up

December 2, 2010
Al-Ahram Weekly, Egypt
Reem Leila 


Egypt signed an appeal to be presented to the UN to ban female genital mutilation worldwide.


An estimated three million females are cut each year on the African continent (Sub-Saharan Africa, Egypt and Sudan). Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is becoming a global problem. Not only is FGM practised among communities in Africa and the Middle East, but with increased population movements and migration, it is also an issue in immigrant communities throughout the world.

But at the same time, never before has the global community had such a refined understanding of why FGM persists. Factors perpetuating the practice include a woman's status, chastity, health, beauty and family honour. Accordingly, Egypt has joined a campaign for a worldwide ban on FGM, aiming to promote the adoption of a resolution at the United Nations General Assembly banning this widespread and systematic human rights violation before the end of 2010.

On 24 November Egypt joined international human rights activists to appeal to the UN to pass a ban on FGM. Appeal signatories are asking that FGM be condemned and recognised as a violation of the human right to physical integrity. A UN ban would give new strength and impetus to the efforts that are still needed to end the practice worldwide.

Minister of State for Family and Population Mushira Khattab, who signed the appeal on behalf of Egypt, said the move was directed mainly at the 65th session of the General Assembly which will convene later this month. The global launch, according to Khattab, will provide a platform for the exchange of experiences and commitment in fighting FGM. It will also constitute the occasion for a major involvement of the international community to support the partnership strategy plan to end FGM in 2010, as part of the global effort to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

"I'm positive that in 20 years and perhaps earlier not a single newborn girl will be circumcised," Khattab said.

According to Khattab, "our work is to inform and raise awareness among member states, UN agencies and more widely among our fellow human rights activists about FGM and about the pivotal role that the UN General Assembly has in combating this human rights violation by banning it worldwide."

The overall number of countries which signed the appeal is 45 including the US, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Egypt, Iran, Lebanon, Iraq, Uganda, Benin, South Africa, Sudan, Italy, Sierra Leone, Togo and the Netherlands. The number of countries expected to sign is likely to double within the next few days.

The tradition of FGM is deeply entrenched in many national, regional and international societies. A plan to fight FGM implemented by the Ministry of State for Family and Population has gone into action across Egypt's governorates, with special emphasis on southern Egypt.

FGM operations are carried out in 26 African and Arab countries, among them Egypt, Sudan and Yemen, which exported a practice deemed to protect the honour of girls.

Neither Islam nor Christianity allows such a painful practice. Both religions honour females and preserve their human rights. Yet, 80 per cent of the poor and 30 per cent of wealthy Egyptian families subject their girls to FGM. The practice is considered by many people as necessary to tame a female's sexual desires and maintain her honour.

In 2005, Egypt witnessed the declaration of its first document rejecting female genital mutilation prevalent in villages, and which was adopted by the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood's (NCCM) national programme under the auspices of Mrs Suzanne Mubarak.

In 2007 the Health Ministry issued Decree 271 banning all doctors and nurses from carrying out any FGM operations at any ministry hospital or private clinic.

Abdel-Rahman Shahin, official spokesman at the Health Ministry, said the ministerial decree stipulates that whoever commits such a violation will be subject to having his/her private clinic shut down and possibly undergoing a professional investigation at the Egyptian Doctors Syndicate which could result in suspension from practicing medicine for up to five years.

FGM is an extremely traumatic operation which is practised on females between four and 14 years of age for cultural reasons. FGM, which usually results in urine retention, inflammation of the genitals, injury to adjacent tissues, septicemia and infertility, has multiple side-effects. These include shock, haemorrhage and infections which could be potentially fatal.

Khattab hopes the world would join the appeal to take all legal steps against anyone or any country which practises FGM.

"FGM violates human rights due to its serious health risks and life-threatening circumstances," Khattab added.

Slowly Winning Fight Against FGM in Northern Senegal

December 1, 2010
Inter Press Service
Koffigan E. Adigbli


PODOR, Senegal, Nov 29, 2010 (IPS) - The harm done by female genital mutilation is still enormous in Podor, a city in the north of Senegal, say officials at the local hospital. While the practice is declining slightly, some religious leaders in the region still support it.

On Oct. 3, religious leaders from 60 of the 300 villages in the district approved a declaration to abandon genital mutilation and early and forced marriage. But other clerics have spoken out against the declaration, defending both practices as an integral part of local traditions.

Female genital mutilation (FGM) has been forbidden by law in Senegal since 1999, but the practice has continued briskly in Podor, despite campaigns by NGOs discouraging it.

The U.S.-based NGO Tostan (the name means "breakthrough" in Wolof) encourages women and marabouts in Podor to give up excision and forced marriage. According to its regional coordinator, Abdoulaye Kandé, to speak against FGM is not the same as speaking against Islam or trying to introduce social norms contrary to the customs of the region.

"Between now and 2015, the Senegalese government has set itself the objective of making the practice of excision a distant memory for the communities who still subscribe to it. Our organisation has to collaborate with the authorities to effectively end FGM and forced and early marriage. We will continue to raise awareness of the communities on the harm of these practices," he said.

But Amadou Ba, a sociologist at the Gaston Berger University in Saint-Louis, a city not far from Podor, says this practice cannot be eliminated in a day and one must first make the merits of ending it clear to local opinion leaders without frustrating anyone.

"To sensitise the masses or a group of people will have no effect. FGM, early and forced marriage are etched into the lives of the communities of Podor," says Ba.

"How else can one understand that a young girl who has not been cut is excluded from a group of women? She is not considered a woman. Therefore it's preferable that organisations fighting against FGM put in place other communication strategies and approaches to address the practice of excision."

According to certain religious leaders in the region, to fail to practice excision and early marriage is against the precepts of Islam. Thierno Hamath Mbodj, the imam of a mosque in another town in the area, Diattar, says that Islam has never forbidden the practice of excision or early marriage of young girls.

"To cut a girl is fine, and strongly recommended by Islam. These practices have existed for a long time and never had a negative impact," he said.

"No one can forbid us to do what Islam authorises. We will continue to cut our girls and we'll give them away in marriage at the right time."

But Gamaji Saré, another imam from Podor, doesn't share this view. "Some say that it's not mandatory, others the opposite. Religious leaders must meet to agree on abandoning the practice, because everyone knows it is forbidden by the law. Even Islam doesn't authorise it, it's more a part of our tradition."

Hawa Abdoul Bâ, a member of the Podor Community Management Committee, says that women are afraid not to excise their girls. "According to what we know, a woman who is not cut is difficult to satisfy sexually. That's why one must take a daughter to the old lady to cut the clitoris so she can control her sexuality until she's married," she said.

But Aminata Ba Diallo, a former FGM practitioner from Podor, said that parents no longer take their daughters to have them cut. "I was speaking with a friend who is still cutting. She complained that parents no longer bring their daughters. In my neighbourhood, Somna, from January until now, only 12 girls were cut and their parents are being threatened by the authorities. The practice is shrinking."

According to health officials in Podor, the side effects of female genital mutilation that they are seeing are enormous. Aside from the removal of the clitoris and the minor lips of the vagina, midwife Fatou Diaw Sène lists cases of sexual dysfunction, tetanus, fistula and difficult childbirth as frequent experiences amongst mutilated women.

Dr Maodo Malick Diop, the chief doctor of the Podor health district, explains that FGM makes birth difficult because of the narrowing of the vulvo-genital area.

"The minor lips of the female genitals play a large role in childbirth. They are elastic and open to allow the head of the baby to pass through. With excision, they lose this elasticity. Complications linked to excisions frequently force us to resort to caesarean sections," he told IPS.

The risk of repeated caesareans, according to Diop, has often led women to have tubal ligations done to avoid future pregnancy and protect their health.

In Podor, he said, seven of ten women who come to give birth have undergone genital mutilation.

"Excision is a practice to be condemned," he said. 

Egypt Struggles with Female Genital Mutilation

November 19, 2010
Bikyamasr
Joseph Mayton

CAIRO: In June 2007, 12-year-old Badour Shakour died as a result of a circumcision operation. The death sparked a battle within the country over the use of the controversial medical procedure. Her death galvanized women and children’s rights groups to action, where they pushed for more stringent penalties against those who carry out female genital mutilation (FGM).

Shakour’s cause of death was an overdose of anesthetic, but her memory was the cause of an awakening that reached to the upper echelons of government.

In the summer of 2008, Egypt’s Parliament passed a law that ostensibly bans the controversial procedure. Not that it should have needed to legislate against FGM – it was already officially banned in the country during the mid-nineties – but with doctors continuing to perform the procedure on girls as young as five, Parliament felt it was necessary to intercede.

The new law stipulates a fine of 1,000 Egyptian pounds ($185) to 5,000 Egyptian pounds ($900) and a prison term of anywhere between three months and two years if caught performing FGM.

A doctor also could lose their medical license. In the case of Shakour, the doctor who performed the procedure languishes in prison after being convicted of manslaughter.

But, the rising number of deaths and injuries that have resulted from FGM, including a young girl who was left struggling for her life in November after the procedure, many Egyptians are fighting against the ban.

A 2005 report by UNICEF contended that 97 percent of single Egyptian women between 15 and 49 have undergone some form of FGM, although other estimates put the number at 70 percent.

Member of Parliament Mohamed Al Omda of a small opposition party, brought his three daughters to the floor of the People’s Assembly in protest of the ban last year. One of his daughters carried a sign that read: “No to any attempt to forbid what is divinely allowed. No to any attempt to allow what is divinely forbidden.” Two of his three daughters are circumcised.

Many conservative Muslims in the country maintain that the practice is condoned in Islam. The country’s Muslim Brotherhood has come under fire over many of their members’ denouncements of Parliament’s bill. The powerful Islamic group, and many Islamic scholars, argues that the ban is akin to “imposing Western ideals” on Egyptian society, which they maintain is based in Sharia.

“Religion does not prohibit or criminalize female circumcision,” prominent Islamic scholar Mustafa Al Shaka said to the local press shortly after the bill was passed.

The Brotherhood said that they are currently reviewing FGM in terms of its legitimacy within Islam and did not want to comment. Despite this assertion, last summer, their MP’s – who won one-fifth of the People’s Assembly as independents – were the most ardent opponents of the bill.

Progressive Islamic scholar Gamal Al Banna – brother of late Brotherhood founder Hassan Al Banna – says there is simply no precedent in Islam for this kind of practice. He argues that it was imported into society as a means of forcing women into the background of everyday life.

“It didn’t exist in Islamic history and those who argue it is Islamic or part of the Sharia are wrong,” the 87-year-old argued. “Religion does not subscribe to this kind of treatment that can cause death and other horrible results. It is un-Islamic.”

Al Azhar, the Sunni Islamic world’s most notorious religious authority, agrees with the elder Al Banna. In 2007, the Council of Islamic Research issued a statement saying that FGM and cutting are “harmful, have no basis in core Islamic law and should not be practiced.”

But Egyptian society remains stratified into opposing camps over the issue, says the National Council for Motherhood and Childhood Sectretary General Moushira Khattab. She believes that although the ban will remain permanent that it will take time to educate the population over the long term effects of cutting a woman’s clitoris.

“Nobody is going to say no to something that has negative effects caused by the procedure and in time Egyptians will see this,” she begins, “so the punishments that are being handed out against those who conduct this practice is vitally necessary.”

UNICEF estimated that three million girls in Africa undergo FGM annually, including in Egypt. The practice is a violation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted in 1989.

Although the Egyptian government has banned the procedure, it remains common, especially among the rural communities outside the capital Cairo and Alexandria. A 2005 Egypt Demographic and Health Survey, the majority of FGM procedures have been performed by trained medical personnel.

Medical workers involvement in the procedure, human rights groups and doctors in the country, argue is a major reason the procedure continues.

“We have to work slowly and cannot expect everything to change in one law. Egyptians are stubborn and if they believe this is part of their religion, then it is very difficult to convince them otherwise, even if they are trained doctors,” said a female doctor at the country’s Doctor’s Syndicate. She asked not to be named, as the controversy continues inside its doors.

With children in danger, the doctor argues that Egyptians must move forward in order to limit these sorts of practices.

“We are struggling as a country and until everyone is being educated, it is so difficult to achieve progress on anything, let alone FGM.”

Like so many controversial issues facing Egypt today, the seemingly endless battle between secularism and Islam continue to put opposing sides on the defensive. Al Banna believes that issues such as FGM will not be resolved within society until there is an open space for debate on all things, including religion.

“We need to be able to debate religion freely or else we will not be able to have people making their own decisions, instead they will follow their local sheikh as if he were the only source for reason.”

Doctor Referred to Criminal Court for Death of 13-year old FGM Victim

Marwa Al-A'sar / Egypt Daily News

CAIRO: The Public Prosecutor referred a physician to the criminal court in Menufiya governorate for the death of a 13-year-old girl during a circumcision procedure, press reports said Friday.

Investigations indicated the child bled to death after undergoing the procedure, the reports added.

The doctor was taken into custody pending trial.

Minister of State for Family and Population Moushira Khattab had filed a complaint at the Public Prosecutor’s office demanding that legal measures against whoever was involved in the incident be taken immediately.

In June 2008, the Egyptian parliament made amendments to the Child Law banning FGM and imposing a sentence of a maximum of two years and a fine of a maximum of $1,000 as a penalty for performing it. The law also punishes practitioners, including parents, with between three months and two years in jail.

According to the investigations, the girl was buried without a burial license to avoid any suspicion about the cause of death.

“If proven guilty, the doctor may face two charges, carrying out an illegal practice and manslaughter,” lawyer at the Hisham Mubarak Law Center Ahmed Seif El-Islam told Daily News Egypt Friday.

British girls undergo horror of genital mutilation despite tough laws

Female circumcision will be inflicted on up to 2,000 British schoolgirls during the summer holidays – leaving brutal physical and emotional scars. Yet there have been no prosecutions against the practice.

July, 25, 2010
Tracy McVeigh and Tara Sutton-The Observer

Like any 12-year-old, Jamelia was excited at the prospect of a plane journey and a long summer holiday in the sun. An avid reader, she had filled her suitcases with books and was reading Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban when her mother came for her. "She said, 'You know it's going to be today?' I didn't know exactly what it would entail but I knew something was going to be cut. I was made to believe it was genuinely part of our religion."


She went on: "I came to the living room and there were loads of women. I later found out it was to hold me down, they bring lots of women to hold the girl down. I thought I was going to be brave so I didn't really need that. I just lay down and I remember looking at the ceiling and staring at the fan.
"I don't remember screaming, I remember the ridiculous amount of pain, I remember the blood everywhere, one of the maids, I actually saw her pick up the bit of flesh that they cut away 'cause she was mopping up the blood. There was blood everywhere."
Some 500 to 2,000 British schoolgirls will be genitally mutilated over the summer holidays. Some will be taken abroad, others will be "cut" or circumcised and sewn closed here in the UK by women already living here or who are flown in and brought to "cutting parties" for a few girls at a time in a cost-saving exercise.
Then the girls will return to their schools and try to get on with their lives, scarred mentally and physically by female genital mutilation (FGM), a practice that serves as a social and cultural bonding exercise and, among those who are stitched up, to ensure that chastity can be proved to a future husband.
Even girls who suffer less extreme forms of FGM are unlikely to be promiscuous. One study among Egyptian women found 50% of women who had undergone FGM "endured" rather than enjoyed sex.

Cleanliness, neatness of appearance and the increased sexual pleasure for the man are all motivations for the practice. But the desire to conform to tradition is the most powerful motive. The rite of passage, condemned by many Islamic scholars, predates both the Koran and the Bible and possibly even Judaism, appearing in the 2nd century BC.

Although unable to give consent, many girls are compliant when they have the prodecure carried out, believing they will be outcasts if they are not cut. The mothers believe they are doing the best for their daughters. Few have any idea of the lifetime of hurt it can involve or the medical implications.

Jamelia, now 20, who says her whole personality changed afterwards."I felt a lot older. It was odd because nobody says this is a secret, keep your mouth shut but that's the message you get loud and clear." She stopped the sports and swimming she used to love and became "strangely disconnected with her own body". Other girls have died, of shock or blood loss; some have picked up infections from dirty tools. Jamelia's mother paid extra for the woman to use a clean razor. It is thought that in the UK there are one or two doctors who can be bribed by the very rich to to carry out FGM using anaesthetic and sterilised instruments.

Comfort Momoh works at Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital in London, in one of the 16 clinics up and down the country who deal with FGM and its health repercusssions. Women who have had much of their external genitalia sliced off and their vaginas stitched closed, but for a tiny hole, also come to be cut open in order to give birth.

There are four types of female circumcision identified by the World Health Organisation, ranging from partial to total removal of the external female genitalia. Some 140 million women worldwide have been subjected to FGM and an estimated further two million are at risk every year. Most live in 28 African countries while others are in Yemen, Kurdistan, the US, Saudi Arabia, Australia and Canada.

The UK Prohibition of Female Circumcision Act 1985 makes it an offence to carry out FGM or to aid, abet or procure the service of another person. The Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003, makes it against the law for FGM to be performed anywhere in the world on UK permanent residents of any age and carries a maximum sentence of 14 years imprisonment. To date, no prosecutions have been made under UK legislation.
"Obviously in summer we get really anxious. All activists and professionals working around FGM get anxious because this is the time that families take their children back home. This is the time when all the professionals need to be really alert," said Momoh.

"There is no hard evidence in figures about what is happening in the UK because it's a hush-hush thing. It's only now that a few people are beginning to talk about it, which is good because change will only come from within and the numbers coming forward are rising. But there is a lot of family pressure. When I first started in 1997 we had two clinics in the country, now we have 16."
One woman told the Observer how a midwife examining her had raced retching and crying from the room. She had no idea she was "abnormal" before that happened. There is a clear need for women who have suffered FGM to be able to visit health professionals who understand what has happened to them. Momoh said that for those who wanted it, some surgical reversal work could sometimes be done on women with the most severe FGM procedure, Type III. For those with other types, counselling and support is all that can offered.

"Periods are agony – you get a lot of women who are determined to have reversals while they are having their period but then when the pain has stopped they lose their nerve again," said Leyla Hussein, 29, who has had to have years of counselling to cope with her own anger and distress at what was done to her as a child. It has helped her forgive her own mother's complicity in the mutilation she endured, though the older woman could not understand why Hussein would not have her own child, now aged seven, cut. But Hussein has vowed that she will be the last generation of women in her family to suffer.
"It was my husband who said on our honeymoon, 'We are not going to do this thing to any child of ours.' I was quite shocked, I hadn't questioned it. But I now realise a lot of men are not in favour of FGM, not when you tell them the woman is not going to enjoy herself."
Hussein is among a slowly but steadily growing band of women who have reacted against what happened to them with courage and a determination to stamp out FGM. Hussein has run support and discussion groups for affected women and for men, and formerly worked at the African Well Women's Centre in Leyton, east London.
"I can really relate to some of the women who are very angry, but how do you blame your mother, who loves you yet planned this for you? There is a lot of anger and resentment. Many women blame themselves and of course there are flashbacks to deal with. I had blackouts – anytime I had to have a smear test, I would pass out because lying in that position brought it back to me, but the nurse is used to me now and allows a little more time with the appointment."
"The new generation, born and raised here in Britain, they are used to expressing their views and it will be a lot harder to shut them up. Last month was the first ever march against FGM [in Bristol where 15 to 16 mothers protested] and that is a sign of something new."
Asha-Kin Duale is a community partnership adviser in Camden, London. She talks to schools and to families about safeguarding children. "Culture has positive and negative issues for every immigrant community. We value some traditions, and most are largely good.
"FGM is not confined to African countries. It has no basis in Christianity, it has no basis in Islam; none of Muhammad's daughters had it done. For some parents it is enough to let them know that and they will drop it completely. Everyone needs to understand that every child, no matter what the background or creed, is protected by this law in this land."
She said there needed to be an understanding of why FGM took place, although that was not the same as accepting that the practice had a cultural justification.

"FGM has a social function and until this is understood by social services and other bodies they will never stop it. It is a power negotiation mechanism, that women use to ensure respect from men. It prevents rape of daughters and is a social tool to allow women to regain some power in patriarchal societies. With girls living in the UK there is no need to gain the power – it has to be understood that girls can be good girls without FGM."
For Jason Morgan, a detective constable in the Met's FGM unit, Project Azure, the solution lies with those girls themselves: "Empowering youth, giving them the information, is the way forward. They are coming from predominantly caring and loving families, who genuinely believe this is the right thing to do. Many are under a great deal of pressure from the extended families.
"Sometimes it might be as simple as delivering the message of what the legal position is; sometimes we even give them an official letter, a document that they can show to the extended family that states quite firmly what will happen if the procedure goes ahead. The focus has to be on prevention."

Project Azure made 38 interventions in 2008, 59 in 2009 and 25 so far this year. For Morgan those statistics are just as important as getting a conviction. "We know it happens here although we have no official statistics, but we have seen very successful partnerships and we don't want to alienate communities through heavy-handed tactics.

"While a prosecution would send out a very clear message to practising communities, really it is very difficult and you would be relying on medical evidence, and in turn that would all hinge or whether the child consents to an examination."
But Naana Otoo-Oyortey is not so content with the softly-softly approach: "We have anecdotal evidence that it is being done here. So someone is not doing their job: it's an indication that the government has been failing to protect children. The commitment is hollow."
Head of the leading anti-FGM charity Forward UK, Otoo-Oyortey said people value the FGM tradition as something which holds a community together and gives it structure. "It's seen as a party, a cutting party because it's a celebration – people expect it as a way of welcoming a girl. A lot of women will mention to us that there have been no prosecutions here so why do we worry about the law? At the end of the day who will know?

"And we cannot just blame the women as the men are silently supporting it by paying for it. The new government's lack of a position on FGM is very worrying. We don't know what they will do, but we do know that the summer holidays are here again and we will be left to pick up the pieces in a few weeks' time."
And for those who will be "cut" this summer, the effects will be lifelong. Miriam was six when she had her cutting party at her home in Somalia, two years before war arrived to force her family out.
When she was 12, doctors were horrified to find that what they thought was a cyst in her body was actually several years of period blood that had been blocked from leaving her body. Unable to have children, she now lives and works in England and worries about other girls. "I'd seen so many people circumcised, all my neighbours, so I knew one day it was going to happen to me. We knew what was happening," Miriam said.
"The little girls who were born in Europe have no clue. They will be traumatised a lot more. The only thing they know is that they are going away – that's what they say, 'We're going on a holiday'.
"Then her life and her head are going to be messed up. It's amazing how many people are in mental health care because of their culture. Don't get me wrong, I have religion and culture and I love where I'm from and I love what I stand for. But culture should not be about torture.
"Why would anyone want to go and cut up a seven- or eight-year-old child? People need to wake up — you are hurting your child, you are hurting your daughter, you're not going to have a grandchild, so wake up."

Iraqi Kurdistan: FGM Fatwa Positive, but not Definitive

Edict Says Female Genital Mutilation not Prescribed by Islam but Doesn’t Ban It

July 17, 2010 Human Rights Watch

(Beirut) - A religious edict by the Kurdistan Islamic Scholars Union on female genital mutilation (FGM) sends a clear signal that the practice is not prescribed by Islam, Human Rights Watch said today. The edict, however, does not call for an outright ban on this harmful traditional practice.

The High Committee for Issuing Fatwas at the Kurdistan Islamic Scholars Union, the highest Muslim religious authority in Iraqi Kurdistan for religious pronouncements and rulings, issued its fatwa on July 6, 2010, on the continuing prevalence of the practice of FGM in Iraqi Kurdistan. The fatwa notes that the practice is not prescribed in Islam, but predates it. The fatwa does not absolutely prohibit "female circumcision." It says parents may choose to "circumcise" their daughters but that it is better to avoid the practice because of the negative health consequences. FGM has been internationally recognized as a violation of children's and women's rights, including their rights to life, health, and bodily integrity.

"This fatwa on female genital mutilation is an important effort by the Kurdish religious community to dissociate this practice from Islam, but it is not enough," said Nadya Khalife, Middle East women's rights researcher at Human Rights Watch. "FGM is a degrading and damaging practice, and letting parents choose this procedure for their daughters is simply unacceptable."

On June 16, Human Rights Watch issued its report, "They Took Me and Told Me Nothing: Female Genital Mutilation in Iraqi Kurdistan," which describes the experiences of young girls and women who have undergone genital cutting and the terrible toll it has had on their physical and mental health. Human Rights Watch noted that the practice is widespread based on statistical studies from a government study conducted by the former Human Rights Ministry and another study conducted by a local nongovernmental organization. Both studies showed that more than 50 percent of girls and women between the ages of 14 and 19 were mutilated.

The report includes interviews with girls and women who referred to the practice as "sunnah," a non-obligatory act to strengthen one's religion. Human Rights Watch's findings revealed that women are confused about whether the practice is a religious necessity. Some said that their religious leaders encourage the practice, while others said that they discourage it. In press reports on July 12, the spokesperson for the Ministry for Endowments and Religious Affairs, Mariwan Naqshabandy, called on clerics to clarify during sermons and Friday prayers that FGM is not an Islamic practice.
Human Rights Watch called on the Kurdistan Regional Government to support Kurdish clerics in their rejection of female genital mutilation and to develop a long-term plan to eradicate the practice. The plan should include a law to ban the practice, accompanied with an awareness-raising campaign geared toward families, religious leaders, midwives, and health professionals.

"We are pleased that the ministry made this call because their support is critical to ending this practice," Khalife said. "Now it should make sure that the word gets out to every family in the region that FGM is not prescribed by religion."

Shocking Statistics on "female genital mutilation"

Female circumcision a good idea? Ask 73 percent of Kurdistani women.

June 21, 2010

By Tracey Shelton - Global Post

Delan, 11, describes how at the age of six her mother held her down while an "old woman" performed what human rights groups refer to as female genital mutilation. (Tracey Shelton/GlobalPost)

PASHQROTAL, Iraqi Kurdistan — Along with her pink pajamas and playful eyes, Delan has an 11-year-old’s endearing smile.

She leans against an old stone wall and chats with friends as chickens and geese cluck around her feet. Rocky mountains form a towering backdrop. This is Iraqi Kurdistan, where the people are as tough as their environment.

Sitting on the empty floor of her family’s mud brick home in this remote village, Delan’s smile quickly fades. She speaks of the day, when she was 6 years old, that an “old woman” came to visit.

“I was in the room playing with my cousin and they called us to come,” Delan said. “They cut my cousin. I was very afraid. I was crying and crying. My mother is very fat; I knew if I could run she could not catch me, but she held me too strong. I could not get away. There was a lot of blood from that place. I cried and cried. I hated my mother.”

The tradition of female genital mutilation, or FGM, has survived for centuries in this deeply traditional region of northern Iraq. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), FGM is the “partial or total removal of the external female genitalia for non-medical reasons.” Unspoken by society and unquestioned by victims, any mention of the subject is considered taboo.

The women from Delan’s village say the custom is carried out in village homes with the use of a razor blade. The ritual is performed by female relatives or “older women” of the village. Often there is more than one girl, as with Delan and her cousin, and the same blade is used. Delan said no medicine —antiseptic or anesthetic — was given to her. She was sick for two days, but eventually the bleeding stopped.

A report released June 16 by international rights group Human Rights Watch (HRW), has underscored Kurdistan’s legacy of FGM and how caught the region is between its rapid development and an ancient tradition with links to religion and a male-dominated culture.

The HRW report, “They took me and told me nothing,” documents the extent of FGM and calls for action from the Kurdish government. The report found that FGM rates were as high as 73 percent among Kurdish women aged 14 and over.

“The tragedy is that FGM is perpetuated by mothers, aunts and other women who love and want the best for their children,” the report said. The study added that such women see the practice as necessary for their daughters to grow up as “marriageable” and “respectable” members of society.

One mother quoted in the report said: “It is sunnah ... Everyone is doing this. Of course this is a good thing for my daughter. When someone does something, we all have to do it.”

HRW researcher Nadya Khalife said the 31 women interviewed for the report felt it was a religious obligation. Many had no idea of the physical or emotional risks.

The alleged religious aspects of FGM are a controversial issue within the Islamic community. Some religious leaders believe it is a cultural custom that predates Islam.

At the release of the HRW report in Erbil, Mullah Omar Chngiyani, a religious leader and host of a religious television program, said that within Islam, circumcision for boys is obligatory while for girls it is optional.

“There is no Koran verse that says, ‘circumcise your daughters,’” said Chngiyani, adding that six of his seven daughters and two of his wives had not undergone FGM.

Much of the HRW report was based on a two-year study carried out by the Association for Development Cooperation in Iraq (WADI), released in March.

According to WADI, 42 percent of the mothers interviewed said they had made the choice to perform FGM on their daughters themselves. A further 22 percent were advised by their mother-in-law and 12 percent by their own mothers. Only 2 percent said they were advised by their husbands.

Thomas Van der Osten-Sacken, WADI’s head of mission in Iraq since 1991, said victims suffered physical trauma, a range of medical complications. There can also be devastating effects on the relationship between a child and her mother, he said.

“FGM affects almost every aspect of their lives,” he said.

As security in Iraqi Kurdistan continues to stabilize, development has brought a new way of thinking.

For the younger generation, increased social freedoms constantly clash with restrictive cultural tradition. Views and expectations of love and sexuality are rapidly changing. This collision is perhaps felt most strongly by victims of FGM.

According to the WADI report, the rate among the younger generation is significantly lower overall, yet still relatively high. Among those below 20, 57 percent had undergone FGM, while for those in their 30s the figures climbed to 74 percent. Nearly 96 percent of women over 80 had undergone FGM.

For a woman, the sexual effects can be devastating and confusing. In medical terms, the report says the removal of the clitoris “impairs normal female sexual response.” The practice essentially removes the women’s "sexual organ" but leaves her "reproductive organs" intact.

“The result is generally sad and unsatisfactory sex for both marriage partners,” Osten-Sacken said. “When we enter a village we will often spend the first two hours bombarded by questions from husbands.”

As WADI project coordinator Falah Muradkhan pointed out: “The more you talk about the impact, the more people understand what has been taken from them.”

In collaboration with other non-government agencies, WADI prepared a petition to ban FGM that was presented to the government in March 2007. More than half of the 14,000 signatories were men.

Despite the reports and petitions, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has refused to officially acknowledge the prevalence of FGM.

“This report is false,” said Mariwan Naqshbandi, spokesman for Kurdistan's Ministry of Religious Affairs regarding the HRW report. “How can you make a report like this without contacting the Mullahs?”

Naqshbandi said since FGM did not occur in Kurdistan, there was no need for a law or public education on the subject.

“The Mullahs already advise against it,” he said. “This is enough.”

Former Kurdish parliamentarian Pakhshan Zangana introduced a draft law banning FGM in 2007. Parliament refused to discuss the law stating the issue was “not widespread enough” to be addressed. Zangana said she believed the issue was too sensitive to mention.

“Our community has a long way to go to discuss issues related to the sexualities of women,” she said. “People asked us on the streets: does Parliament not have a more serious issue than circumcision to discuss?”

The information provided to the KRG by its medical advisors seems to be equally disturbing. Dr. Atia al-Salihy, a prominent medical advisor to the government, told HRW she did not believe FGM had negative physical effects.

“Circumcision is nothing,” she said in the report, adding that it had no influence on a women’s life nor her relationship with her husband.

The HRW report said it would take a legal ban as well as the cooperation of religious leaders, educators and doctors if change is to occur any time soon.

Until that happens, the tradition of FGM seems certain to impact the lives of young girls like Delan.

“If I have daughters I will do the same for them because it is good,” Delan said. “It makes me a good girl, a good wife and good for society.”