Female Genital Mutilation is an integral part of the Egyptian culture in relation to the female child and it forms part of her validation and preparedness for Marriage.
In the past people celebrated a party to mark the exercise.
According to the WHO fact sheet on Female genital mutilation:
- Female genital mutilation (FGM) includes procedures that intentionally alter or cause injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.
- The procedure has no health benefits for girls and women.
- Procedures can cause severe bleeding and problems urinating, and later cysts, infections, infertility as well as complications in childbirth and increased risk of newborn deaths.
- More than 125 million girls and women alive today have been cut in the 29 countries in Africa and the Middle East where FGM is concentrated.
- FGM is mostly carried out on young girls sometime between infancy and age 15.
- FGM is a violation of the human rights of girls and women.
One out of four cases of FGM globally occurs in Egypt.
That is, a quarter of the 125 million cases all over the world occurred in Egypt.
Currently 92% of the married women between the ages of 15 and 49 in Egypt have undergone FGM, and this is an improvement of some sort from the 97% of year 2000.
The beginning of the summer holidays mark the beginning of the cutting season. Girls between ages 9 and 12 are usually cut during this season to ensure they can stay home to heal during the holidays.
It's a scary exercise and many girls live in constant fear of when it will be their turn.
In the past the exercise was done crudely, and dust may be used to stop bleeding. In recent times, the exercise has been carried out by doctors, with the use of anaesthetic agents that help the girls sleep through the procedure.
The reason for this exercise is to prevent girls from becoming sexually promiscuous.
In Egypt the most common type done is the Partial or full removal of the clitoris, known as type 1.
In 2008, the practise was banned in Egypt, however very few indictments have been made since then. There however, has been a 13% decline in the number of FGMs between ages 15 and 17 between years 2008 and 2014.
Many doctors are still willing to carry out the procedures for families as it is a good source of income for them.
The anti FGM campaign in Egypt has become more fierce, and a doctor was prosecuted in January 2015 for carrying out the procedure.
In mid June, a plan to further reduce FGM by 10 to 15% in Egypt was made public. If it works, it will be the first time in Egypt that the number of uncut girls will be more than the number of cut girls.
This practice is not restricted to Egypt alone as it is widespread in so many communities in Africa and a lot of the cases go unreported.
Kenya, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Mali and Nigeria are a few examples of places where the practice still takes place. It was recently outlawed in Nigeria in May 2015 and processes are being put in place in Sierra Leone to outlaw FGM as soon as possible, in a bid to stop Ebola.
Isn’t it amazing that girls in Britain too are still subject to this practice as many of them are taken back to their home countries under the guise of "summer holiday" to have them cut.
The practice was banned in the UK as far back as 1985 and taking a girl abroad to have her cut was banned in 2003.
Despite all of these, there is yet to be a single prosecution in 30 years.
About 24,000 girls in Britain are said to be at risk, with more than 170,000 women living with the consequences.
Recently, 'Petals' an app was launched by a team at the Coventry University to help girls at risk reach help quickly and quietly.
FGM is recognized internationally as a violation of the human rights of girls and women.
It is a reminder of the deep-rooted inequality between the sexes, and can be said to be an extreme form of discrimination against women.
This cruel practice violates a person's rights to health, security and physical integrity, the right to be free from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and the right to life when the procedure results in death.
It is a pity that minors; (children) are mostly at the receiving end of this cruel practice.
Furthermore, according to the Who fact sheet on FGM; Some long term consequences of the procedure are :
- recurrent bladder and urinary tract infections;
- cysts
- infertility
- an increased risk of childbirth complications and newborn deaths;
- the need for later surgeries. This occurs in cases where the type 3 FGM procedure is carried out (sealing or narrowing of the vaginal opening), which will need to be cut open later to allow for sexual intercourse and childbirth. A times, the woman is put through repeated opening and closing procedures, usually after child birth which further increases the immediate and long-term risks. FGM is a cruel practise with grave, lifelong and life threatening consequences and a violation of the fundamental human rights of the female child. Please speak out against FGM in your locality this season. Try not to look the other way!
- Stop it!
- Report it!
- Outlaw it in your country!
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