In the past week UNICEF has positively acknowledge a number of strides taken by the Egyptian government in the last week to abolish the traditional and horrendous practice of female circumcision or female genital mutilation (FGM). The governments actions where heavily incited after the recent death of a 12 year-old girl. The girl, Badour Shaker, who died at on June 29th, after having the FGM procedure preformed in an illegal medical clinic. Egypt's Health and Population Minister has issued a decree fully criminalizing FGM and closing a previous loophole involving health professionals conducting the practice, UNICEF said July 2 (UN News).
Badour Shaker
This is not the first step the Egyptian government has taken to abolish FGM, the political and legal strides began in 1959 when it was forbidden to practice FGM, and could result in a fine or imprisonment. A number of ministerial decrees followed, which allowed some forms of FGM to be practiced, while also prohibiting doctors from conducting FGM's in government health facilities, and banning all non-medical persons from practicing FGM. However in 1994 following a CNN broadcast of a 9 year old girl being give a procedure by a barber, a law was established allowing FGM to be performed in government health facilities one day a week by trained medical personnel. The 1994 law was overturned in 1995, after various protests. In December 1997, a full government ban on FGM, prohibiting all medical and non-medical persons from performing FGM, unless certified as a medical reasons. Under the 1997 ban, violators could have faced loss of their medical license, and could face criminal charges, or penal manslaughter charge in the case of death.
The loophole of allowing FGM to be preformed if certified for medical reasons, was what prompted the government to update the laws, and truly place a full ban on FGM. Unfortunately by making all forms and cases of FGM illegal, will not completely eradicate the practice. FGM is still heavily practiced in many other African nations, including the surrounding nation of Sudan, which has a 90% prevalence of FGM, according to UNICEF. It is estimated that around 3 million girls undergo FGM every year in Africa alone. A 2005 UNICEF report showed that 97% of girls and woman 15-49, in Egypt had experienced some type of FGM (Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting, A Statistical Exploration).
There is no religious doctrine for Female circumcision, and it is not conducted with any religious bias in Egypt, the practice has continued by both Muslims and Christians. FMG is done various reasons, or under multiple guises, however the most common reason indicated for FGM is to preserve a girls virginity. FGM can be the partial or full removal of the external genitalia. FGM can often be fatal, especially when done in none sanitary condition, and/or by non-medically trained persons, which can often cause excessive bleeding, transmission of disease, or shock. The complications and long term effects of FGM, can include; pain, infertility, difficulties in child birth, trouble with menstruation or urination, problems and extreme pain with intercourse, lack of sexual desire, no sexual stimulation, and mental illness.
The changes in Egyptian law will hopefully bring an end to this barbaric practice, that is physically, sexually and mentally abusive to young girls. Female Genital Mutilation, or Circumcision, mentally and physically scar's girls for their entire lives!
Links:
State Department Report on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in Egypt
Female Genital Mutilation , The Facts
Giving up on FGM: why a village midwife put down her scalpel
World Health Organization (WHO) – Female Genital Mutilation
Razor's Edge: The Controversy of Female Genital Mutilation
CHANGING A HARMFUL SOCIAL CONVENTION: FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION/CUTTING