Last week, Egypt's Dar Al-Iftaa declared the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) forbidden, according to Islamic Sharia. Dar Al-Iftaa's head of the Fatwa Department Mohamed Khedr said Al-Azhar scholars asserted that any practice proven by science to damage one's health must be prohibited. At a meeting held in Cairo on the National Day to Fight FGM on 18 May, Khedr said FGM is not a religious duty but rather a matter of medical heritage and social habit inherited since ancient Egypt. According to Khedr, the latest medical research and scientific facts indicate that although circumcising males has benefits, circumcising females is harmful as it causes both physical and psychological impairments. “It is practised in a harmful way that allows us to say it is forbidden in Islam,” Khedr said. Neither Islam nor Christianity allows such a painful practice. Both religions honour females and protect 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. The tradition of FGM is deeply entrenched in many national, regional and international societies. A plan to fight FGM has gone into action across Egypt's governorates, with special emphasis on southern Egypt. More than three million females are circumcised annually on the African continent (Sub-Saharan Africa, Egypt and Sudan). 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 all over the world. 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. In 2005, Egypt witnessed the declaration of its first document rejecting FGM prevalent in villages and which was adopted by the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood. 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. In 2016, parliament approved a bill submitted by the cabinet which amended the law criminalising the practice of FGM. According to the amended law, FGM is a felony and anybody who performs FGM will face a penalty of between five and seven years in jail, instead of the three months to two years which was designated in the 2008 law. The amendment also imposes a stricter penalty of up to 15 years imprisonment if the practice leads to death or a permanent deformity. Those who escort victims to the procedure will face jail sentences ranging from one to three years. Some, however, still believe that the law is ambiguous. Khaled Al-Masri, a lawyer and member of the political bureau of the Salafi Front, stated that from the religious perspective, if a girl is not harmed and her parents consent, then the surgery can be carried out. Al-Masri added a doctor should decide if a girl needs the procedure and whether she would be harmed by it, saying that hundreds of surgeries are carried out every day. He also noted that doctors may be punished if there is a complication in a case. Traditionally, families subjected their daughters to the surgery believing it would curb their sexual desire. Khedr cited recent scientific research which stated that there is no relationship between FGM and chastity. The Cairo meeting was attended by Health Ministry representatives, Al-Azhar, UNICEF and children's rights groups including the Egyptian Coalition for Children's Rights (ECCR). The conference was held under the banner “We are all responsible… No to FGM.” Earlier this month, 13-year-old Soheir Al-Batae died after being circumcised in a private clinic in Daqahleya. After her death, ECCR said the government was turning a blind eye when it comes to the surgery in villages and in Upper Egypt.
