CAIRO: The Ministry of Health has requested revoking the license of Mahmoud Habib, the retired doctor responsible for the death of the 13-year-old Karima, but the Doctor's Syndicate says circumcision is not yet illegal. Karima Rahim Massoud is the second victim of female genital mutilation (FGM) surgery, who died after she received an overdose of anesthesia at Kafr Gaafar village in El Gharbeya governorate. In response to Karima's tragic death, the Ministry of Health shut down the doctor's clinic and cancelled its license. The ministry also requested the cancellation of his license from the Doctor's Syndicate. But Hamdy El Sayyed, chairman of the Doctor's Syndicate, told Daily News Egypt that revoking the doctor's license is illegal and inapplicable at this point because circumcision is not yet legally defined as a crime. "The Ministry of Health says it wants to cancel the doctor's license, but the syndicate cannot apply that because there is no official law that forbids circumcision in Egypt. On which basis will we revoke the doctor's license when there is no law yet? El Sayyed told Daily News Egypt. Mushira Khattab, the head of the National Council for Motherhood and Childhood, expressed her disappointment at the Syndicate's response to what she a shameful, barbarian and humiliating act taken against females. She told Daily News Egypt that Article 17 of the penal code punishes such actions, but that the problem lies in the wording of the law. The law does not mention the word circumcision as a crime. It is not clear enough. However, the health ministry s recent decree punishes doctors who undergo such surgeries, so how can the Doctors' Syndicate deny that circumcision is not a crime? said Khattab. Khattab is spearheading a draft law defining circumcision as a legal crime punishable by a prison penalty that ranges from be from three months to two years or a fine of a minimum LE 1000 or maximum LE 2000. "This will apply on anyone who performs the surgery or is in the process of doing so, Khattab said. El Sayyed confirmed that the proposed law forbidding circumcision will be debated in the People's Assembly November 2007 session. But this will not influence the decision on Karima's doctor. "The syndicate will wait for the general prosecutor to transfer the doctor's file after the investigation. We will then investigate the case and refer the issue to a disciplinary committee which will not do no more than reprimand the doctor or suspend his professional license temporarily, said El Sayyed. He reiterated that circumcision is not yet a crime according to the penal code and therefore the doctor will not be charged or sentenced to jail, nor fined. Karima's father told reporters in El Gharbeya that the doctor is known in the village for performing FGM surgery and that he has contacts with officials in national security. "The prosecution just called the doctor for questioning and released him. He has connections with high-ranking officials .We need the interference of Mrs. Suzannne Mubarak in this issue, Karima's father told reporters. The Ministry of Health has announced its plans to launch a campaign that aims at reducing the percentage of female circumcision to 20 percent in the coming two years, with a total budget of LE 8.859 million. The ministry's media office also announced plans for creating a higher committee that would include experts from the Health Ministry, the head of the health committee in the People's Assembly, members of the doctor's syndicate and the National Council for Motherhood and Childhood. The committee will work to raise awareness about the dangers of female circumcision.
