Death of teenage girl casts doubt on Egypt’s efforts to end female genital mutilation: activists
By FoxNews, June 02, 2016.
A
man shows the logo of a T-shirt that reads “Stop the Cut” referring
to Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) during a social event advocating against
harmful practices such as FGM at the Imbirikani Girls High School in
Imbirikani, Kenya, April 21, 2016. REUTERS/Siegfried Modola – RTX2B0S7
man shows the logo of a T-shirt that reads “Stop the Cut” referring
to Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) during a social event advocating against
harmful practices such as FGM at the Imbirikani Girls High School in
Imbirikani, Kenya, April 21, 2016. REUTERS/Siegfried Modola – RTX2B0S7
The death of a teenage girl during an operation to
illegally perform female genital mutilation (FGM) on her in Egypt raises
questions about the north African nation’s efforts to end the practice,
anti-FGM campaigners said on Tuesday.
illegally perform female genital mutilation (FGM) on her in Egypt raises
questions about the north African nation’s efforts to end the practice,
anti-FGM campaigners said on Tuesday.
Mayar Mohamed Mousa, 17, died of heavy bleeding in a
hospital in Suez province on Sunday while under anesthesia, according to the
Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), Cairo-based rights group.
hospital in Suez province on Sunday while under anesthesia, according to the
Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), Cairo-based rights group.
The private El Canal Hospital, where Mousa’s twin
sister also underwent the procedure but survived, was yesterday shut down and
Egyptian prosecutors are investigating the death, said Sedkhi Sidhom, an
official from Egypt’s health ministry.
sister also underwent the procedure but survived, was yesterday shut down and
Egyptian prosecutors are investigating the death, said Sedkhi Sidhom, an
official from Egypt’s health ministry.
“Not all cases of female circumcision are
reported across Egypt. There are cases of circumcision where the women die and
are then buried without a word being mentioned,” Sidhom said.
reported across Egypt. There are cases of circumcision where the women die and
are then buried without a word being mentioned,” Sidhom said.
More than nine in 10 women and girls aged between 15
and 49 in Egypt have undergone FGM, and around 80 percent of these procedures
are carried out by medical professionals, despite the practice being banned in
2008, according to U.N. estimates.
and 49 in Egypt have undergone FGM, and around 80 percent of these procedures
are carried out by medical professionals, despite the practice being banned in
2008, according to U.N. estimates.
The teenager’s death comes more than a year after
doctor Raslan Fadl was convicted of manslaughter in Egypt’s first FGM trial
after a 13-year-old girl died in a botched procedure.
doctor Raslan Fadl was convicted of manslaughter in Egypt’s first FGM trial
after a 13-year-old girl died in a botched procedure.
While Fadl was sentenced to more than two years in
prison, he has not yet been imprisoned, said Suad Abu-Dayyeh, Middle East and
North Africa consultant at rights group Equality Now.
prison, he has not yet been imprisoned, said Suad Abu-Dayyeh, Middle East and
North Africa consultant at rights group Equality Now.
“It is incredible that the Egyptian police are
not taking a tough line on ending FGM in a country where over 27 million have
been affected,” she said in a statement. “The death of the
17-year-old should be yet another shocking wake up call for Egypt.”
not taking a tough line on ending FGM in a country where over 27 million have
been affected,” she said in a statement. “The death of the
17-year-old should be yet another shocking wake up call for Egypt.”
ENFORCING THE LAW
FGM affects an estimated 140 million girls and women
across a swathe of Africa and parts of the Middle East and Asia, and is seen as
a gateway to marriage and a way of preserving a girl’s purity. It causes
numerous health problems that can be fatal.
across a swathe of Africa and parts of the Middle East and Asia, and is seen as
a gateway to marriage and a way of preserving a girl’s purity. It causes
numerous health problems that can be fatal.
The practice is punishable in Egypt by up to two years
in prison under a 2008 law, which was enacted after an 11-year-old girl died
following an FGM procedure in Minya province.
in prison under a 2008 law, which was enacted after an 11-year-old girl died
following an FGM procedure in Minya province.
Yet rights groups say the law has not been enforced
and that Egyptian society is permissive of FGM, which is widely practised among
Muslims as well as Christians in the mostly Muslim nation.
and that Egyptian society is permissive of FGM, which is widely practised among
Muslims as well as Christians in the mostly Muslim nation.
“It’s a catastrophe that these cases are still
happening. The doctors are actually not performing operations, but
crimes,” said Dalia Abd El-Hameed, gender and women’s rights officer at
the EIPR.
happening. The doctors are actually not performing operations, but
crimes,” said Dalia Abd El-Hameed, gender and women’s rights officer at
the EIPR.
“Criminalization alone is not enough,” she
said. “The state must focus on changing individuals’ beliefs … that
cannot be done using only medical and religious discourse,” she told the
Thomson Reuters Foundation by email from Cairo.
said. “The state must focus on changing individuals’ beliefs … that
cannot be done using only medical and religious discourse,” she told the
Thomson Reuters Foundation by email from Cairo.
Magdy Khaled, head of the United Nations Population
Fund (UNFPA), said she was deeply saddened by Mousa’s death in light of the
progress Egypt had made in combating FGM in recent years.
Fund (UNFPA), said she was deeply saddened by Mousa’s death in light of the
progress Egypt had made in combating FGM in recent years.
Around
six in 10 girls aged 15 to 17 had been cut in Egypt in 2014, down from three
quarters of girls in 2008, the UNFPA said.
six in 10 girls aged 15 to 17 had been cut in Egypt in 2014, down from three
quarters of girls in 2008, the UNFPA said.
