Africa - Egypt outlaws all female circumcision

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Egypt outlaws all female circumcision

Printed From: IslamiCity.org
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Topic: Egypt outlaws all female circumcision

Posted By: Angel
Subject: Egypt outlaws all female circumcision
Date Posted: 28 June 2007 at 8:40pm

Egypt outlaws all female circumcision

Thu Jun 28, 10:27 AM ET

Egypt on Thursday finally banned all female circumcision, the widely-practised removal of the clitoris which just days ago cost the life of a 12-year-old girl.

Officially the practice, which affects both Muslim and Christian women in Egypt and goes back to the time of the pharoahs, was banned in 1997 but doctors were allowed to operate "in exceptional cases".

On Thursday, Health Minister Hatem al-Gabali decided to ban every doctor and member of the medical profession, in public or private establishments, from carrying out a clitoridectomy, a ministry press official told AFP.

Any circumcision "will be viewed as a violation of the law and all contraventions will be punished," said the official, adding that it was a "permanent ban".

A survey in 2000 said the practice was carried out on 97 percent of the country's women.

In the latest fatality, 12-year-old Bedur Ahmed Shaker was taken by her mother to a private clinic in Minya, a town on the Nile south of Cairo, for the operation. She died before she could be transferred to hospital.

Her mother accused the woman doctor of negligence, charging that her daughter's death was linked to the anaesthetic and not the removal of the clitoris, for which she had paid 50 pounds (nearly nine dollars). Police have arrested both women.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070628/wl_africa_afp/egyptwomencircumcision - http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070628/wl_africa_afp/egyptwome ncircumcision

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~ Our feet are earthbound, but our hearts and our minds have wings ~

Replies:

Posted By: Angel
Date Posted: 28 June 2007 at 8:42pm

Egypt forbids female circumcision

By Magdi Abdelhadi
BBC Arab Affairs Analyst

Egypt has announced that it is imposing a complete ban on female circumcision, also known as genital mutilation.

The announcement follows a public outcry after a young girl died during the operation.

A ban was introduced nearly 10 years ago but the practice continued to be allowed in exceptional circumstances.

A health ministry spokesman said no member of the medical profession would be allowed to perform the operation in public or private establishments.

Those who broke the law would be punished, the spokesman said.

Psychological violence

The new ban cancels out a provision that allowed the operation to be performed by qualified doctors in exceptional cases only.

But the death of a 12-year-old girl in Upper Egypt a few days ago triggered an angry barrage of appeals from human rights groups to both the government and the medical profession to act swiftly and stamp out the practice.

The doctor who carried out the operation has been arrested.

Egypt's first lady, Susanne Mubarak, has spoken out strongly against female circumcision, saying that it is a flagrant example of continued physical and psychological violence against children which must stop.

The country's top religious authorities also expressed unequivocal support for the ban.

The Grand Mufti and the head of the Coptic Church said female circumcision had no basis either in the Koran or in the Bible.

Recent studies have shown that some 90% of Egyptian women have been circumcised.

The practice is common among Muslim as well as Christian families in Egypt and other African countries, but is rare in the Arab world.

It is believed to be part of an ancient Egyptian rite of passage and is more common in rural areas.

Conservative families believe that circumcision is a way of protecting the girls' chastity.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/6251426.st m

Published: 2007/06/28 19:32:18 GMT

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~ Our feet are earthbound, but our hearts and our minds have wings ~

Posted By: Angel
Date Posted: 28 June 2007 at 8:46pm

I guess this could have gone into the womens section but Egypt is in Africa so i posted it here.

If the moderators want to move it to the womens, you have my permission

On the topic, it is an excellent move to completely ban it. Hopefully this is a start for other regions, although i know some people will try and perform it and it will take awhile for some people's beliefs and minds to change.

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~ Our feet are earthbound, but our hearts and our minds have wings ~

Posted By: Angela
Date Posted: 28 June 2007 at 11:26pm

Sadly,

There is a difference in a government ban and the end of the practice. If there's one thing I've learned over the years is if a group of people decide that X practice is essential to the way of life, they will disobey any government and do it in back alleys.

Its going to take a concerted effort by religious scholars (both Christian and Muslim) and health educators to get out into the rural areas and get active against the practice.

My heart just aches for that poor little girl. There was no need for her death. Its just sick.

Posted By: Hayfa
Date Posted: 03 July 2007 at 8:37pm

It is very sad. At least the governement did acknowledge there is a problem.

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When you do things from your soul, you feel a river moving in you, a joy. Rumi

Posted By: hat2010
Date Posted: 05 July 2007 at 5:21am

"Conservative families believe that circumcision is a way of protecting the
girls' chastity."

Are there any brothers or sisters who would like to validate this claim?
Wasn't the initial Islamic sanction of the circumcision for something quite
different?

A cry for the lost life.
A cheer for a battle won.

Let's hope this candle turns into a fire throughout Africa and the world.

Jam

Posted By: Reflections
Date Posted: 24 July 2007 at 2:51pm

It is important to remind that the circucision of female which is called Pharanoic Circumsision was first intropduced by the Pharaoh when he knew from the Jews that Moses would be born and he would destroy his kingdom [exodus1:16]. Unfortunately many Muslims who can not face the fact that the Prophet Mohammed did not circumcise any of his three daughters, attempt to ignore the fact that the crime doen against poor girls in Egypt, Sudan and many African countries is actually an evil 'custom' introduced by the Pharaoh, not Islam.

Posted By: whitelion553
Date Posted: 29 November 2014 at 7:31am

ohhhhhhhhhhhhh,thanks Allah .we haven't such thing in our country .

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i try to say only facts