"Egypt outlaws all female circumcision" Finally!

[Duppers]

Thu Jun 28, 10:27 AM ET

CAIRO (AFP) - 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.

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

[Ken Burch]

1. Looks good. Real question is

Will they go out and enforce this in rural areas, where the tradition is most deeply entrenched?

[ClintonTyree]

2. I never knew this practice existed until....

my daughter was born (23 years ago). The Doctor asked my partner and I if we were planning to have the baby circumcised. We said, "if it's a boy, yes". Then he said, "what if it's a girl"? My partner and I looked at each other, dumbfounded, wondering what the hell he was talking about. Neither of us had ever heard of circumcising a girl before. We asked for an explanation and boy, did we get one! We told him, "no chance, that's barbaric". After a little research I found out about the practice being employed in Arab countries and was floored that they would even consider doing something like that. For a male, there are health issues involved. But for a female? :wtf:

Just another masculine attempt to control women and view them as a possession. :grr: I'm glad they're putting and end to this barbaric custom.

[ET Awful]

4. Just a little bit of info for you: This is not a practice of "Arab countries"

It originated in Africa before Islam existed, and predates Islam by centuries. Most Islamic scholars denounce the practice and agree that is not a religious requirement of Islam, it is a cultural practice in many parts of Africa and some parts of the Middle East and Asia.

To insinuate that it is employed in "Arab countries" simply serves to (1) ignore how widespread the practice is; and (2) perpetuate negative feelings towards "Arab countries" not all of whom practice or condone female genital mutilation.

Do some research on the subject if you have time and broaden your knowledge.

[ClintonTyree]

5. Thanks.....

I wasn't aware of that. That's the way it was described to me by the Pediatrician but I should have researched it myself. Mea culpa.

[Solo_in_MD]

6. Ahhh...not so fast there

My references are not handy, but IIRC there are examples of imams/mullahs endorsing it as a way to maintain a chaste behavior and minimize lust. I'm traveling, and they are at the house.

I have actually heard an imam endorse it here in the US and complain that it was hard to find doctors that would do it here. He took offense when I laughed at him.

[ET Awful]

7. I suggest you re-read what I wrote.

Your post makes it clear that you did not read (or did not comprehend) what I wrote.


Here, educate yourself:

http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?pagename=IslamOnline-English-Ask_Scholar/FatwaE/FatwaE&cid=1119503545826

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Female_genital_cutting

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs241/en/

Now, to quote my original post:

"Most Islamic scholars denounce the practice and agree that is not a religious requirement of Islam, it is a cultural practice in many parts of Africa and some parts of the Middle East and Asia."

Please compare that to the sources I posted, you'll find that I'm right.

[Solo_in_MD]

8. *most* is nebulous...and there has not been a firm and loud public stand taken against it

Islam Online is not taken seriously by anyone who has interacted with muslims and islam, its comparable to CNS and other fringe sources.

If some imams/mullahs/scholars support it as being islamic, how, at least in their area of influence can it not be considered a requirement.

[ET Awful]

9. So what you're saying is you don't want to do any research, you'd rather

engage in knee-jerk anti-Islamic rhetoric, despite the fact that the practice does not take place in most Islamic countries.

Fine. I won't waste any more of my valuable time trying to dispel your anti-Islamic fears with facts and truth.

It must be sad living life rooted in a willful ignorance of the facts.

You've made it quite obvious that your goal isn't to discuss FGM, but to attack Muslims.

[Duppers]

10. deleted by duppers

sorry, but I changed my mind.

[Solo_in_MD]

11. I have researched it, and came to a different conclusion than you did

FGM has been endorsed by islamic leaders in the past and still is in some areas. Moreover, it is not being actively denounced as un islamic.

That you do not like those facts and choose to cite fringe sources to support your position is not my problem. The ignorance is on your part on the history of islam and even what goes on in its name today.

[ET Awful]

12. Then you haven't researched at all

The mere fact that it is NOT practiced in most Islamic nations gives lie to your argument.

Why are you not attacking African tribal leaders for not publicly denouncing the practice? After all, that's where it originated and where it is still practiced most often.

You are simply, as I said, proving that your goal is not to discuss or denounce FGM, but to attack Islam.

Well done, your prejudice shines through glaringly.

Oh, and to show once again that you have NOT researched the matter:

"2006 international conference:

TARGET, a German human rights group, sponsored a conference on FGM in Cairo, Egypt. Muslim scholars from many nations attended. At the conclusion of the conference on 2006-NOV-24, their final statement declared FGM to be contrary to Islam, an attack on women, and a practice that should be criminalized:

"The conference appeals to all Muslims to stop practicing this habit, according to Islam's teachings which prohibit inflicting harm on any human being. ... The conference reminds all teaching and media institutions of their role to explain to the people the harmful effects of this habit in order to eliminate it. ... The conference calls on judicial institutions to issue laws that prohibit and criminalize this habit ... which appeared in several societies and was adopted by some Muslims although it is not sanctioned by the Qur'an or the Sunna."

According to The Age online news source:

"Egypt's two top Islamic clerics, Mohammed Sayed Tantawi, the Grand Sheik of Al-Azhar, the foremost theological institute in the Sunni Muslim world, and Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa, attended the conference, which drew scholars from as far afield as Russia. Tantawi's and Gomaa's edicts are considered binding. 9

http://www.religioustolerance.org/fem_cirm.htm

You need to quit your prejudiced attacks simply prove your agenda, which has NOTHING to do with FGM and EVERYTHING to do with attacking Islam. Obviously your statements that Islamic leaders haven't denied the practice is WRONG, as is the rest of your argument.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

14. its not endorsed by the koran and is not practised in muslim countries

where the practise did not already exist before islam.

[Warpy]

13. The equivalent to male circumcision in girls is hymenotomy

The equivalent of FGM in males would be removal of the penis. That's how drastic the surgery is and how dismissive the name "female circumcision" is.

It's mutilation. There are no health benefits and a lot of health problems.

It's sad, but the death that will finally get it pushed completely underground was one done under the best of circumstances, by a physician in a controlled setting. One has to wonder how many little girls in villages have died from being hacked apart by village women continuing the vile practice "to make them more attractive as marriage partners."

I sincerely hope Egypt can manage to educate its tribal people on the true horror of this practice. Perhaps mandating the equivalent operation be done on boys would stop it.

[shenmue]

3. Thank goodness.

A step out of the Dark Ages.