Through the Child Helpline 16000, affiliated to the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood (NCCM), 15 girls from Manfalout in Assiut, some 350km south of Cairo, were rescued from an attempt to circumcise them.
The details of the story were announced by the Egyptian National Committee for Eradication of Female Genital Mutilation (NCEFGM) founded in 2019, and jointly managed by the NCCM and the National Council for Women (NCW).
Saving 15 girls
The Child Helpline received a complaint that informed that a man from the village of Bani Rafie in Manfalout, had arranged for midwife to perform operations of female genital mutilation on 15 girls of his [extended] family, including his own daughters, at his home. The operations were scheduled the following day.
Sahar al-Sonbaty, Secretary-General of the NCCM, said that NCCM immediately got in touch with the public prosecutor in Assiut, and filed a complaint against the man in question. The prosecution started immediate investigations and summoned the defendant and the midwife. The man denied the allegations against him and signed a pledge not to become involved in any FGM operation against the girls, Ms Sonbaty explained. She pointed out that the childhood division of NCCM Manfalout would follow up regularly on the case to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the girls.
SOS 16000
Stipulated by the 2008 Child Law, the Child Helpline is the only national means to protect children; it receives complaints 24/7, and directly deals with them. In case a FGM crime had already been committed, the NCCM takes the necessary legal action against the doctors and all other parties involved. In case of potential FGM cases, the helpline team contacts child protection commissions and civil society partners for them to deal with the matter by meeting the parents of the potential victim, explaining the hazards of the operation, and taking legal pledges from them not to circumcise their daughters. The NCCM follows up upon the cases.
Raising awareness
The NCEFGM was founded to spearhead awareness and advertising campaigns to enlighten Egyptians on the hazards and harms of FGM and how it had nothing to do with promoting chastity. Ever since its foundation it has been working closely with the State which itself is committed towards eliminating FGM in Egypt. The work of NCEFGM is closely supervised by both NCCM and NCW which together draw a plan of action for the work of the committee that includes among its members scores of seasoned experts and officials involved in reducing the incidence of FGM in Egypt. Among them are representatives of the ministries of Interior, Social Solidarity, Health and Housing, Education, Youth and Sports, Culture, Endowments, Justice, and Investment and International Cooperation. Al-Azhar and the Egyptian Churches are also represented in the committee, as are the National Council for Population, the Public Prosecution, the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics, and the National Information Authority. Civil society organisations and the General Union of NGOs are also represented in the committee.