Twelve-year-old Nada from the village of Hawatka in Assiut, some 350km south of Cairo, is the most recent victim of FGM, female genital mutilation or female circumcision, in Egypt. The young girl’s parents admitted to the public prosecutor that they had taken their daughter to the private clinic of a doctor to perform FGM.
Both the doctor and the girl’s father have been arrested.
FGM is illegal in Egypt. A doctor who performs it may be handed a prison sentence of five to seven years, and any person who requests a FGM operation for a girl may spend one to three years in prison.
The National Committee for Eradication of Female Genital Mutilation (NCEFGM) in Egypt, the National Council for Women (NCW), and the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood (NCCM), condemned in the strongest terms the crime that took the girl’s life. The NCCM was informed of the incident through the Child Helpline 16000. The Child Helpline is the only national means to protect children, and was stipulated by the Child Law. 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 other parties involved.
Maya Morsy, President of the NCEFGM and the NCW, joined Azza al-Ashmawi in expressing profound sorrow and horror at the tragic death of young Nada. They demanded the harshest penalty for all who took part in the FGM crime that claimed her life. They also highlighted the State’s ongoing commitment, through the NCRFGM, towards eliminating FGM in Egypt.
Modern Egypt has behind it a history of battling the entrenched practice of FGM; the battle culminating with the foundation of The NCEFGM in May 2019.
[https://en.wataninet.com/features/women/egypt-takes-battle-against-fgm-to-new-level/30592/]
The committee 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.
Watani International
2 February 2020