This Page is currently being updated. After a long pause because of lack of funding, we are relaunching the project. For updates on our projects in Iraq and Iran check our website wadi-online.org, for news on FGM in Asia check orchidproject.org.
Home » News by Others (Page 7)
23.7.2014. By Omar Awara. BasNews, Mosul
The Islamic State of Iraq and Sham (ISIS) group is asking all families in Mosul to circumcise their daughters or face severe punishment.
The Spokesman of Mosul Police Ahmed Obaydi told BasNews: “Baghdadi’s decision to have all women circumcised is, as he claims, to prevent immorality and promote Islamic attitudes among Muslims. The decision was made by Baghdadi as a ‘gift’ for people in Mosul.”
National Yemen, by Asma al-Mohattwari, 30.6.2014
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a major problem in several Yemeni provinces as a social tradition, affecting millions of Yemeni girls. Some Yemenis even celebrate the practice, arguing that it is for their happiness and security, while ignoring the negative effects. […]
The Yemeni Women’s Union estimates that almost 20% of Yemeni girls experience FGM, mostly in rural areas. It varies significantly. Nearly 96% of women have undergone FGM in Hodeidah, Hadramout, and al-Mahra, while in Aden it is 8%.
Model Governance, by Riddhima Sharma, 12.7.2014
One might think that this is [FGM] prevalent only in Africa, but little do we know that this is one of India’s best kept secrets. It very much exists in India. It is largely practised by the Islamic Shia-Muslim Dawoodi Bohra community, a million strong sect prevalent in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan.[3] They are also present in Pakistan. […] More than a thousand Bohra women have been campaigning against FGM since the last couple of years. They have made their voices heard in the internet arena. But this is only the beginning, as the religious framework in a country like India is beyond rigid. FGM speaks volumes about our society, our legal system and the attitudes of the people of this country. FGM is more of a relevant and a contemporary issue now more than ever.
Daily News Egypt, Marwa Morgan,10.7.2014
The Egyptian Association for Comprehensive Development (EACD) is ardently opposed to female genital mutilation, a traditional practice of cutting a girl’s genitalia to ensure chastity. But when it sends doctors to speak to low-income Egyptians about the risks of getting their daughters circumcised, the nonprofit dances around the issue.
“We can’t tell people that FGM should be totally avoided,” said Abeer Hamdy, the NGO’s media officer. “It is so embedded in the culture.”
Guardian, Alexandra Topping, 23.6.2014
The Muslim Council of Britain, the country’s largest Muslim organisation, has condemned the practice of female genital mutilation as “un-Islamic” and told its members that FGM risks bringing their religion into disrepute.
The influential MCB has for the first time issued explicit guidance, which criticises the practice and says it is “no longer linked to the teaching of Islam“. It added that one of the “basic principles” of Islam was that believers should not harm themselves or others.
14.06.2014 By StopFGMMideast
A new report was just filed to UNCHR about the prevalence of FGM in various regions of Iran.
Some excerpts, you can download the whole document here
FGM in the Kurdish regions
The Kurdish regions of Iran include Kurdistan, Kermanshah, Ilam and south parts of western Azarbaigan province. The majority of the Kermanshah and Ilam population are Shi’as while most of the Kurds in Kurdistan and western Azerbaijan provinces are Sunnis of Shafi’i branch of Islam. Although FGM is widely practiced between Shafi’is, the practice lacks a blanket pattern. In some rural areas it is more or less done on girls, while in the neighbouring villages no one is even aware of it. For example in Kermanshah province, in the Gheshlagh village of Mansour Aghaie regions FGM is practiced, while in the Tazeh Abad of Seryas village, part of Ravansar town no case had been reported.
The Guardian, by Patrick Kingsley, 21.5.2014.
A doctor is to stand trial in Egypt on charges of female genital mutilation on Thursday, the first case of its kind in a country where FGM is illegal but widely accepted.
Activists warned this week that the landmark case was just one small step towards eradicating the practice, as villagers openly promised to uphold the tradition and a local police chief said it was near-impossible to stamp out.
Raslan Fadl, a doctor in a Nile delta village, is accused of killing 13-year-old schoolgirl Sohair al-Bata’a in a botched FGM operation last June. Sohair’s father, Mohamed al-Bata’a, will also be charged with complicity in her death.
19.5.2014.
Does Female Circumcision happen in Singapore?
Yes. In Singapore’s Muslim community, female circumcision involves nicking the prepuce, the skin covering the clitoris. It is markedly different from the more severe forms of genital mutilation. The procedure is usually done on babies or prepubescent children. Circumcisions in Singapore are done by female doctors at a handful of Muslim clinics. Anesthesia is generally not used.
London Evening Standard, by Anna Davis, 14. 5. 2014.
A spokesman for the Orchid Project, which campaigns against cutting girls, said it is not illegal in the United Arab Emirates but the ministry of health prohibits it in state hospitals and clinics. It is not believed there are any laws prohibiting it in Singapore.
Julia Lalla-Maharajh, chief executive and founder of Orchid Project, said: “When female genital cutting is done by medical practitioners it carries the risk of the practice being seen as more ‘acceptable’, however the outcomes for the girl are still the same — she still is cut, still might have horrendous complications and her rights will still have been violated.
“Unfortunately, the medicalisation of the practice is on the rise and it must be stemmed.”
DNA, India, by Anam Rizvi, 11.5.2014.
The documentary A Pinch of Skin, an attempt to lift silence on this stifled memory, brings together voices of women who suffered the practice. Like millions of other little girls, this one too is being subjected to female genital mutilation (FGM) with a view to suppressing her sexual urges later on in life. The painful process leaves an indelible mark on mind and body and the reasons given are many. […]
“I knew nothing until I got to the place where it was to happen. I was told nothing. My mother then told me that they would scrape off a bit of skin. She said nothing would happen. I was very scared,” says Aarefa Johari, a writer at Scroll.in. A member of the Dawoodi Bohra community, Aarefa has chosen not to follow religious practices. “I’ve heard of a few cases where a small lunch party is organised for the girl where her friends are invited after the event,” she says.[…] (more…)