Article 242-bis(A) – anyone who requests FGM is punishable with imprisonment from one to three years if the mutilation is carried out.
Reasons People Practice FGM in Egypt
Those who agree with the practice believe that removing the clitoris is essential to preventing women from becoming sexually aroused and having sex before marriage. They believe FGM benefits the girl or woman by saving them from impurity or uncleanliness.
The most common forms of female genital mutilation (FGM) or female genital cutting (FGC) still widely practiced throughout Egypt are Type I (commonly referred to as clitoridectomy) and Type II (commonly referred to as excision). These practices are widespread but are even more prevalent in rural than urban areas.
Certain ethnic groups in Asian countries practice FGM, including in communities in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. In the Middle East, the practice occurs in Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen, as well as in Iraq, Iran, Jordan and the State of Palestine.
Further, FGM decreased among married/used to be married women to be 86 percent in 2021, compared to 92 percent. The current percentages in rural and urban areas are 86.6 percent and 76.7 percent, respectively.
Infibulation, which is the most severe form of FGM, is mostly practiced in the north-eastern region of Africa: Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, and Sudan.
FGM is more prevalent in rural Upper Egypt than in urban governorates. According to 2015 data, preva- lence rates were estimated to be around 90% and 75%, respectively. More than 65% of FGM in Egypt is per- formed by trained medical personnel.
Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a procedure where the female genitals are deliberately cut, injured or changed, but there's no medical reason for this to be done. It's also known as female circumcision or cutting, and by other terms, such as Sunna, gudniin, halalays, tahur, megrez and khitan, among others.
FGM in Egypt
According to the Egyptian Family Health Survey (EFHS) 2021, 86 percent of Egyptian married women between the ages of 15 and 49 have undergone FGM, 74 percent of whom by doctors.
FGM in the Arab states region
FGM is widely prevalent in some Arab countries: In Yemen, 19% of women and girls aged 15-49 have been subjected to the practice, while in Egypt and Sudan the rates are as high as 87%, and even 94% in Djibouti and 98% in Somalia.
FGM can cause life-threatening childbirth complications.
Scar tissue may not stretch enough to accommodate a newborn, making delivery even more painful than is usual, and making it more likely that the woman will need a Caesarean section or other emergency interventions.
Herodotus, writing in the 5th century BCE, wrote that the Egyptians “practise circumcision for the sake of cleanliness, considering it better to be cleanly than comely.” Some say circumcision in ancient Egypt was a mark of passage from childhood to adulthood.
Some researchers have traced the practice to Egypt in the fifth-century BC and argue that the geographical distribution of FGM suggests that it originated on the west coast of the Red Sea. Egyptian mummies show women infibulated and this is supported by a Greek papyrus in the British Museum dated 163 BC.
FGM is practised by the Dawoodi Bohra, a sect of Shia Islam with one million members in India. Known as khatna, khafz, and khafd, the procedure is performed on six- or seven-year-old girls and involves the total or partial removal of the clitoral hood.
Somalia had the highest incidence of 98%, followed by Guinea, Djibouti, and Egypt, all of which had an incidence of more than 90%. Eritrea, Mali, Sierra Leone, and Sudan have incidence rates of 80% or higher. FGM has caused both short and long-term complications, as far as the death of young females.
In the United States, 71.2% of males have been circumcised, while that figure is 94% in Egypt. Though circumcision is seen as a common practice in those two countries and beyond, more people are questioning this tradition, according to Ghatis.
In Saudi Arabia circumcision is a religious practice done for every Muslim male. It should be done by trained medical practitioner and circumcision done by non-medical personal should be avoided. Circumcision should be performed in the neonatal period and attention should be given to analgesia.
Most of the non-Saudi women with FGM were Sudanese, Somali, Eritrean, and Egyptian. FGM is prevalent in regions such as Jeddah and Hali, Al Qunfudhah Governorate, Saudi Arabia. FGM is considered illegal in most countries around the world.
Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a human rights violation, a form of violence and discrimination against girls and women. It is most often carried out on girls between infancy and age 15, though adult women are also subjected.
Ritual male circumcision is known to have been practised by South Sea Islanders,Australian Aborigines, Sumatrans, Incas, Aztecs, Mayans and Ancient Egyptians. Today it is still practised by Jews, Muslims and many tribes in East and Southern Africa (see Table 1).
FGM is most often carried out on young girls aged between infancy and 15 years old. It is often referred to as 'cutting', 'female circumcision', 'initiation', 'Sunna' and 'infibulation'.
FGM is often considered a necessary part of raising a girl, and a way to prepare her for adulthood and marriage. This can include controlling her sexuality to promote premarital virginity and marital fidelity.
Non-African countries that practise FGM include Yemen, Afghanistan, Kurdistan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Turkey, Thailand (South) and Pakistani.
For Muslims, male circumcision is performed for religious reasons, mainly to follow the sunnah (practice) of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. Moreover, there are attempts to label it as a contributor to cleanliness / personal hygiene. These are done largely to grant the practice scientific legitimacy and a moral foundation.