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13 Dec 2011 - NPWJ News Digest on FGM & women's rights
Articles
Female circumcision could lead to medical complications: Docs
Indian Express, Ananya Banerjee, 11 Dec 2011
Close on the heels of the online petition to the Bohra Muslim high priest to stop the ritual of female circumcision in the community, doctors have voiced their concerns about the procedure and its consequences. They say the ritual is often performed clandestinely by inexperienced people, leading to serious medical complications.
People with HIV/AIDS overcome social stigma in Sudan. FGM behind the transmission of the virus
Coastweek, 09 Dec 2011
[...]
In a conservative community of Muslim majority, it seems difficult to review issues relating to AIDS, particularly its means of prevention.
The phenomenon of Female Genital Mutilation or what is known as women circumcision, is spreading in Sudan and one of the major factors behind transmission of the AIDS virus (HIV). In Sudan , around 70 percent of females are circumcised.
Zeinab Abdi Ahmed, child protection, Unicef, remarks the passing of the Prohibitin of FGM Act in Kenya
Financial Times, Zeinab Abdi Ahmed, 09 Dec 2011
I work as a child protection specialist for Unicef, based at Garissa in north-east Kenya, 100km from the Somali refugee camp at Dadaab.
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Female genital mutilation is a national issue in Kenya as the majority of communities practise it. As a member of the UNFPA/Unicef/Ministry of Gender/Partners joint programme on accelerating the abandonment of female genital mutilation, I celebrate a remarkable achievement as the year comes to an end – the passing of the Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation Act 2011, which spells out punitive measures against perpetrators of genital mutilation. This is one bold step to protect girls from FGM.
Bohra women go online to fight circumcision trauma
Hindustan Times, Reetika Subramanian, 09 Dec 2011
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Nasreen said she would not put her daughter through the trauma and has signed an online petition launched by Mumbai-based activist Tasleem (last name withheld) to stop khatna.
Tasleem plans to submit the petition to the Bohra high priest Dr Syedna Mohammad Burhanuddin.
The petition has so far received 318 signatures and has sparked a debate in the close-knit community.
Fayemi’s wife tackles women’s rights violators
The Nation, Olukorede Yishau, 07 Dec 2011
Wife of the Ekiti State Governor, Mrs. Bisi Fayemi, has said hard times awaits violators of women rights. Mrs. Fayemi, who recently championed the passage of a bill against women’s rights violators, said she will ensure justice for a 12-year-old orphan who was llegedly raped by a police officer serving in the state.
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The Gender Based Violation (GBV) Bill, which was sponsored by Mrs. Fayemy, covers harmful traditional practices such as Female Genital Mutilation and widowhood rights; imposition of dress codes under any guise; child marriage and criminalising pregnancy outside marriage. It includes domestic violence, battery and assault, rape, sexual exploitation of any kind, sexual harassment, inflicting harmful traditional practices on women including female genital mutilation.
Kenia, Kuria district: Villagers ignore the law and go on a girl circumcision frenzy
Daily Nation, Daniel Otieno, 07 Dec 2011
The sound of gun shots pierced the air as seemingly intoxicated youth joined girls and women in wild celebration.
Tradition had triumphed over law as hundreds of girls, some as young as eight years old faced the knife in a procedure that is internationally loathed and outlawed — female genital mutilation.
The setting is Kuria East and West districts. It’s is the third year since the last rite, and so a fresh set of girls are supposed to undergo the FGM among the Bugambe and the Buiregi clans.
Joining a Dinner in a Muslim Brotherhood Home
International Herald Tribune, Nicholas D. Kristof, 07 Dec 2011
I asked about female circumcision which is inflicted on the overwhelming majority of girls in Egypt. It is particularly common in conservative religious households and, to its credit, the Mubarak government made some effort to stop the practice. Many worry that a more democratic government won’t challenge a practice that has broad support.
“The Muslim Brotherhood is against the brutal practice of female circumcision,” Sondos said bluntly. She insisted that women over all would benefit from Brotherhood policies that focus on the poor: “We believe that a solution of women’s problems in Egyptian society is to solve the real causes, which are illiteracy, poverty and lack of education.”
