Ennahda MP propagating FGM

Tunesia’s ruling Ennahda party has its FGM scandal. MP Habib Ellouze allegedly said: “In the (African) regions where it is hot, people are forced to circumcise girls … because in these regions clitorises are too big which affects the spouses,” and “There are more circumcisions but it is not true that circumcision removes the pleasure for women. It is the West that has exaggerated the issue. Circumcision is an aesthetic surgery for women.”

Last year Egyptian preacher Wagdy Ghoneim caused an outcry when he recommended FGM during his Tunesia trip. Ennahda distanced itself from the Islamist who meanwhile also called on Muslims to kill the opponents of Mursi.

FGM in Saudi Arabia

In a recent fatwa a certain Sheikh Al-Hajji Al-Kurdi from the Saudi Ministry of Awqaf & Islamic Affairs endorsed female genital mutilation in its “sunna” form which stipulates the cutting of the clitoris prepuce. He distinguished this allowed “Islamic circumcision” from forbidden “Pharaonic circumcisions”.

On the ground, however, it is common opinion that “sunna circumcision” includes the cutting of the clitoris.

A fatwa like this one raises serious questions about the prevalence of FGM in Saudi Arabia.

Considerable drop of rate in FGM hotspot areas

Latest data collected by Wadi’s teams in Raniya/Qaladiza and Garmyan (Iraqi Kurdistan) where WADI has been raising awareness for years indicate that the FGM rate has dropped considerably.

The Raniya/Qaladiza area is known for its extremely conservative and traditional way of life. It used to be a FGM stronghold: Raniya holds 95,5% and Qaladiza 97,4% FGM prevalence among women above the age of 14.* Now the rate among girls under 14 years was found to be 50.7% (sample size: 1599).

In Garmyan the overall FGM rate is 81.2%*. Recently it was found to be 21.3% among girls under 14 years of age (sample size: 970).

These numbers are encouraging! They show that while the Middle East is changing profoundly people are ready to rethink old traditions and adopt to modern standards in a strikingly short period of time. There seems to be a new spirit in the air which hopefully will allow us to eradicate FGM much faster here than in Africa.

*According to Wadi’s comprehensive region-wide study conducted in 2009, see http://stopfgmkurdistan.org/html/english/fgm_study.htm

Indonesia: “FGM not harmful”

The Indonesian Ministry of Health is still refusing to ban FGM. Minister Nafsiah is trying to protect herself from criticism by asserting that “female circumcision did not cause any negative side effects if the clitoris isn’t cut”. This is (a) a bold statement for which she has no prove, and (b) nobody can guarantee that the clitoris isn’t cut, since “Our medical officers have never been trained to perform female circumcision.”

In fact, this is a universal pattern, also labeled “sunnah” circumcision: Purported restrictions to the operation only serve to legitimize the operation as such. Then on the ground the girls are made to feel the difference between promise and reality. What is called “sunnah” in the book means cutting of the clitoris in reality.

Finally, when this practice is criticized religious figures may assert that it is not done according to the teachings. Nice strategy. Proving that NO form of FGM whatsoever must ever be allowed.

Support Mae Azango in Liberia!

Mae Azango is a heroic and courageous fighter against female genital mutilation. In her home country Liberia she is now facing death threats for having unveiled the truth about this heinous practice. This was the article that led the president to respond to the issue. However, FGM is still legal in Liberia. Recently, the president said, “to hastily abolish the practice could spark off a serious societal crisis”.

Sunat Perempuan

We should learn this expression. Between 86 and 100% of girls fall victim to Sunat Perempuan – FGM – in Indonesia, the largest Muslim country. More than 90% of adults say they want the practice to continue.

“FGM in Indonesia is laden with superstition and confusion. A common myth is that it is largely “symbolic”, involving no genital damage.” Read more.

Western FGM proponents

A notorious group of academics is continuing to campaign for female genital mutilation (FGM). Dr. Fuambai Ahmadu, a post doctoral fellow at the University of Chicago, born in America from a Sierra Leonean family, is one of them. In 1991 she came to Sierra Leone to get her own genitals cut as an adult. Ahmadu calls sexual dysfunction in mutilated women a myth and blames “Western feminists” not to respect “our unique and powerful cultural heritage”.

In a new article the group claims: “Western media coverage of female genital modifications in Africa has been hyperbolic and one-sided”. They regard all scientific studies on serious health consequences as biased and are convinced that affected women have “rich sex lives”. According to their view FGM has important benefits like the “enhancement of gender identity”.

Another crucial figure in this group is Richard Shweder, a renowned American cultural anthropologist. In the debate on FGM, Shweder detects the presence of “imperial tones”. To keep their views consistent these people have to ignore the thousands of local anti-FGM activists.

Others, like Lucrezia Catania, Bettina Shell-Duncan and Birgitta Essen are known to share most of these views. All these people are still well-integrated in the scientific communities they work in.

FGM widespread in Iraq and Iran

Parvin Zabihi, a member of a women’s rights group based in Iran’s Kurdistan called the Committee Against Sexual Violence, has researched female circumcision in the Kurdish-populated areas in Iran.

“One of my friends carried out some research in a classroom at a school in the Piranshahr area. Out of the 40 students, 38 were local — and out of those 38, 36 had been circumcised. We came across many cases [of FGM] wherever we went to investigate,” Zabihi says.
[...] It is not clear why the practice is widespread among Iranian and Iraqi Kurds. In Iran, FGM cases are also reported in southern regions including in Khuzestan.

read more

Ulema against FGM

Very encouraging news from Guinea-Bissau: Last year the parliament passed a law banning FGM, and now in their “Bissau declaration” a group of leading Islamic scholars argued that FGM is not an Islamic practice, unambiguously vowing for its “total eradication”. We are still waiting for a similar statement from the Iraqi Kurdish ulema.

Somaliland politicians condemn FGM

The government of the de-facto independent state of Somaliland takes a decisive stance against FGM:

FGM is not only abhorrent but it is a denial of rights, declared the Minister of Religion and Endowments. He said it is not an Islamic practice.

The Deputy Health Minister addressed the social dimension of FGM when she stated that women can only take their proper place in the country’s society once the destructive practice of FGM is completely eradicated.