In the Upper Egyptian town of Minya, 12 year-old Bedur Ahmed Shaker is the latest victim of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). She was, unfortunately, one of the little girls who did not survive. Her mother paid 50.00 EGP (approximately $8.75 USD) for Bedur’s clitoris to be completely removed by a doctor in the impoverished city south of Cairo. But the little one did not survive the trip to the hospital and emergency care could not revive her. Her mother blamed the doctor and the anesthetic for her daughter’s death as opposed to the operation itself, a crude remainder of pre-monotheistic tradition in Egypt.
In 1997, FGM/Female Circumcision was outlawed in Egypt, except under “exceptional circumstances.” What those “exceptional circumstances” might be, no one seems to know. There doesn’t seem to be any legitimate reason for female circumcision other than the needle being stuck in the record of tradition.
In 2000, the Egyptian government carried-out a survey of Egyptian women in a study of female circumcision in the North African nation. The study found that 97% of all Egyptian women had been circumcised to some extent, whether it was the complete or partial removal of the clitoris and labia is not specified. It should be noted that this statistic includes both Muslim and Christian women.
Despite the Sheikh of Al-Azhar and the Papal body of the Coptic community denouncing the practice, the tradition continues in unregulated clinics and is regularly performed by midwives using primitive tools like tin can lids, broken glass, and surgical scissors that resemble toenail scissors, in rural villages and city slums. Up until 1997, a girl could be taken to the hospital to have the procedure done by a trained medical doctor, despite being more taboo amongst the upper classes.
The question now becomes: how will Egyptian authorities regulate the practice? In the case of little Bedur, both her mother and the doctor have been arrested for attempting the procedure, but only because she died. In a society where male/female roles are rigidly defined by centuries of tradition and religious mores, the regulation of such practices will prove difficult. So long as there is a midwife in the village, someone will have to watch her. So long as there is a mother with an uncircumcised daughter, someone will also have to watch her. So long as there are women, someone will have to guard them.
