Woman up for girl's circumcision
2007-08-17 14:14
Cairo - Egyptian police are holding a woman who conducted a near-fatal circumcision on a young girl, a widely-condemned practice the authorities are trying to stamp out, say reports.
The victim, Naglaa Khamis, went into a coma and suffered severe haemorrhaging after the removal of part of her genitals, but was saved after being taken to hospital by her parents.
Police took the woman who carried out the mutilation in Minya, south of Cairo, into custody.
Last week, the health ministry said a law to toughen penalties against female circumcision would be put to parliament when it reconvenes in the autumn, after two young girls died during such operations in recent months.
FGM affects Christians, Muslims
People found guilty of carrying out female circumcision risked up to three years in prison and in June, Health Minister Hatem al-Gabali issued a decree banning every doctor and member of the medical profession from performing the procedure.
Female genital mutilation was a practice that dated back to pharaonic times in Egypt. It was common in a band that stretched from Senegal in West Africa to Somalia on the east coast, and from Egypt in the north to Tanzania in the south.
The practice, which affected both Muslim and Christian women in Egypt, was banned in 1997, but doctors were allowed to operate "in exceptional cases".
Female circumcision could cause death through haemorrhaging and later complications during childbirth. It also carried risks of infection, urinary tract problems and mental trauma.
Religious leaders, usually silent on taboos relating to female sexuality, had also started to speak out against the practice, which many Egyptians believed was a duty under Islam and Christianity.