New bill increases jail terms as FGM becomes a felony

[DJKeefy]

New bill increases jail terms as FGM becomes a felony in Egypt.

Egypt’s cabinet approved on Sunday a draft bill designating the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) a felony, raising prison terms for those convicted of performing the procedure, health minister Ahmed Emad announced.
Emad said that the new bill amends the law criminalising FGM, currently a misdemeanour, by stiffening penalties to between five and seven years in prison instead of the current three months to two years for practitioners who perform the procedure.

Those who "escort" victims to the procedure can also face jail sentences ranging from one to three years.

The bill, which has been sent to parliament for ratification, also carries a stiffened penalty of up to 15 years imprisonment if the practice leads to death or a "permanent deformity."

Although FGM by its very nature leads to deformity, Egyptian law does not consider the act in itself as leading to "permanent deformity."

The health minister said that the current FGM rate in Egypt is 91 percent, despite the law passed in 2008 criminalising the practice.

He added that the entrenched tradition can only be combated through laws criminalising the practice, especially since the procedure is often performed by people who are not licensed medical practitioners.

There is a widespread belief in Egypt that women who do not undergo FGM are unable to control their sexual urges.

In January 2015, a doctor was sentenced to two years in prison for involuntarily killing a teenage girl by performing the FGM procedure, while the girl's father was given a three-month suspended sentence. The case was the country's first instance of FGM prosecution.

The 2014 Demographic and Health Survey showed that the FGM rate in the reproductive age from 15 to 49 stands at 92 percent. More than 75 percent of cases are of girls aged from nine to 12 while 14 percent are aged 7 or younger, which indicates that the vast majority of Egyptian families circumcise their daughters.

A previous study by the health ministry suggested that FGM is more prevalent in rural communities than in cities, stating that roughly 96 percent of girls in rural communities had undergone FGM, as opposed to 85 percent in urban areas.

Source: http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/241850.aspx

[Dusak]

Only time will tell I suppose, but trying to persuade a population that his is a bad thing when it is in much demand is a no winner. Over the last eighteen months there have been four girls born in my friends family, all received the cut. She attempted to dissuade them, all to no avail and received much hostility from the family.

[Major Thom]

One cut deserves another, except the second cut should be just below the chin!

[Horus]

Lets be honest here, even in the UK with a far more integrated health service, a strong social service of midwives visiting post natal women, child care in the home, regular visits to doctors for vaccinations, examinations etc. and various child protection agencies on the alert yet it still happens. There are school activities where this practice may be observed and reported, yet it still takes place here within certain communities. Yes it is illegal and there are penalties if parents are found to have carried this out brutal act on a child, but in these closed tight knit communities it is impossible to stamp it out completely even with all these resources for reporting and intervention, so what chance has Egypt got?

[newcastle]

It's back to education again.

Unfortunately, anything to do with sex has a low priority in the education system. I suspect FGM is not mentioned at all, let alone condemned

The practice is less prevalent in the upper echelons, better educated, sections of society but may take a few more generations before being rejected by society as a whole.

[Dusak]

It's back to education again.

Unfortunately, anything to do with sex has a low priority in the education system. I suspect FGM is not mentioned at all, let alone condemned

The practice is less prevalent in the upper echelons, better educated, sections of society but may take a few more generations before being rejected by society as a whole.

I like your optimism, but personally I think that the only way it would end would be the total destruction of the planet.

As an unrelated tangent, for the last half hour I've had to listen to someone playing f****** jingle bells on an electronic loop. I personally would indulge myself with a pair of scissors towards the perpetrator responsible.

[HEPZIBAH]

As an unrelated tangent, for the last half hour I've had to listen to someone playing f****** jingle bells on an electronic loop.

That's one way of getting ridding of Jinn within the home!

[Horus]

As an unrelated tangent, for the last half hour I've had to listen to someone playing f****** jingle bells on an electronic loop.

That's one way of getting ridding of Jinn within the home!

The other way is with a slice of lemon, tonic water and ice