Female Genital Mutilation in Any Form Should Be Banned

FGM Is the Violation of a Girl's Right to Life Main Points: 1. Female Genital Mutilation is a pre-Islamic practice. 2. It is practiced in 90 countries. 3. It is practiced in every Muslim community including Bohra community. 4. Bohra community calls it khafz. 5. African religious leaders have recently opposed the practice. ----- By New Age Islam Staff Writer 20 February 2023 Syedna Taher Fakhruddin | YouTube, Fatemi Dawat ----- Female Genital Mutilation or FGM is a practice that exists in all Muslim communities of the world. It is practiced in 90 countries. Many women's rights activists have been running campaigns against this inhuman practice that is in vogue in Arab, Africa and Asia since the pre-Islamic era. The practice is a legacy of a patriarchal society that was worried about female sexuality and wanted to control it. In the Dawoodi Bohra community of India too this practice continues with a different name, that is Khafz. The Bohra Syedna (religious head) calls it Khafz and claims it is not FGM. But WHO says that Khafz is also FGM.FGM is known by different names in different countries. The common purpose of this is to ensure that the women's sexuality can be controlled. This entails suppressing the women's sexuality. The issue came into prominence recently with the Syedna of Bohra community writing a letter to the Prime Minister of India to ban FGM but allow Khafz as an option for girls. He claimed that Khafz was not FGM. Practically, Khafz and FGM are the same. WHO has declared Khafz a form of FGM. The Bohra community and other Sunni Muslim communities practicing FGM claim that it is a religious practice and so comes under religious freedom guaranteed by the Constitution. But the practice is not enjoined on either by the Quran or by the hadiths. It is a pre-Islamic practice of Arab and Africa which was imported to Asia with the spread of Islam. The early Arabs were a trading community and they travelled to far off countries as far as India and remained away from home for long periods. They performed FGM on their women to ensure that they do not go astray in their absence. In India, this practice exists in Bohra and other Sunni communities. In Kerala, this is largely practiced among Muslims. Organisations like India Lead have advocated a ban on FGM. In African countries, of late religious leaders have spoken against it. The scholars of Al Azhar University and other scholars have demanded a ban on it. But in the Indian subcontinent and other Asian countries, it is still practiced. Religious leaders have been an obstacle in this reform. There have been demands and PILs from activists in India demanding a ban on it. But the religious bodies claim that it is protected under Article 25 of the Constitution that guarantees the right to practice one's religion. May 2017, a public interest litigation (PIL) case was raised in India's Supreme Court. The case was filed by Sunita Tiwari, a lawyer based in Delhi, and sought a ban on FGM in India. An advocate for the petition claimed the practice violated children's rights under Article 14 (Right to Equality) and Article 21 (Right to Life) of the Constitution of India, while an advocate opposing the petition argued that Khafz is an essential part of the community's religion, and their right to practise the religion is protected under Articles 25 and 26. The problem is that the government of India does not have data on FGM in India and so cannot take a decision. The Ministry of Women and Child Development reported in December 2017 that "there is no official data or study which supports the existence of FGM in India. Earlier, in May 2017, Maneka Gandhi, the then Women and Child Development Minister had taken a tough stand saying that if the Muslim community did not stop FGM voluntarily, the government will ban it. In April 2018 India's Attorney General K. K. Venugopal asked a bench of the Supreme Court to issue directions regarding the case, saying that FGM was already a crime under existing law. The bench adjourned the case and issued notices to Kerala and Telangana, having earlier notified Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Delhi. In September 2018 the Supreme Court referred the PIL to a five-judge constitution bench at the request of Venugopal and the counsel for the Dawoodi Bohras. In November 2019, the Supreme Court decided that the issue of FGM be referred to a larger seven-judge bench and that it be examined alongside other women's rights issues. The court said it was a "seminal issue" regarding the power of the court to decide whether a practice is essential to a religion. A practice that has a cultural background and exists in the society for centuries cannot be stopped like child marriage by force overnight. The society needs to be sensitised over the ills and false grounds or roots of the practiced. Religious leaders need to come to the forefront of the campaign and the laws should be formulated in such a way that encourages not enforces to do away with the practice. ------- Bohra Muslim Leader Wrong to Say Khafz Isn’t Female Genital Mutilation. Let Modi Govt Ban It By Masooma Ranalvi 13 February, 2023 The International Zero Tolerance Day for Female Genital Mutilation is annually observed on 6 February. It is a day to galvanise people all over the world to raise awareness and take action. Despite efforts to end FGM, over three million girls and women are at risk each year. Ending this practice will take everyone raising their hand and voice. In this context, the story published by ThePrint holds importance. It carried news of a letter written by Syedna Taher Fakhruddin, claimant to the title of ‘Syedna’ or head of the Dawoodi Bohra Community, addressed to the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and principal secretary PK Mishra. Syedna Taher Fakhruddin asked the PM to ban FGM. While this came across as if there was renewed hope for our long-standing demand to end Female Genital Mutilation, rampantly practiced in the Dawoodi Bohra community, it was really just a classic case of using click-bait to draw media attention. Also read: ‘Neither PM nor CM, I’m family’: In Dawoodi Bohra outreach, Modi recalls ties since Gujarat days FGM and Khafz—One And The Same The letter defends Khafz as performed in the Dawoodi Bohra community. And adds that it doesn’t constitute FGM. It further states that Khafz is analogous to clitoral de-hooding. Moreover, the procedure is done to “improve a woman’s sexual health.” In reality, Khafz and FGM are one and the same. According to the World Health organisation’s definition, removal of the girl child’s clitoral-hood for non-medical purposes is Type 1 and Type 4 FGM. WHO’s comprehensive definition of FGM includes all types of the practice prevalent in the world. Moreover, the clitoral de-hooding performed in unhygienic conditions by midwives in many cases leads to the cutting of more than just the hood, according to an independent study. It narrates the psychological impact of this practice on women. Making a distinction between Khafz and FGM is a dangerous precedent and must be called out. The Supreme Court in Australia had declared that Khatna/Khafz constitute FGM. The verdict was passed in a case wherein a nurse and a mother along with a Bohra leader from the local mosque were charged with performing FGM on two young girls. Globally, FGM is performed in over 90 countries and is known by different names. In India, the Bohra community refers to it as Khatna/Khafz, in Indonesia it is referred to as Khitan or Sunnat Perepuan. Certain Sunni communities in India’s Kerala call it Sunnat. Medicalisation of FGM The letter states that “women can choose to perform Khafz under appropriate conditions under medical supervision”. This is clearly treading on another landmine of medicalised FGM. Pointing out the dangers of medical intervention for the practice, WHO says that one in four cases of FGM is performed by a health worker. It urges health professionals to never undertake such procedures. The need of the hour is to do away with all types of FGM. Whether done hygienically with medicalised supervision or otherwise. The official discourse on FGM varies from community to community. It is stated to be exercised for numerous reasons. From the need for a girl to be “pure” before she marries, to maintaining “hygiene,” to “improve a woman’s health” and for the husband’s pleasure. The bottom line, however, in all communities is that female sexuality has to be controlled. Take the Bohras for instance, which is a trading community. In earlier days, men travelled far and wide for purposes of trade, leaving women behind. The patriarchal mindset of controlling women and ensuring that they do not go astray and have extramarital sex made a compelling argument to justify the practice. India and the Spread of FGM India is a signatory to the December 2012 UN resolution on FGM which urges “countries to condemn all harmful practices that affect women and girls, in particular female genital mutilations.” Ending FGM is a Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 5.3). At the recently concluded Universal Periodic Review (UPR) India received its first recommendation from Costa Rica to clearly define FGM and develop a national plan to eliminate it. What is also problematic is the timing of the letter. Syedna Taher Fakhruddin’s views about making Khafz optional for those above 18 years of age and distancing it from its terminology are not new. Syedna had publicised these views in a press conference seven years ago as well. Only this time, the letter was addressed to the PM. The letter also coincides with final arguments in the ongoing Dawoodi Bohra succession battle at the Bombay High Court. Over the last seven years, my organisation WeSpeakOut has been steadfastly petitioning the government to do research on the prevalence of FGM and its spread. At a recent meeting organised by us, which was attended by Civil society representatives working in the space of women and children and the United Nations Population Fund, testimonies of survivors of FGM from Kerala’s Sunni communities indicated that the practice exists beyond the Bohra community in India. Religious leaders are one of the most critical actors in the issue of female genital mutilation due to the power they have over their communities. In Africa, several religious leaders have shown the way by shunning the practice and influencing their followers to do away with it. A case in point are the Muslim scholars of Al-Azhar University in Egypt, the Mufti of Egypt Ali Gomaa, Muhammad Husayn Fadlallah, Mohammad Salim AAwwa, secretary general of the International Federation of Islamic Scholars, and many such Islamic scholars who have articulated the false links between FGM and religious obligation. FGM or Khafz harms girls and women physically, sexually and psychologically and it is crucial to stop it. Why can’t both the Syednas of the Bohra community Syedna Muffadal Saifuddin and Syedna Taher Fakhruddin as well as Sunni religious leaders take an unequivocal stand against this practice? ------ Masooma Ranalvi is co-founder, India Lead, at WeSpeakOut. Views are personal. (Edited by Ratan Priya) Source: Bohra Muslim Leader Wrong to Say Khafz Isn’t Female Genital Mutilation. Let Modi Govt Ban It URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/female-genital-mutilation-banned/d/129147 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism