Sad record

7 Oct

One out of four FGM-victims lives in Egypt!

For millions of Egyptian girls summer holiday has nothing to do with leisure and joy, but it is a time of losing an essential part of their body and dignity.

For millions of schoolgirls in Egypt, this time represents the start of the FGM season.

FGM has been illegal in Egypt since 2008. Since then the percentage of victims has dropped from 75 to 61 in 2014.

The overall situation in Egypt is still disastrous: 92 percent of all women have been “purified” and thus prepared for the marriage.

The practice is deeply rooted in Egyptian society and is accepted even by doctors, judges and teachers. To change something, you need to work on people’s convictions.

To that end, the UNFPA has hired a theatre group to perform comedic skits in the streets of communities across the country to foster debate and doubt about the necessity of FGM.

In January a doctor was sentenced on charges related to mutilating a girl – the first conviction of its kind since the 2008 ban went into effect.

We can only hope that the country will be able to rid itself of this horrible record: One out of four mutilated women in the world comes from Egypt.

We will fight against this cruel crime there!

Please support us here!

Hassan Hafez, a barber, mimics the way he used to perform female genital mutilation (FGM) in Minia June 13, 2006. Barbers in Egypt are people who perform circumcisions, although because of efforts of organizations like UNICEF, Hafez no longer circumcises women, only men. The practice of FGM dates back over two thousand years in Egypt and is widely practiced in all levels of society for Muslims and Christians alike. Many organizations have funded programs to help educate people about the risks and dangers of FGM in order to change people's opinions on this procedure which is seen by many as a necessary social norm. Picture taken June 13, 2006.  REUTERS/Tara Todras-Whitehill (EGYPT)

An Egyptian man demonstrates the way FGM is performed. Picture taken June 13, 2006. REUTERS/Tara Todras-Whitehill (EGYPT)

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