CAIRO: When Health Minister Hatem Al-Gabali issued a decree to ban clitoridectomy yesterday following the death of 12-year-old Bodour, who was killed during a circumcision operation, The Daily Star Egypt asked citizens their opinions about female circumcision.
“Some people say it is halal [religiously correct] and some say it is haram [religiously incorrect], but I will carry out the circumcision operation for my children anyway because my family members and people in my village tell me I have to do it, said Sohair Mohamed, a domestic helper from Sharqeya.
“My husband tells me that only Jewish people do not do circumcise their women, Mohamed added.
“Of course I am against circumcision and I do not see where in Islam it says that women have to undergo genital mutilation? However I don’t think that the new law will eliminate circumcision because most of those operations take place in upper Egypt, where people have very strict traditions and opinions on matters related to sex, and also can do what they believe in and support each other by hiding that one of them is doing the operation, said Radwa Ahmed, a 23-year-old market researcher.
“Unethical doctors can also perform it for money because it doesn’t require a fully-equipped operation room, Ahmed added.
“I am totally with the new law. Nothing good will ever come out of circumcision operations and I do not believe that God in any religion has asked us to do it, said Mohamed Ahmed, a 19-year-old student at the American University in Cairo (AUC).
“But the new law will not be implemented because you have lots of ignorant people in Egypt who will not be convinced, Ahmed added.
“Yes of course I am with the new law and against circumcision, yet I do not see any benefit in issuing such laws or regulations because this is Egypt – where we have strong traditions and a high illiteracy rate. Yet I believe that awareness and education can do more than a law, said Mona Hamdy, a 50-year-old housewife.
“I am for the law and I think circumcision has nothing to do with Islam. However it is difficult to change the mentality of people in rural areas, said Passant Hisham Abdel Khaleik, a 19-year-old AUC student.
One young woman described circumcision as an “insult, a way to wound all women.
“The only time I would find it acceptable is if the girl is physically in need of this surgery but I doubt this situation exists, she added.
Uneducated people in the lower strata of society fear for their daughters’ honor, and believe that the procedure will stem sexual desire to protect them.
One gynecologist described it as “a crime not an operation.
But another female domestic helper believed that the government has no right to ban such an operation.
One mother told The Daily Star Egypt, “My daughter is three, so I’ll wait till she’s about five or six before I have it done.
“The government always makes their own useless laws that we are forced to abide by, she added.
