The numbers for female circumcision in Egypt are much higher than I would have guessed:
In 2005, research by Unicef found that 96% of Egyptian women aged 15 to 49 who had ever been married reported they had been circumcised. The Egyptian government says a more recent study found 50.3% of girls aged 10 to 18 had been circumcised.And this is after a quasi ban in 1997, although the article says it was still allowed "under exceptional circumstances". I wonder what exactly would be counted as good reason for that.
Mutilating a woman, with the certainty that the rest of her life will be disturbingly painful, with no end of physical consequences is cheap, isn't it. Nine dollars.
ReplyDeleteIt's heartening to hear of the gov't immediate ban. That won't stop it of course, but it's a mighty good start.