Every Country Has Its Issue

Living in America where the fight for equality between men and women has reached the "repercussions stage", it is easy to forget how terribly women are oppressed in other nations. Some of these women try to fight back, but the battle is slow and taxing. Fortunately, that hasn't stopped the women in Egypt who have currently gained a upper hand in the battle against female circumcision, or female genital mutilation as it is called by its opponents. As terrifying as this practice sounds, it still remains a common occurrence despite its being banned in 1996. Michael Slackman explains why in his article for the New York Times "Voice Rise in Egypt to Sheild Girls From an Old Tradition" (September 20, 2007):

"Though Egypt’s Health Ministry ordered an end to the practice in 1996, it allowed exceptions in cases of emergency, a loophole critics describe as so wide that it effectively rendered the ban meaningless. But now the government is trying to force a comprehensive ban."

While it is wonderful for the government to recognize the need to force a comprehensive ban, why were "cases of emergency" ever allowed to begin with? What kind of emergencies could there have been where the solution was circumcision? The reasons behind the practice are founded so heavily on tradition that the only "emergency" would be fear of falling of judgement from a neighbor. Slackman present a very realistic of the state in which Egypt finds itself.

"The challenge, however, rests in persuading people that their grandparents, parents and they themselves have harmed their daughters. Moreover, advocates must convince a skeptical public that men will marry a woman who has not undergone the procedure and that circumcision is not necessary to preserve family honor. It is a challenge to get men to give up some of their control over women."

The idea of Egyptian women going to an array of people to have this procedure done (from doctors to barbers) is distressing enough, but the reason for the sudden surge in voices crying out for change is the saddest of all: death. A thirteen year old girl died after having the procedure done (which isn't too uncommon) and the Egyptian government responded by shutting down the health clinic. Considering the practice is banned (though not strictly enforced), the actions taken by the government may have been unpredicted but are not uncalled for. What seems like it would be the most unpredicted were the villager's reaction to the government's choice:

"The men in this poor farming community were seething [...] 'They will not stop us,' shouted Saad Yehia, a tea shop owner along the main street. 'We support circumcision!' he shouted over and over."

A young girl died from a practice that mutilates a women's body, and the men are ready to fight for the practice. Mind-boggling.

A custom so steeped in tradition would appear to be a part of the religion of Egypt (that being Islam, which is widely practiced among Egyptians). But "the Ministry of Religious Affairs also issued a booklet explaining why the practice was not called for in Islam; Egypt’s grand mufti, Ali Gomaa, declared it haram, or prohibited by Islam; Egypt’s highest religious official, Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi, called it harmful." So why continue to harm women, especially when it has been prohibited by Islam? The main reason and response from the people is that their mother and grandmother did it and they turned out fine. But there is hope in this form of reasoning because there comes a point when people stop doing harm to their daughters just because their mother did it to them and their grandmother had it done to their mother. There comes a point when the women are asked the question, "Should this really be done?" and their answer is an astonished but scared "No."

The battle is slow in Egypt, as people like Maria Assad (who has been fighting against female circumcision since the 1950's) would know. But thank God that people are starting to question a tradition that has led to deaths and emotional damage. The memory of circumcision haunts Fatma Ibrahim:

"When Ms. Ibrahim was 11 years old, she said, her parents told her she was going for a blood test. The doctor, a relative, put her to sleep and when she woke, she said she could not walk."

In a country that is "is conservative, religious and, for many, guided largely by traditions, even when those traditions," women speaking passionately about this subject is frightening for them and for the "conservative" families of Egypt. But these brave women are what have helped their cause to be "one of the most powerful social movements in Egypt in decades." Hopefully it will be enough. For Maria Assad, it is more than she could have ever dreamed for in her lifetime:

"'I never thought I would live to see the day,' said Ms. Assad."

I hope she lives to see much more happen. I hope this for the sake of the young girls in Egypt.