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Tag: FGM

  • Female Genital Mutilation has no validity in Islam – Islamic Cleric

    Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a harmful practice and has no legitimacy in the Islamic Religion, Shaykha Ayisha Yussif, an Islamic cleric has said.

    FGM involves the partial or total removal of external female genitalia or other injuries to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.

    Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Tema, Shaykha Yussif, who is also a Tutor at the Frafaha Senior High School, said that FGM is a traditional practice and not a religious ethos.

    “The Quran teaches that the painful act is not an Islamic religious obligation,” she said.

    Shaykha Yussif explained that some tribes subjected their daughters to the cruel act because they were misled to believe it was an Islamic obligation, adding that “the practice has done a lot of damage to girls, depriving many of an interest in sex, an important leisure which Allah gave to all human beings”.

    She said Islam appreciated the way of life of every tradition and urged Muslims to condemn traditional practices that violated the rights of members.

    “FGM is dangerous and a life-threatening procedure that causes unspeakable pain and suffering to girls,” she stressed.

    The Islamic cleric stressed that Islam is very clear, no part of the body should be removed or changed, adding that only boys were supposed to be cut, therefore, FGM must end as a matter of urgency.

    She emphasized the need to galvanize the support of the citizenry and media to eliminate the harmful and degrading practice.

    Shaykha Yussif admonished religious and traditional leaders to focus on issues that affect the dignity of women and to expose the perpetrators of the inhumane acts so they could be punished.

    She noted that FGM is a violation of girls’ and women’s human rights and the international communities and nations must continue to condemn the act and pass laws, treaties, and conventions to stop the act
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    According to data, FGM is practiced in 31 countries in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. It’s most prevalent in Djibouti, Egypt, Guinea, and Mali, where 90 percent or more of women aged 15 to 49 have been subjected to FGM.
    in Islam – Islamic Cleric

  • Alarm blows as 20 Somali girls subjected to FGM in Somalia’s Kismayu

    The UN sexual and reproductive health agency, UNFPA, is raising the alarm after 20 girls underwent the proscribed female genital mutilation (FGM) in Kismayu, Somalia’s Jubbaland state, indicating the tough road ahead to end the practice.

    The incident this week came amid strong campaigns by government officials to educate parents to end one of the most prevalent but dangerous rites of passage in Somalia.

    UNFPA’s Somalia Representative Niyi Ojuolape on Friday condemned the incident which he said had subjected the girls to injury and heavy bleeding.

    “All the victims are too young to give their informed consent. This is a shocking and deeply disturbing incident that violates the rights of these young girls and should have no place in society,” the UNFPA representative said in a statement released on Friday.

    Grim FGM figures

    In Somalia, the UNFPA gives grim figures on FGM, indicating that as many as nine in ten women have undergone some form of FGM. And despite the practice having devastating health ramifications for women and girls, including pain, bleeding, possibly a permanent disability, or death, cultural barriers have mostly stood in the way of ending it.

    These days though, public policymakers and politicians have publicly spoken against it, a significant improvement from the days when discussing the subject was taboo. The country has not yet passed a law to ban FGM but has been working with UN agencies to spread awareness of the dangers of the practice.

    ‘Dear Daughter’ campaign

    Earlier this year, the UNFPA launched a campaign known as ‘Dear Daughter’, encouraging parents to individually pledge in open letters to protect their daughters from any harmful cultural practices including FGM. The campaign was suitable especially since most of the parents had undergone the practice while still young but admitted to experiencing the problems of FGM even in their later lives.

    UNFPA says the campaign teaches parents and societies in general how FGM is a human rights violation issue as it is a form of gender-based violence that exposes children to danger.

    On Friday, Mr. Ojuolape said FGM should be condemned because “it causes irreparable physical and psychological harm to women and girls”.

    FGM is the partial or total removal of the female genitalia.

    “Sadly, the drought and the humanitarian crisis have increased the risk that Somali girls face as a result of this practice,” he said.

    “I stand in solidarity with the young girls who were affected by this incident and condemn this act of violence. I also want to assure the Somali people that UNFPA has taken immediate note of this situation and is working closely with the government of the Jubbaland State of Somalia as well as like-minded partners to address it.”

    Emergency support

    Somalia’s prevalent FGM is only one form of threat targeting women and girls. A three-year drought has meant that more people need emergency health and food support. A situational report by the UN Children’s agency, UNICEF, said early this month that at least 6.7 million children were in danger of starvation with at least 1.5 million children likely to be malnourished by Christmas Day this year. More than one million people have been displaced, most of who are women and children, due to drought.

    So far, UN agencies working in concert with local authorities say they have supplied some 1.1 million children and women with essential healthcare services, against the initial target of 1.3 million. Reaching these groups is also often affected by the security situation on the ground as Al-Shabaab militants have often blockaded certain parts of the country where drought is also biting.

    As FGM is largely a man-made problem, UNFPA is calling on Somali authorities to punish perpetrators of the practice.

    “I call on the government to take all necessary measures to ensure that those responsible for this incident are held accountable, to serve as a deterrence to others, and to protect the rights of women and girls.

    “I also urge the federal government and the international community to take swift and proactive measures to help eradicate the practice of female genital mutilation,” said the UNFPA Somalia country representative.

    Source: theeastafrican.co.ke

  • Why Ugandan Minister wants ban on labia stretching

    The minister for Gender and Culture has warned school matrons against initiating young girls into genital elongation.

    Ms Peace Mutuuzo on Wednesday said government will find avenues of talking to girls, especially in primary schools, how to report the perpetrators for encouraging a practice that does not add value to their health.

    “We shall target matrons in primary boarding schools. You are preparing our girls who are not yet ready for marriage and may get partners who do not care about that (genital elongation),” Ms Mutuuzo said while addressing journalist in Kampala.

    Pulling as it’s popularly known, is a tradition common in central and southern parts of Uganda and Rwanda, which basically involves the elongation of the labia minora on the female private parts by girls and women.

    The practice is widely criticised by the west for allegedly being outdated and barbaric.
    Ms Mutuuzo hinted on the vice while addressing journalists about the forthcoming International Day for Zero Tolerance of Female Genital Mutilation scheduled on February 6.

    She said her ministry needs an increase in the budgetary allocation from the current Shs200 million to Shs1.2 billion to help fight female genital mutilation which is predominant in Sebei sub region in eastern Uganda.
    The money is to, among other things, help in community sensitisation, strengthen male engagement, establish shelters for FGM victims and engage more elders in the fight against the practice.

    Uganda has four types of FGM; some of which are irreversible while others have resulted into death due to over bleeding by the victims.

    The types of FGM practised in Uganda, according to government, are; clitoridectomy, excision (practised by the Sabiny), infibulation or pharaonic (practised by the Pokot) and other types- mainly genital elongation practiced by Bantu speaking people, especially in central Uganda.

    Ms Mutuuzo said Uganda is experiencing an emerging trend of medicalisation since some believe that the cutting is less painful when done by a medical personnel.
    She believes this has been encouraged by the educated Ugandans who should have been in the centre of the fight against the practice.

    “The young people have utilised social media platforms like WhatsApp and Facebook, to openly campaign for preservation of FGM, as an important practice of the Sabiny culture using the slogan “Our culture, our Identity” Ms Mutuuzo said.

    The minister said government was aware of the WhatsApp groups created to aid the outlawed vice and are planning on how to track down the members for prosecution.

    Uganda enacted the Prohibition of FGM Act 2010 to eliminate the practice but it has persisted due to cultural beliefs one of which is an enhancement to please men during sex.
    According to UNFPA country representative, Mr Alaine Sibenaler, cultural practices are very difficult to eradicate.
    “But should not be used as an excuse to abuse human rights,” he said.

    He said there should be a dialogue between the young people and their parents so that they understand the dangers of FGM to have concerted efforts in fighting the practice in this generation.

    Ministry of Gender reports indicate that between November 2018 and January 2019, about 350 girls underwent FGM in Kapchorwa, Kween and Bukwo districts.
    Globally, it is estimated that approximately 100 to 140 million girls and women have undergone some form of genital mutilation or cutting.

    Health experts say cutting has far reaching health effects including severe bleeding which may lead to death, permanent scars that may block the birth canal, obstetric fistula, urine incontinence, permanent disability, depression, trauma, feelings of disgust, loss of libido, among others.

    In 2012, the UN General assembly designated February 6 as the international day of zero tolerance of FGM. The theme for 2020 is “Unleashing Youth Power”, One decade of accelerating actions for zero Female Genital Mutilation by 2030.

    Source: allafrica.com