Video: Female genital cutting from Thomson Reuters Foundation on Vimeo.

UN Agencies have urged Egypt to enforce the law against Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting and are calling for a full investigation into the death of a 13 year-old girl undergoing the practice at a private clinic.

“The latest tragic death of Sohair El Batea, 13, is another sad illustration of the terrible consequences that female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) has on the girl child”, says the joint statement by UNICEF and UNFPA .  “At multiple occasions it has been clearly demonstrated that there are no medical or religious justifications of such practice. This violation of children and women’s rights should be stopped once and for all.”

FGM is a cultural ritual where a girl’s genitalia are cut in order to reduce sexual desire. Although it has been banned in Egypt since 2008, it is still widely practised among both Muslims and Christians. It is seen by many as a religious duty, although senior religious figures have repeatedly stated that FGM has no basis in Islam or Christianity.

An estimated 100 to 140 million girls and women worldwide have been subjected to FGM; it is prevalent in 28 African countries and parts of the Middle East and Asia.  20 of the 28 practising countries in Africa have banned FGM but enforcement is weak. Each year, it is thought that 3 million girls and women undergo FGM, most of them under the age of 15.  Egypt is among the countries where it is most prevalent; others include Somalia, Sudan, Sierra Leone and Mali.  

FGM is also found among immigrant populations in industrialised countries. In the United Kingdom, it has been estimated that over 20,000 girls under the age of 15 are at risk each year, and that 66,000 women are living with the consequences of FGM.

FACTBOX-What is female genital mutilation? (Thomas Reuters Foundation)

Female Genital Mutilation (National Health Service UK)

Soroptimist Action, Advocacy and Awareness-Raising on FGM

Soroptimist clubs in the UK have been working on projects to end FGM since 2007. Much of the work has focussed on protecting girls in the UK, raising awareness and challenging the authorities as to why no prosecutions have taken place, although the practice is illegal. SI Tenby and District have written over 3000 letters and collected several thousand signatures on a petition. Several other UK Clubs in the UK have added their voices, organised awareness-raising events and lobbied members of parliament.

SI Grange-over-Sands, SI Morecambe and SI Lancaster have been supporting the work of a local midwife, Cath Holland, who has been working with communities in northwest Kenya to introduce alternative rites of passage for girls, marking their transition to adulthood.   The Clubs learnt to make bracelets that are used in these rituals; Cath took 400 bracelets given by Soroptimists to Kenya in December 2012, where they were distributed to girls who would otherwise have undergone FGM.

Rose Simbo is a midwife from Sierra Leone who lives and works in the UK and is a member of SI Thames Valley; in her professional life she provides support to women who have undergone FGM and need special help during childbirth. She has also made regular trips to Sierra Leone to help  educate communities and prevent FGM in her home Kori district, where the practice is prevalent.  SI Thames Valley have provided considerable support to projects in the Kori district, raising funds to help women who made a living as traditional “cutters” earn income in other ways, as well as supporting girls’ education.  This project has grown considerably since its beginnings in 2009 and now covers 8 villages.

Image: SI Grange-over-Sands presenting bracelets to be used in alternative rights of passage for girls in Kenya.