Female Genital Mutilation

The Problem

When I told people that I was going to take on Female Genital Mutilation for the Coptic Voice, I got one of two responses:

“What’s that?” and:

“That’s not a problem for Copts; we don’t have that.”

That second answer is far from the truth, and the first answer reflects the general lack of awareness for this crime against humanity. Female Genital Mutilation (FGM for short) is a taboo subject in our culture but is nearly universal in Egypt (both within the Coptic community as well as the Muslim community). Despite this fact, people don’t know what FGM is or think they know anyone who has it.

The rate of Female Genital Mutilation among the Coptic Community may be less prevalent than the Muslim population, but it is still an epidemic; about 74% of married Coptic women in Egypt have been cut, or 7 out of every 10 women. FGM also directly correlates to environment and income; The lower the income and more rural the area, the higher the rates of FGM. So, chances are, many of the tunts you know and love have probably undergone the procedure.

History

FGM stems from an Ancient Egyptian practice “that ranges from nicking to total removal of the external female genitalia.” The most commonly practiced form of FGM in Egypt is “type 1,” which is the “partial or total removal of the clitoris.”

Some people call FGM “female circumcision,” but that is a misnomer; FGM would be more akin to a male eunuch, or a male whose genitals have been completely cut off.

Despite the lack of awareness, 1 in 4 women who suffer from FGM in the whole world live in Egypt. There are many different justifications for its practice, ranging from trying to make a woman more “marriageable,” to attempting to promote virginity until marriage, to false beliefs (in both in the Muslim and Christian community) about their religious duties. For example, 50% of both Muslims and Copts falsely believe that FGM is a mandated part of their religion.

However, aside from the health horrors that cutting causes, FGM is also considered to be a human rights issue as well as a public health issue, taking away a woman’s right to “health and physical integrity.”

FGM is a symptom of an unequal country, whose maladies disproportionately affect females more so than males. According to USAID, Egypt ranks in the bottom 10 out 145 countries in gender equality. This disparity is illustrated in several ways, whether through literacy rates, ability to work, and FGM.

Policy Solutions

So, why hasn’t FGM completely died after Egypt banned it in 2008? Why are doctors so willing to continue doing the procedure?

First, it is incredibly difficult to undo a culture intertwined with centuries of female oppression. Women have been viewed as something to own, control, and manage, and there is no better way of doing that then taking away the thing that makes her a woman. As one mother put it to her child, “Usually girls at your age get ‘excited,’ and this operation takes care of that.”

Second, the Egyptian government as a whole may be a functioning government with some extent of authority, but it is only secondary to Egypt’s religious institutions. Instead, the Pope and the Holy Synod is the ultimate place of authority for Egyptian Copts, and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar is the highest seat of authority for Sunni Muslims. If 50% of Muslims and Christians think it is a mandate of their religion to mutilate women, then they will do it- regardless of what the Country has to say.

Still, the deeply held religious beliefs of Egyptians may actually give cause for hope. If we can convince them that what they are doing is neither a neutral cultural practice nor a religious mandate but an actual sin, then we could greatly reduce the number of cuttings.

Preliminary steps have already been taken to target child abuse as a whole. For example, the Great Imam of al-Azhar Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayebb and Pope Tawadros II signed a joint statement condemning child abuse, including sexual abuse, kidnapping, and FGM. Meanwhile, here in the United States, the Southern Diocese officially condemns the practice as a sin, setting a future precedent.

These are both important steps; however, they are only the first steps. Given the great reverence for the Pope and the Synod, and given the grievous misunderstandings of FGM and its prevalence, not only should Pope Tawadros II target FGM and publicly condemn it, but the Holy Synod in Egypt should officially rule FGM as a sin.

Using the same language as the Southern Diocese, not only does “God make man accountable for the destruction of human life,” and not only does FGM “defile the creator’s intent for marriage,” but it also “contradicts the will of God.”

To refuse to condemn the practice as a sin on political grounds is unfounded, since the the greatest authority of Sunni Islam the Great Imam himself has shown support against the practice. Additionally, it completely dismisses the reality of what millions of women and their husbands have to go through after the procedure has been done and these women grow up.

Getting the Synod to officially condemn the practice is just the first step. There must also be a massive education campaign to raise awareness, one that aims to teach every priest in Egypt (placing a special emphasis on priests in rural and low-income areas) about the sinful nature of FGM, who would in turn educate their congregation.

The whole point of the Holy Synod in Egypt is to codify what is wrong and right when their people are confused. When considering the fact that 50% of Egyptian Christians are under the impression that FGM is a religious duty, when considering the fact that FGM is a taboo subject that people don’t speak about and priests don’t bring up during church sermons, and lastly, when considering the fact that many priests themselves are a product of their own culture and may support the practice, it is high time for the Synod to make a clear, unified decision against FGM.

And then maybe, by saving millions of little girls through one statement in the most powerful country in Africa, the rest of Egypt and the 27 other countries that practice FGM will follow suit.

Everyday that the Holy Synod waits, deliberates, and dismisses the subject is another daughter who experiences a crime against humanity.

It’s time to act now.