Teenage girl dies due to banned female circumcision operation

A teenage girl died on Sunday as a result of a female circumcision operation in a private hospital in Suez, according to a statement issued by the National Population Council. 

Mayar Mohamed Moussa underwent the operation under full anesthesia at the same time as her twin sister, who survived, according to the privately owned Al-Watan newspaper.

The National Population Council “strongly condemns any doctor or individual who commits such a crime,” the statement asserted, maintaining there are no legitimate reasons, be they religious, ethical or for health purposes, to perform female circumcision.

Despite the official ban of female circumcision in Egypt in 2008, it is still a widespread practice.

The NCP stated it is filing a case with the general prosecutor to hold those responsible to account, thanking Suez health inspector Sadiki Sedhom for bringing the case to light, and emphasizing that the death of an innocent girl would not go unpunished.

Sedhom refused to release a burial permit for Moussa until it was officially acknowledged that she died as a result of female circumcision and legal measures were underway, Al-Watan newspaper reported.  

The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) released a statement on Tuesday urging authorities to hold the doctor to account for injury leading to death and not manslaughter, as with previous cases. The rights organization explained such charges do not provide a big enough deterrent for medical staff and are disproportionate to the offence committed.

Lawyer Adel Ramadan explained this would mean the doctor is charged with deliberately inflicting a wound leading to death and not accidental manslaughter.

EIPR recommended amending the Penal Code to better facilitate the reporting of such crimes by parents and family members without fear for their safety.

The United Nations also released a statement condemning the incident, but noting a decline in the practice of female circumcision in recent years in Egypt, citing a 2014 Demographic and Health Survey indicating a 13 percent decline in rates of female circumcision among women between the ages of 13 and 15 since 2008.

However, the practice remains widespread. Sixty-one percent of women between the ages of 13-15 were circumcised in 2014, according to the report, which also asserted that 92 percent of married women between 15-49 years old in 2014 had undergone female circumcision. These figures are likely heavily underreported due to the stigma associated with the practice and lack of enforced punishment for those who carry it out.

The practice of female circumcision was made illegal in Egypt seven years ago, punishable with three months to two years in prison, and a maximum fine of LE5,000. There has been little enforcement, however, with only one incident in which a doctor was convicted and sentenced to two years in prison, although he never actually served his sentence.

The United Nations has reported that 74 percent of female circumcision operations are performed in Egypt by doctors and 8 percent by nurses and other medical personnel.

Dalia Abdel Hamid, who works in gender and women’s rights at EIPR, asserted, “legal criminalization is not enough,” arguing that national campaigns should “confront the root causes that drive families to circumcise girls, hoping to control their sexual desires and improve their chances of marriage.”