Circumcision Controls A Woman's Sexual Needs, Claims Egyptian Cleric al-Badri

Egyptian cleric Sheikh Yussef al-Badri, the same idiot who claims there is no such thing as marital rape in Islam, believes female genital mutilation (FGM) is a necessary procedure, and even though it has been illegal in Egypt since 2008, he wants the ban reversed.  In an interview with BBC reporter Aleem Maqbool he explains why, though I wouldn't recommend watching the video if you have high blood pressure.

He  doesn't seem to care that a 13 year-old girl just died after being butchered. Another 13-year-old, Nermine El-Haddad, lost her life in 2010 because her ignorant parents forced her to undergo the painful torture of FGM. And because they knew what they had done was illegal they buried the child so as not to get caught.

El-Haddad, from the village of Abu Nashaba in Menoufiya, was a pupil at Al-Khatatba preparatory school. She died after severe haemorrhaging following an operation at Menouf Public Hospital last week conducted by Dr Fatheya Mahmoud Eweida. Fearing legal action against them, her parents did not report the incident to the police. Eweida allowed the burial of El-Haddad without a death certificate or an official burial licence, and the incident only came to attention when one of Eweida's colleagues at the hospital phoned the ministry's child rescue hotline (16000).

In spite of the 2007 ban, which bans doctors from performing FGM in hospitals and a law enacted in 2008 (childhood law number 126) which makes it a crime, the practice continues, especially in the south of Egypt. Egypt is sponsoring programmes to help educate the people, but some traditions, tragically, die hard. In the meantime, young girls are being mutilated and in some cases dying because of ignorance, and misogynistic clerics like al-Badri who encourage the practice.

It is believed that 75% of Egyptian women, both Muslim and Christian, have been circumcised.

Al-Badri believes that female circumcision is ordered by Allah. It's a way to control a woman's need for a man. When the reporter asks him about a man's needs- al-Badri responds that those are controlled by marriage.  So a woman gets mutilated to control her needs, while a man gets to marry.

Egyptian Girl, 13, Dies After Being Circumcised

This is the kind of story that makes my blood boil- supremely ignorant parents still forcing their daughters to undergo the barbaric practice of female genital mutilation (FGM), and then when it goes wrong (and it does) blaming the unethical doctor who performed the procedure.

FGM can cause irreparable damage to young girls which can worsen as they age, but in some cases they die, like the 13-year-old Egyptian girl- Suhair al-Bata’a- who had the illegal operation and then expired 15 minutes later.

“We left our daughter with the doctor and the nurse. 15 minutes later, the nurse took my daughter out of the operation room to a nearby room, along with three other girls whom the doctor was circumcising,” Mohammed Ibrahim, a farmer, told al-Masry al-Youm.

“I waited half an hour, hoping that my daughter would wake up, but, unfortunately, unlike the rest of the girls, she did not,” he said.

Two years ago, the same doctor circumcised Suhair's older sister, and the mum wants revenge.

“I want nothing but to hold the doctor accountable and to have justice for my daughter,” the victim’s mother, Hasanat Naeem Fawzy, told the newspaper.

UNICEF and Egypt's National Council for Women (ENCW) have condemned what happened, and ENCW has demanded an inquiry and punishment for those involved.  Since the parents are equally responsible- for bringing her to that doctor in the first place- let's hope they are punished as well.

FGM has been illegal in Egypt since 1996, but only one person has been prosecuted since that time- and that was back in 2009.

FGM will continue until it becomes a major crime, with an appropriately severe punishment, for all those involved, including the parents.

The Problem Of Female Genital Mutilation In The UK

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a barbaric practice that won't easily be eradicated. In fact it's a growing problem in Western lands, with the UK now ranking number one in Europe. It's understandable in countries where the bulk of the population lives in ignorance and poverty, but one would think the practice would not survive in the civilized Western world. But not so. The problem is- immigrants bring their religious and cultural practices to their adopted countries, and are loathe to let them go. But it's such a problem that England is willing to invest £35 million to try to reduce the practice in at least 10 countries within the next 5 years.

The Gatestone Institute discusses the huge problem of FGM in the UK:

British authorities are redoubling their fight against the spiraling problem of female genital mutilation (FGM) after a weekly primetime television show broadcast by the BBC forced the previously "taboo" subject into mainstream debate.

FGM is endemic in Muslim-majority countries across Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Three million girls between infancy and age 15 are subject to FGM every year, and it is believed that 140 million women worldwide are suffering from the lifelong consequences of the practice.

FGM has emerged as a major problem in Europe due to mass immigration. The European Parliament estimates that 500,000 girls and women in the European Union are living with FGM, and every year another 180,000 girls in Europe are at risk of being "cut."

Britain has the highest levels of FGM in Europe. According to a government-funded study published in 2007, at least 66,000 women and girls in Britain have had the procedure performed on them, and more than 20,000 girls under the age of 15 are currently at risk.

These figures, however, may be only the tip of the iceberg. A 2011 Department of Health policy paper warns that "it is possible that, due to population growth and immigration from practicing countries…FGM is significantly more prevalent than these figures suggest."

FGM is thought to be common in Britain among immigrant groups from Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Indonesia, Iraq, Kenya, Kurdistan, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Northern Sudan, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Somalia and Yemen.

The rest here.

It's unbelievable to think that this still happens in the 21st century in the West, and that it's actually becoming epidemic. It's all about education, but the only ones who can influence the parents of these young girls are the Imams, and that doesn't seem likely, because FGM is just another way to control women, in a religion that has little respect for them.

Indonesian Mullahs Demand Government Allow Female Genital Mutilation

Although an allegedly moderate Muslim nation, Indonesia has its share of Mullahs who are as backwards and misogynist as they get.

Most countries are trying to do away with female genital mutilation (FGM) which can cause young girls major physical problems when they grow up, and in some cases even death. The only reason to circumcise a young girl is for control and subjugation, so the practice continues. In fact, Indonesia legalized it in 2010, if performed by doctors or midwives. 

The Indonesian Ulama Council (MUI) has petitioned the government to make sure the practice  continues, claiming it's a constitutional right. Amirsyah Tambunan from the MUI said,

"Circumcision is a part of the Islamic teachings recommended for Muslims, both male and female. The MUI and Islamic organisation in the country firmly stand against efforts to ban female circumcision." 

There is a huge difference between male and female circumcision, which is why the UN is trying to get its member states to ban it. The only reason it's performed on females is to control a woman's sexuality and desire.

Not everyone agrees about it being a religious obligation.

... the executive director of the Wahid Institute, Ahmad Suaedy, disagreed, saying that the practice was based on fiqih (Islamic jurisprudence) that could be interpreted differently by different ulemas.

“Female circumcision is not in the sharia. Maybe, the MUI drew their conclusions from a fiqih that was applied in a particular context and region,” he told The Jakarta Post on Monday.