Egyptian Campaign

No matter what you call it, circumcision or mutilation, the practice of removing a woman’s clitoris has become a front-and-center raucous debate in Egypt. There is a nation wide campaign to eliminate the procedure and is one of the biggest social movements in decades for Egyptians. Government, religious leaders, and activists are joining together.

The government’s Health Ministry banned the practice in 1996, but allowed an exception. This exception has become a loophole that government is trying to close. For centuries, Egyptian girls, usually between the ages of 7 and 13, have been taken to have the procedure done, sometimes by a doctor, sometimes by a barber or whoever else in the village would do it. Societal changes come slow in a conservative country that holds on to tradition even if it is contrary to religious teachings.