Taking the campaign for FGM abandonment to the community
By Lucy Ashton in Minya, Upper Egypt. April 2005 The mud on Aliya’s hands is still a little damp and there are seeds in her hair. She is three and content in her mother’s arms despite the squash on the benches in Zawit Sultan community centre. Around Aliya are two hundred women about to discuss whether her genitals, and those of the other little girls in the village, should be cut. The aim of this meeting is to dispel the medical, social and religious falsehoods that are used to ‘justify’ female genital mutilation or cutting (FGM/C). It is part of a partnership between UNICEF and Egyptian NGOs to encourage Egyptian families in targeted areas not to subject their daughters to the same custom. “Most of the women here have experienced the pain of circumcision and know of girls who have bled badly and been scarred by it. And many feel that FGM/C is somehow wrong,” explains a member of the Better Life Association for Comprehensive Development (BLACD), UNICEF’s NGO partner in Minya. “But they lack the arguments they need to convince their family and friends.”
Addressing the meeting today are the village sheikh, Hassan Abdul Hakim and a local doctor, Shadia Mokhtar. Dr Shadia begins explaining the many medical reasons why FGM/C is both dangerous and unnecessary. Her presentation is interrupted by a woman who tells the audience that if a girl is not cut, she will not develop the full-breasted, feminine shape that Egyptian society prefers. “She will always be a thin and hungry girl,” insists the woman. The doctor, a little flummoxed by this assertion, is rescued by a young woman named Fatma. She springs to her feet, declaring: "Look at me! I am not circumcised. Am I underdeveloped?” She jiggles her chest to emphasise the fullness of her bosom. Some of the audience draw back in shock, others applaud Fatma for her courage in speaking out. The strength of local tradition means Fatma's revelation could cause her problems when she wants to marry. But that’s a risk she's willing to take. Since last year, Fatma has been a volunteer with the BLACD campaign for FGM/C abandonment, eager to convince others of the need to stop circumcising little girls. Joining the campaign against FGM/C was not difficult for her: Her own parents decided not to circumcise her after Fatma’s three older sisters suffered medical complications as a result of their circumcisions. Fatma is scathing of any assumptions her village might make about her sexuality or behaviour. “I know I am no different from any circumcised girl and I would not marry a man who worried about such things.”
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