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Egypt sees U turn on female circumcision

The issue came to prominence last September, when the CNN television news channel broadcast a programme featuring a young girl being circumcised by a barber in Cairo. The screening could not have happened at a worse time for the Egyptian government. It took place during the controversial international conference on population, which was held in Cairo in spite of opposition by powerful Islamic groups within the country and a boycott by some Islamic countries including Saudi Arabia.

Shocked at the images shown worldwide, the Egyptian president was forced to agree to push legislation through the People's Assembly to ban the operation. Now all that has changed following pressure from leading religious figures.

The reason for this U turn is thought to be the power struggle between the two main sections of Egypt's learned religious establishment. After CNN's broadcast the government established a special committee composed of religious, medical, and social figures to advise on the legislation. One member of that committee was Dr Mohammed Syed Tantawi, who, in his role as the Mufti of Egypt, heads a religious office attached to the ministry of justice, which issues edicts based on interpretations of the Koran and Islamic laws. He came out in favour of a ban on the operation.

This view, however, was opposed by the Sheikh of Al Azhar, who argued in favour of the operation. Under Egyptian law the sheikh is the "grand religious authority on everything which deals with religious affairs and Islamic theology" and is the supreme authority on religious issues. He said: "It is clear that Islamic law supports both male and female circumcision. Just because mistakes are sometimes made in the way in which it is carried out does not mean that the procedure is wrong in itself."

Any new legislation would have a considerable impact on Egyptian doctors, but here again opinions vary widely. Dr Munir Fawzi of the department of gynaecology at Cairo University came out in favour of the procedure, saying: "Female circumcision is entrenched in Islamic life and teaching." He called on the government to implement training programmes for doctors to carry out the operation under anaesthesia.

Other leading doctors who oppose the procedure include psychiatrist Dr Adil Sadik, who stated that the "trauma of the operation remains with the girl for the rest of her life." He disputed the argument that the procedure prevents women from "moral deviation."

His view was shared by a consultant in genitourinary medicine, Ali Aldaroti, who added that "this is not a legitimate medical practice, and when it is conducted by untrained people it frequently results in infection and other medical problems."

Whatever is decided in terms of legislation, the pressure for female circumcision to continue remains strong. As one prominent Egyptian doctor was reported as saying, "If my daughter is not circumcised no man is going to marry her."--PETER KANDELA, physician and journalist

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