The International Zero Tolerance Day for Female Genital Mutilation is annually observed on 6 February. It is a day to galvanise people all over the world to raise awareness and take action.
Despite efforts to end FGM, over three million girls and women are at risk each year. Ending this practice will take everyone raising their hand and voice. In this context, the story published by ThePrint holds importance.
It carried news of a letter written by Syedna Taher Fakhruddin, claimant to the title of ‘Syedna’ or head of the Dawoodi Bohra Community, addressed to the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and principal secretary PK Mishra. Syedna Taher Fakhruddin asked the PM to ban FGM.
While this came across as if there was renewed hope for our long-standing demand to end Female Genital Mutilation, rampantly practiced in the Dawoodi Bohra community, it was really just a classic case of using click-bait to draw media attention.
Also read: ‘Neither PM nor CM, I’m family’: In Dawoodi Bohra outreach, Modi recalls ties since Gujarat days
FGM and Khafz—one and the same
The letter defends Khafz as performed in the Dawoodi Bohra community. And adds that it doesn’t constitute FGM. It further states that Khafz is analogous to clitoral de-hooding. Moreover, the procedure is done to “improve a woman’s sexual health.”
In reality, Khafz and FGM are one and the same. According to the World Health organisation’s definition, removal of the girl child’s clitoral-hood for non-medical purposes is Type 1 and Type 4 FGM. WHO’s comprehensive definition of FGM includes all types of the practice prevalent in the world.
Moreover, the clitoral de-hooding performed in unhygienic conditions by midwives in many cases leads to the cutting of more than just the hood, according to an independent study. It narrates the psychological impact of this practice on women.
Making a distinction between Khafz and FGM is a dangerous precedent and must be called out.
The Supreme Court in Australia had declared that khatna/khafz constitute FGM. The verdict was passed in a case wherein a nurse and a mother along with a Bohra leader from the local mosque were charged with performing FGM on two young girls.
Globally, FGM is performed in over 90 countries and is known by different names. In India, the Bohra community refers to it as Khatna/Khafz, in Indonesia it is referred to as Khitan or Sunnat Perepuan. Certain Sunni communities in India’s Kerala call it Sunnat.
Medicalisation of FGM
The letter states that “women can choose to perform Khafz under appropriate conditions under medical supervision”. This is clearly treading on another landmine of medicalised FGM. Pointing out the dangers of medical intervention for the practice, WHO says that one in four cases of FGM is performed by a health worker. It urges health professionals to never undertake such procedures. The need of the hour is to do away with all types of FGM. Whether done hygienically with medicalised supervision or otherwise.
The official discourse on FGM varies from community to community. It is stated to be exercised for numerous reasons. From the need for a girl to be “pure” before she marries, to maintaining “hygiene,” to “improve a woman’s health” and for the husband’s pleasure. The bottom line, however, in all communities is that female sexuality has to be controlled.
Take the Bohras for instance, which is a trading community. In earlier days, men travelled far and wide for purposes of trade, leaving women behind. The patriarchal mindset of controlling women and ensuring that they do not go astray and have extramarital sex made a compelling argument to justify the practice.
Also read: Modi govt in denial about female genital mutilation in India. Collect data, let states ban it
India and the spread of FGM
India is a signatory to the December 2012 UN resolution on FGM which urges “countries to condemn all harmful practices that affect women and girls, in particular female genital mutilations.” Ending FGM is a Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 5.3). At the recently concluded Universal Periodic Review (UPR) India received its first recommendation from Costa Rica to clearly define FGM and develop a national plan to eliminate it.
What is also problematic is the timing of the letter. Syedna Taher Fakhruddin’s views about making khafz optional for those above 18 years of age and distancing it from its terminology are not new. Syedna had publicised these views in a press conference seven years ago as well. Only this time, the letter was addressed to the PM. The letter also coincides with final arguments in the ongoing Dawoodi Bohra succession battle at the Bombay High Court.
Over the last seven years, my organisation WeSpeakOut has been steadfastly petitioning the government to do research on the prevalence of FGM and its spread. At a recent meeting organised by us, which was attended by Civil society representatives working in the space of women and children and the United Nations Population Fund, testimonies of survivors of FGM from Kerala’s Sunni communities indicated that the practice exists beyond the Bohra community in India.
Religious leaders are one of the most critical actors in the issue of female genital mutilation due to the power they have over their communities.
In Africa, several religious leaders have shown the way by shunning the practice and influencing their followers to do away with it. A case in point are the Muslim scholars of Al-Azhar University in Egypt, the Mufti of Egypt Ali Gomaa, Muhammad Husayn Fadlallah, Mohammad Salim AAwwa, secretary general of the International Federation of Islamic Scholars, and many such Islamic scholars who have articulated the false links between FGM and religious obligation.
FGM or Khafz harms girls and women physically, sexually and psychologically and it is crucial to stop it. Why can’t both the Syednas of the Bohra community Syedna Muffadal Saifuddin and Syedna Taher Fakhruddin as well as Sunni religious leaders take an unequivocal stand against this practice?
Masooma Ranalvi is co-founder, India Lead, at WeSpeakOut. Views are personal.
(Edited by Ratan Priya)