92% of married women in Egypt have undergone female genital mutilation

[Dexter]

http://egyptianstreets.com/2015/05/10/92-of-married-women-in-egypt-have-undergone-female-genital-mutilation/

Egypt’s Minister of Health Adel Adawy announced on Sunday that 92 percent of married Egyptian women have experienced female genital mutilation. The latest results were announced at a conference held to reveal the results of the 2014 Egypt Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS). According to the Minister, 92 percent of women aged between 15 and 49 who are or have been married suffer from genital mutilation.

The majority of females undergo genital mutilation between the ages of nine and 12, with only 31 percent of the operations run by doctors, said the Minister of Health. The Minister of Health added that FGM in rural areas is as high as 95 percent, compared to up to 39.2 percent in urban cities. The 2014 EDHS further found that more than 50 percent of married women in Egypt favor female genital mutilation and is in accordance with religious teachings, while 30 percent believe it should be banned. FGM is normally carried out by traditional midwives and ‘health barbers’.

Despite a large number of women surveyed believing that FGM is condoned by Islam, Egypt’s top Islamic authority has condemned the act as ‘un-Islamic’ and ‘barbaric’.
Moreover, Egypt banned female genital mutilation in 2008. Article 242 of Egypt’s Penal Code criminalizes the circumcision of girls The punishment for performing FGM is a prison sentence ranging from three months to two years or a fine of 5,000 Egyptian pounds.

[alicewonders]

92%.  That is jaw-dropping!  What a horrible life these women live - at least they're not victims of the War on Women. 

 

[truth_seeker]

Growing up I was taught I was created in God's image, my body was God's temple, and I should not mark or deface God's handiwork.

So from that starting point, my reaction to widespread piercing and tattoo usage by Americans, mostly younger, has not been positive.

So Americans react to fad (which is at odds with the Bible), while Egyptians react to religion. What is the difference?

As with most things Islamic, it is primitive, puritanical (against pleasure) and quite at odds with safe medical knowledge.