A 12-year-old girl died this week in southern Egypt after her parents brought her to a doctor who performed female genital mutilation, a criminal practice that remains widespread in the region, according to a judicial statement.
The girl's death in the province of Assiut prompted Egypt's public prosecutor to order the arrests of her parents and the physician who preformed the procedure, also known as female circumcision, said the statement released late Thursday by the prosecutor's office.
Since the mid-1990s, Egypt has been battling the centuries-old practice, which is misguidedly believed to control women's sexuality. In 2008, a law banning the cutting of female genitalia was passed in Parliament despite strong opposition from conservative voices. But a 2015 government survey found that 87 per cent percent of all Egyptian women between 15 and 49 years of age have been circumcised.
"Many more Egyptian girls will be forced to undergo the procedure, and many of them will die as long as there is no clear strategy from the state and a true criminalisation of the practice," Amel Fahmy, managing director of Tadwein Gender Research Center, said Friday.
In 2016, Egyptian lawmakers adopted amendments to the law, redefining FGM from a misdemeanor, where offenders typically receive up to two years in prison, to a felony, which draws tougher sentences and punishments.
However, women's rights advocates argue the law still contains loopholes. According to Reda el-Danbouki, a human rights lawyer, the penal code criminalises the cutting of female genital organs only in cases where there is no medical justification."
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