FGM convoys condemned by women’s group

Education key to ending FGM in Egypt A number of Egyptian human rights groups have submitted a communication to the Attorney General Abdel Meguid Mahmoud against the Muslim Brotherhood`s political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) to investigate the complaints of people in the village of Abu Aziz in the Minya governorate, south of Cairo, over the existence of a large medical convoy organized by the party that wanders streets and does medical examination on people, including female circumcision, or female genital mutilation, in violation of Egyptian law, conventions and treaties signed by Egypt.
In Egypt’s legal code, Female Genital Mutilation is criminalized, as well as the inciting by doctors to convince families of the young girls of the need to agree to circumcise their daughters, “as a matter of preserving chastity.”
The communication demanded Mervat Tallawy, the head of the National Council for Women (NCW) and Major General Seraj EL Din El Rouby, the Governor of Minya, and Nasr El Sayed , Assistant Minister for primary health care, and preventive medicine, and family planning, to intervene to stop what it called “a farce propaganda for free circumcision, which was organized by one of the political parties, in Minya governorate to promote circumcision.”
The communication came after reports were circulated on news websites and social networking websites, including Facebook and Twitter about a convoy organized by the FJP to promote circumcision among girls in Minya.
Tallawy, on Sunday, held a meeting with the governor of Minya to discuss the mechanisms of organizing awareness campaigns and seminars for women in the governorate, on how to address and fight against female genital mutilation, “which is being carried out by the FJP in the governorate.”
Tallawy called on the Governor of Minya to combat such operations, and to spread awareness in the governorate, and to “coordinate with the Council in any issue related to women.”
The National Council for Women denounced the statements issued by the Secretary of the Freedom and Justice Party for the People’s Assembly on female circumcision, pointing out that such an act and calls “may put the person who promotes it under penalty of law because FGM is criminalized, and against human rights in general and women in particular.”
The Council said it would not stand silent and will “combat these calls, which is an affront to Egyptian women, especially since the law criminalizes this act,” pointing out that the attempts by some to ignore this law and the abolition of the law that bans FGM.
The council added that “the call for female circumcision is totally unacceptable.”
The NCW said it will adopt an awareness campaign in various governorates in Egypt to address the grave consequences of female genital mutilation and, appealing to citizens, especially women, “not to respond to calls for this illegal act, which violates the dignity and rights of women,” and calling for lawmakers to “comply with the law and address such propaganda for free circumcision.”