Category: Female Genital Mutilation
A good friend of mine who currently lives in Australia told me about how the court case against the Bohra community in Australia was garnering a lot of exposure in the media. The above article does an exceptional job (thank you Aarefa) of coming from a neutral place (which is very hard for me to do with my views on this matter) and stating the facts so succinctly.
Finally there are public ramifications for breaking the law and harming your own flesh and blood. The mother-daughter bond is so strong, yet religious zeal is strong enough that it convinces people to hurt their own daughters and delude themselves into thinking that they are doing this for their daughters’ well-being.
7 years in jail? A small price to pay for the lifelong effects that this procedure causes the innocent little girl. I do sympathize with the fact that if convicted, this would render the daughters mother-less for that period of time – however, the flip side is that it will serve as a strong deterrent to others who consider inflicting this procedure on helpless girls.
I acknowledge the Australian authorities for spending so much time and investing so many resources in gathering unequivocal evidence that these events took place – even exposing the corruptness that exists within the Bohra community structure; the trickle down unspoken threat of the consequences of speaking out, the secrecy surrounding the procedure and the coercion of the innocent girls to keep quiet over such a scarring event.
Here’s hoping that this is the first of many prosecutions – let there finally be punishment for this crime. Perhaps the negative exposure may make influential players change their position and save thousands of girls from being subjected to this brutal experience.
Those who know me even vaguely are aware of how firmly against the practice of FGM I stand. It saddens me to think of all of the innocent, unsuspecting girls who trustingly go to a doctor or an elder, only to be brutally mutilated, oftentimes without any anesthetic and in poor sanitary conditions. There are so many reasons why I believe this is so wrong on so many levels. I previously wrote a blog entry on this topic.
Today I was sent a great article on FGM within the Bohra community:
http://www.thequint.com/2015/apr/07/female-gender-mutilation-indias-well-kept-secret
To highlight a few points (my comments are italicized):
“When I was around seven, my grandmother took me on an outing. We went to a dingy building. The women there told me to take my panties off. Then all the women, including my grandmother, pinned my arms and legs down. One of the women took a blade and began cutting me down there. I screamed in terror and pain.”
Those may be the words of only one woman, but they convey the anguish faced by many.
I 100% wholeheartedly agree with this. This practice has no place in 2015. It is barbaric, brutal and unislamic. Mutilating innocent girls in the name of religion, scarring them for life and causing so much grief and pain is not something that a benevolent God would endorse, let alone enforce.
“Tasleem’s goal was to collect enough signatures to present to the Bohra High Priest, His Holiness Dr Syedna Mohammad Burhanuddin, ordering a ban on this ritual.
However, Burhanuddin’s spokesman, Qureshi Raghib, regrettably ruled out any change and claimed he had no interest in discussing the issue:
I have heard about the online campaign but Bohra women should understand that our religion advocates the procedure and they should follow it without any argument.
– Qureshi Raghib, Dawoodi Bohra community spokesperson”
And with what authority does Qureshi Raghib speak? Has he personally sat down and studied Islam, to find the actual context of the Hadith that this tradition is based on? ( A woman used to perform circumcision in Medina. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said to her: Do not cut severely as that is better for a woman and more desirable for a husband.) Notice how a woman who was already doing this procedure was told to not do it severely. Nowhere is it said that this is a required practice in Islam. Has Qureshi Raghib ever sat down and listened to a woman describe her experience? Has he ever seen the look of sheer terror in a young girl’s eyes when they first see the blade? Perhaps then he may develop an interest to discuss the issue.
Mr Raghib, I am a bohra woman. Who are you to tell me what I should do with my body? Who are you to tell me what parts to keep and what parts to cut off? Who are you to tell an innocent child that?
“Debate on this subject is generally taboo and any discussion sacrilege. The women of this community, are made to believe that it is practised all over the world, as well as crucial for their social acceptance.”
Exactly. It’s all kept secret, not to be spoken about. Even amongst us girls, the topic is rarely discussed. This is why this practice continues, despite the fact that it is illegal. Education is needed so that people can make informed choices, rather than “follow it without any argument”.
A great blog on this can be found at https://breakthesilencespeakthetruth.wordpress.com. Bravo to the woman who has created this site, going against the grain and standing up for what she believes is right. It’s high time that the rest of us women who have endured this primitive procedure, or those who know anyone who has been through this trauma stand up and take back our basic human right to keep all of our organs intact.
PS. Please sign the petition