Raslan Fadl, the first doctor in Egypt to be put on trial for committing female genital mutilation, is still practicing even though a 13-year-old girl died after he performed the procedure. And in this Nile Delta Village, he has plenty of patients.
Young girls and their families on a recent day sat in his waiting room, where the bright yellow walls are decorated with Winnie the Pooh pictures, in the same building where Soheir el-Batea came for her operation last year. Residents call him a well-respected figure in the community, known for his charity work.
It could not be detemined whether any were at his office for ‘circumcision,’ as it is known here, and Fadl would not speak to The Associated Press. But Fadl’s continued popularity demonstrates the challenges to curbing the practice in Egypt, where more than 90 percent of women are estimated to have undergone it — one of the highest rates in the world.
Female genital cutting was criminalized in 2008 and the most important Sunni Muslim religious authority has declared it dangerous and without any religious justification.
The UN says there appears to be a slow reduction in the rate of the practice, but that it is still widespread. A verdict is expected Thursday in Fadl’s trial, and if convicted he could face up to two years in prison. Rights advocates say the outcome of this case could set a key precedent for deterring doctors and families in the future. Sohair’s father is also charged in the case.
But even in the home village of the girl, Dierb Biqtaris, there is little outcry against the practice.
Young girls and their families on a recent day sat in his waiting room, where the bright yellow walls are decorated with Winnie the Pooh pictures, in the same building where Soheir el-Batea came for her operation last year. Residents call him a well-respected figure in the community, known for his charity work.
It could not be detemined whether any were at his office for ‘circumcision,’ as it is known here, and Fadl would not speak to The Associated Press. But Fadl’s continued popularity demonstrates the challenges to curbing the practice in Egypt, where more than 90 percent of women are estimated to have undergone it — one of the highest rates in the world.
Female genital cutting was criminalized in 2008 and the most important Sunni Muslim religious authority has declared it dangerous and without any religious justification.
The UN says there appears to be a slow reduction in the rate of the practice, but that it is still widespread. A verdict is expected Thursday in Fadl’s trial, and if convicted he could face up to two years in prison. Rights advocates say the outcome of this case could set a key precedent for deterring doctors and families in the future. Sohair’s father is also charged in the case.
But even in the home village of the girl, Dierb Biqtaris, there is little outcry against the practice.