By Nourhan Fahmy and Menna Zaki Local rights groups criticized on Tuesday the legal provision on female genital mutilation (FGM) in its current format, proposing several amendments besides those put forth by the health ministry. Since its issuance in 2008, the legal provision against FGM has failed to deter the ongoing practice, which has afflicted more than half of Egyptian girls aged between 15 and 17, according to UN statistics. The law sets a punishment of between three months and two years in prison or a fine of EGP 1,000 – 5,000 on anyone who causes an injury due to FGM. Ten Egyptian human rights organizations welcomed the health ministry’s decision to introduce amendments to the legal provision penalizing FGM in a joint statement on Tuesday. The organizations, including the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) and the Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights, praised the omission of the reference to Article 61 of the Penal Code in Article 242. The omitted reference exempted the perpetrator of the crime from penalty given he/she was forced by necessity to do it. The organizations further welcomed the inclusion of a definition for FGM in the legal provision that…
Egypt Rights Groups Denounce ‘Ineffective’ FGM Provision, Propose Amendments
August 3, 2016
