Eritrea bans female circumcision



By Jack Kimball 30 minutes ago


Eritrea has banned female circumcision, a life-threatening tradition that aid groups say afflicts some 90 percent of the country's women.

A government statement issued on Thursday said anyone who requested, took part in or promoted the practice now faced a fine of several hundred dollars or up to 10 years in jail.

"Female circumcision is a procedure that seriously endangers the health of women, causes them considerable pain and suffering besides threatening their lives," the statement said.

"Whosoever requests, incites or promotes female circumcision ... shall be punishable with a fine and imprisonment."

The ban took effect on March 31, it said.

Female circumcision, also called female genital mutilation (FGM), is widespread in the Horn of Africa and involves cutting off the clitoris and other parts of the female genitalia.

There are degrees of severity and many practitioners are untrained and use crude instruments.

"FGM is a deep rooted culture and it needs a persistent continuous effort (to halt it)," Luul Ghebreab, president of National Union of Eritrean Women, told Reuters.

"We do not believe (this ban) will automatically eradicate circumcision, but surely it will play a role."

Up to 140 million women and girls worldwide are estimated to have undergone female circumcision, and U.N. agencies estimate that another three million a year are subjected to it.

A health survey by Eritrea's government in 2002 found 62 percent of circumcised women in the Red Sea state had the procedure done before their first birthday. Less than one percent had been performed by trained health professionals.

At last... some commonsense.

clp)clp)clp)

lol and what exactly is that going to do

it's traditional there is no way u can uproot it by passing a law that even they know was probably just a front

peace

i wonder if they will be educating people around it aswell

good bans laws should also have an education element to it

You do know this means little...sudan has banned it as well. And it's still going on there...off course people can choose to hope...futile as it may be...

HatHaruhotep wrote:
WOW!!

It’s traditional to circumcise Jewish men, indeed male circumcision has become a widespread practise amongst non Jewish doctors, ( that’s another topic entirely)….but hey why stop there lets ban tribal marks too, after all the implements used there are often crude and those administering the scars are poorly trained ( if at all ), and hey lets also ban putting those huge bowls in southern Americans lips ( for the same reasons above)



I have a problem with one culture imposing it’s own cultural ideals onto another’s. No one to my knowledge has ever started a campaign against male circumcision,

The same reasons for banning female circumcision are never levelled, with any great impetuse, at male circumcision. I.e. possible sexual assault, breach of human rights. Physical disfigurement.



If female circumcision is done in a clean environment and by professionals ( like male circumcision, I don’t see why the same advocates of banning F.C. don’t put in as much energy and money into banning male circumcision.


I wonder how many F.C. detractors are actively lobbying their governments to oppose male circumcision ….???? Their hypocrisy is deafening

mike

my mother lobyed against fc in sudan

first fc is to prevent woman from having any sexual arosal, and make pebetrative sex difficult, hence she maintains her purity, this also results in difficult labour as you can imagine. a male c is their to get rid of the hood of the penis, hence eassier to clean.

you are looking at the procedure ie whether it is done safely or with a proffessioanl, whether i am looking at the RESULT, and clearly if you look at the resulf ie effect of circumcision on bother genders, then the female one is clearly wrong.

do you understand that simple concept?

@ mike pain: I guess because there are less problems associated with MC, there is less outrage about it?

I also want to add that male circumcision leads to lesser chance to be afflicted by AIDS, according to various angencys and this has been said for several years might add.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/ba...ids/434880.stm

So male circumcisionactually has it's uses...FC might be a lot harder to argue for.