Cairo
The grand mufti of Egypt this week declared that female genital cutting was forbidden under Islamic law—the strongest official condemnation ever of a practice that is illegal yet commonplace in Egypt. The statement by Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa, the country’s highest-ranking Islamic authority, came after an 11-year-old girl died while undergoing the procedure at a medical clinic. The ancient practice involves cutting off part or all of the clitoris and other female genitalia, and it can lead to hemorrhaging, shock, and sexual dysfunction. “The harmful tradition of circumcision that is practiced in Egypt in our era is forbidden,” Gomaa declared. The cutting is performed on both Muslim and Christian girls in Egypt and parts of Africa, but is extremely rare in most of the Arab world.
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