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.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Amazon's 'James Bond' deal could mean a new future for 007In the Spotlight The franchise was previously owned by the Broccoli family
-
Why are Republicans suddenly panicking about DOGE?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As Trump and Musk take a chainsaw to the federal government, a growing number of Republicans worry that the massive cuts are hitting a little too close to home
-
What is JD Vance's Net Worth?In Depth The vice president is rich, but not nearly as wealthy as his boss and many of his boss' appointees
