June 13, 2008

Guilty As Charged

This picture seems to be haunting me. There is a debate about FGM in Egypt. As always the Egyptians are still debating how to legalize a crime against humanity.

This picture kept haunting me, not only in every blog I visited but in my dreams too.

I would like each of you to dare look on the eyes of this girl. I want each of you to take a thorough look at the man in the corner of this picture. I want you to see the determination of that woman holding the prey. I want you to see those helping hands.

Could anyone tell me why we keep killing the future of Egypt?

8 comments:

Eureka said...

what helping hands? The only help she's getting is meaningless barking from HRW or AI. Egypt is a country intent on regressing. It's not like the ban will stop FGM; the majority of Egyptians believe it to be morally and religiously necessary. A ban by what they perceive to be an uncaring, aloof and out of touch government will only cause them to further believe in their deluded righteousness.

Haz said...

is FGM the same as circumcision?

for us singaporean muslims, it's highly encourage to go for circumcision, especially for males. it is not a must, but everyone i know have gone through it. but we do it in a highly clean environment done by a highly skilled doctor, so it's rather painless. it cannot be done anyhow. and most of the time, it's done when we're of a young age.

i'm not sure if FGM and circumcision are the same thing, but i know it is banned in some countries because it is usually not done in a safe environment.

Shimaa Gamal said...

Hello Eureka
I meant those hands at the right side of the picture helping the lady and the man to cut the prey.

I agree with you, most of the Egyptians believe it is morally important to undergo such a procedure and as Egyptians usually do they seek a validation from the devine power and we will have a long list of volunteers to sew such a thing. And yes because the government isn't popular so the ban, though in the favor of the Egyptian, will be objected just for the sake of objection.

Thanks for comming

Shimaa Gamal said...

Hello Haz
FGM is sometimes called female circumcision but unlike male circumcision that is being encouraged by religion for reasons of cleanness. Female circumcision is an operation that varies from removing the tip of the clitoris to removing the whole external gentiles. It is even a crime in its slightest forms. And there is no proof that any religion encouraged such a thing. It is being undergone for the sake of saving the girl’s chastity. People believe that by cutting parts of her gentiles they are preventing the girl of having sex outside marriage. Actually the truth is, they deprive the girl from the right of enjoying sexual intercourse whether this sex was outside marriage or within the sacred knot.
Male circumcision doesn’t affect a man’s sex life unlike female circumcision that’s being done to affect the female’s sex life by decreasing her chances of enjoying sex. People who believe that it is for the sake of the girl’s chastity deliberately ignore that chastity is related to the mind.
Such an operation affects the whole community; imagine a community with a high percentage of traumatized females. They have been punished for nothing but being females. Because she was born a girl, her mother and father assumed that she will dis-honor the family because she might look for sex. So as a precaution they cut the parts they know will make her enjoy sex. Her future husband too won’t really object. It is important for him to enjoy, males in such a community never care if their women are part of the fun, because the woman who enjoys is typically a bitch.

Anonymous said...

This absolutely horrifies me and makes me want to cry. It makes me sick to think that so many Egyptian women suffer this- I'd be interested to know what the real figure is..some people say 90% but I don't know...it is not really something you can talk about in Egypt

Shimaa Gamal said...

Hello Arima

I really miss reading you, I hope "je suis ici" will come back soon.

It is really terrifying and what terrifies me more is that the satellite preachers succeeded in brain washing some good well educated people who felt like doing whatever anyone says to get close to God.
There are no clear numbers about this very issue, it is a general problem with Egypt.
But I believe that it will come to an end, may be not instantly but it will sure fade away.

Thanks for passing by

Haz said...

hmmmm.. if it's bad, why does everyone in my country go through it? LOL! i will ask around here and get back. but i think i get the picture clearer now. thank you so much for the explanation. =)

Shimaa Gamal said...

Hello Haz
It is bad and lots of people in my country are doing it too :)
I guess it is an international thing.
Check things around and tell me your findings.

Have a great day :)