Page 3 of April-June 1998 Newsletter Monday, Dec. 29, 1997 Female circumcision ban upheld in Egypt By Mae Ghalwash ASSOCIATED PRESS      Cairo, Egypt ­ Ending a long battle between Islamic fundamentalists and human rights groups, Egypt´s high court Sunday upheld a Health Ministry decision banning government-certified doctors and health workers from performing female circumcision.      Under the new ruling, doctors and health workers who perform the procedure, referred to as genital mutilation by critics, face three years in prison and hospitals risk closure.      The decision cannot be appealed.      Proponents of female circumcision, including some clerics, say the surgery is a requirement of Islam. But that is disputed by many Muslim scholars, and the clerics have never provided strong evidence to support their claim. The practice is not used in many Muslim countries.      The Supreme Administrative Court ruled Sunday that the procedure is in fact not one of Islam´s dictates, and thus is subject to Egyptian law.      "With this ruling it has become prohibited for all to perform the operation of female circumcision, even with the consent of the girl or her guardians," the court said.      An exception could be made if a gynecologist approved the surgery for health reasons.      "Violators will be subjected to criminal, disciplinary and administrative punishment," the court added.      Health Minister Ismail Sallam announced the ban July 1996 following a campaign by human rights and women´s groups, who say the procedure is dangerous.      The surgery, typically performed on girls before puberty, ranges from cutting the tip of the clitoris to removing all external genitals.      Many in Egypt and some other parts of Africa follow the tradition, saying it promotes cleanliness and curbs sexual appetite. A Drumbeat for Change . . . Kenya, East Africa ­ Our teams held two sporting events on December 9th and 10th in the district of Kisii marking the end of our activities for 1997. It was an especially precarious time, since enemies of the current government promised outbreaks of violence during the statewide elections being held simultaneously. The team decided to proceed in spite of the danger. However, because of the countrywide shutdown the report filed by Philomena and Joab, directors of the adolescent program, arrived too late for our last newsletter. The following are excerpts:      The attendance was excellent and the target group was well reached. The sports events which took two days was attended with over 500 youths between the age of ten and twenty-one years with the majority being teenage girls. This gave a good chance for the Anti-Female Circumcision Club to convey their message on the dangers of female circumcision through drama, poems and songs. The youths were very excited and at the end of the sports we had thirty teenage girls who were ready to form another Anti-Female Circumcision Club.      The area chief, who was there until the end of the day, thanked the sponsors of the programme. He said he had been convicted in his heart to address this old, brutal practice but he has never known what to do. He promised to give the team all the support in the campaigns on Female Genital Multilation. His daughter was among the thirty who formed a new club.     The following day after the sports, Joab went to visit one of the old ladies who is respected in this brutal practice. Joab wanted to find out how many girls she circumcised during that period. She said sadly, "Only five girls came for the practice." When asked which is the least number she had circumcised in the past years, she gave a figure of forty-five girls just in her small locality. Take me to page 4 of the April-June 1998 Newsletter Take me to "A Woman´s Voice" home page