First Egyptian FGM Prosecution

[Bethella]

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-27384861

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-27322088

Outlawed in 2008, for the first time a doctor in Egypt is to stand trial on charges of female genital mutilation, following the death of a 13-year-old girl, Suhair al Bataa. Her father is also charged. It's a step in the right direction but some of these quotes are rage inducing.

"It is God's will," said her grandfather Mohamed al Bataa, a gaunt-faced man wearing a brown gallabeya (traditional floor-length shirt). "We are not angry with the doctor. The doctor does not want to kill anyone. We are all sorry, and definitely we regret this."

But when asked if it was right to subject Suhair to FGM, her uncle Hassan's response was swift. "Yes of course," he said. "It has been done in the countryside for a long time. People here are used to it. Without circumcision, girls are full of lust."

and

"The case has started a debate among the liberal-minded," said Mohamed Ismail, who works for a local women's rights organisation. "But for the dogmatic even the death of the girl hasn't changed their minds."

As we filmed in Suhair's village, we found evidence of that. "What's all the fuss about?" one old woman asked. "Why did you come here? A thousand or so girls were circumcised after she died."

And in a new twist on victim blaming the doctor is claiming he treated her for genital warts not FGM. :evil:

[Chowder Head]

:head-desk: :whaaa: :serious: Just..no word for this attitude