It is a topic most of us tiptoe around or even avoid talking about altogether. But for some women, it is a traumatic experience that they have to live with for the rest of their lives.
Last Saturday was International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), which offers a rare chance to highlight this barbaric procedure. The figures are shocking. According to the latest UN Children’s Fund report, it is estimated that at least 200 million girls and women alive today in 30 countries have undergone some form of FGM. And there are new victims every day.
I assumed it was a rare practice that occurred only in rural areas among the uneducated or unaware – until someone I had known for years, who was from a wealthy Egyptian family, told me that she was a victim of FGM when she was 8.
“It is just accepted as normal practice ... My mother had it done to her and my grandmother, great grandmother and other female relatives,” she says.
A mother of two teenagers, she says she is one of the “lucky ones” because she was able to have children, even though each birth had its own complication.
Besides the emotional, psychological and physical hurt, FGM can lead to health issues such as severe bleeding, regular infections, complications in childbirth and increased risk of newborn deaths.
“I do feel like a part of my womanhood was stolen from me and I was made to feel great shame throughout my life for being born a woman,” she says.
The small space allowed for this column can do no justice to this topic and this woman’s courage as she stood up to pressure and protected her own two daughters from FGM.
The practice has been illegal in Egypt since 2008, but despite the law, it has persisted.
“It needs to stop. It is a violation of rights, of privacy and of life. This horrible violent practice violates the meaning of life itself,” she says.
FGM comprises all procedures that involve altering or injuring the female genitalia for non-medical reasons and is recognised internationally as a violation of the human rights of girls and women. According to the UN report, half of the affected women are in three countries: Egypt, Ethiopia and Indonesia.
Last year, this topic was addressed in Omnia, a short film by Emirati filmmaker Amena Al Nowais that won the Best Picture award at Image Nation’s first Arab Film Studio Documentary competition. The subject of the film, Omnia Ibrahim, a 32-year-old Abu Dhabi resident from Egypt, attended the ceremony and faced the media to further discuss this topic. Imagine the amount of courage it took to first appear in this film and then answer questions about her life.
Nawal El Saadawi, the feminist, activist, doctor and writer, has written frankly about her own FGM and has been fighting for women’s rights for decades under a barrage of death threats and even spent time in jail for her beliefs and writings. This issue also needs more men fighting against it for it to finally stop.
“Never before has it been more urgent – or more possible – to end the practice of female genital mutilation, preventing immeasurable human suffering and boosting the power of women and girls to have a positive impact on our world,” said United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-moon.
Thankfully, there is progress. In some of the countries where it is prevalent, the authorities are clamping down on those who perform it. Slowly, through cooperation of the entire community, self-awareness by the families themselves and international efforts, it can be eradicated for ever.
rghazal@thenational.ae
On Twitter:@Arabianmau
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo hybrid
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 390bhp
Torque: 400Nm
Price: Dh340,000 ($92,579
Cry Macho
Director: Clint Eastwood
Stars: Clint Eastwood, Dwight Yoakam
Rating:**
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 240hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 390Nm at 3,000rpm
Transmission: eight-speed auto
Price: from Dh122,745
On sale: now
The%20specs
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
Drishyam 2
Directed by: Jeethu Joseph
Starring: Mohanlal, Meena, Ansiba, Murali Gopy
Rating: 4 stars
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
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Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
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COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
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COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
Brief scoreline:
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Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
What is a Ponzi scheme?
A fraudulent investment operation where the scammer provides fake reports and generates returns for old investors through money paid by new investors, rather than through ligitimate business activities.
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Venom
Director: Ruben Fleischer
Cast: Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed
Rating: 1.5/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
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The Year Earth Changed
Directed by:Tom Beard
Narrated by: Sir David Attenborough
Stars: 4
Results
5.30pm: Maiden Dh165,000 (Turf) 1,600m; Winner: Al Battar, Mickael Barzalona (jockey), Salem bin Ghadayer (trainer).
6.05pm: Maiden Dh165,000 (Dirt) 1,200m; Winner: Good Fighter, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
6.40pm: Handicap Dh185,000 (T) 1,200m; Winner: Way Of Wisdom, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
7.15pm: Handicap Dh170,000 (D) 2,200m; Winner: Immortalised, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
7.50pm: Handicap Dh185,000 (T) 2,000m; Winner: Franz Kafka, James Doyle, Simon Crisford.
8.25pm: Handicap Dh185,000 (D) 1,200m; Winner: Mayadeen, Connor Beasley, Doug Watson.
9pm: Handicap Dh185,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Chiefdom, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer
Ready Player One
Dir: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn, Mark Rylance