The proportion of Egyptian women aged 15 to 17 who’ve undergone feminine genital mutilation (FGM) dropped to 37 p.c in 2021, down from 61 p.c in 2014, in accordance with Minister of Social Solidarity Maya Morsy on 19, June.
The figures, introduced in the course of the tenth assembly of the Nationwide Committee on Feminine Genital Mutilation, mirror a big shift in each public consciousness and coverage efforts.
Morsy added that public help amongst girls for the follow additionally declined sharply, from 75 p.c in 2000 to 30 p.c in 2021.
“These numbers are encouraging, however the hazard is much from over,” she stated, describing FGM as “a criminal offense towards childhood, the physique, and the longer term.”
The committee assembly additionally commemorated anti-FGM pioneers Mary Assaad, Aziza Hussein, and Nabil Samuel, with the launch of the fourth version of the Pioneers of Change Award. The award goals to commemorate the efforts of icons who’ve labored tirelessly to fight feminine genital mutilation
Morsy recalled the 2007 demise of a younger woman named Badour throughout an FGM process, which led to the designation of June 14 as Egypt’s Nationwide Day for Combating FGM.
Since criminalizing FGM in 2008, Egypt has strengthened its authorized framework. Penalties had been elevated in 2016, and a landmark regulation handed in 2021 now permits jail sentences of as much as 20 years for these performing the process, particularly if it ends in demise. Clinics concerned in FGM may also be shut down for as much as 5 years.
Morsy cited a historic 2021 court docket ruling that sentenced a nurse to 10 years in jail and the woman’s father to a few years for authorizing the process.Alongside authorized reforms, nationwide consciousness campaigns have performed a key position. From 2019 to 2021, the “Shield Her from FGM” marketing campaign reached over 76 million individuals throughout Egypt’s governorates by in-person outreach, public occasions, radio broadcasts, and academic supplies.
The minister additionally proposed integrating anti-FGM messaging into Egypt’s nationwide money switch program, Takaful and Karama, which reaches practically 30 million individuals, as a software to incentivize prevention.
“After practically a decade of what many name a golden age for ladies in Egypt, our mission is clearer than ever: no extra new wounds,” Morsy stated.
As a part of wider efforts, the Ministry of Social Solidarity will hold its girls’s help centres open across the clock. The 16439 hotline stays obtainable to report and reply to circumstances of violence, together with FGM.
