Human Rights Watch recently released a report titled “’They Took Me and Told Me Nothing’: Female Genital Mutilation in Iraqi Kurdistan” that details the prevalence of the violent and unsafe practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) in the region. While many people are aware that FGM occurs in Egypt and Yemen, most are ignorant that this dangerous and invasive procedure occurs in many Middle Eastern communities. In fact, the Association for Crisis Assistance and Development Cooperation found that over 70% of women interviewed in Kurdistan had undergone genital cutting, with some districts averaging over 80%. 31 girls and women were interviewed for the study, and many recall that they were given no anesthesia or antiseptic before undergoing circumcision. Some also witnessed the same razor blade being used for procedures on multiple different girls.
Human Rights Watch found that most Kurdish women are uninformed about the potential health risks of circumcision, and many receive unclear reasons as to why they are undergoing the procedure in the first place. FGM has been connected with hemorrhaging, infections, and complications during birth. Yet it still finds large support among some Middle Eastern communities. Many men support FGM because they believe that the hot climate of Iraq leads to increased sexual desire that can be quelled through genital mutilation. Some religious supporters of the practice claim that circumcision is sunna, or based on the words and deeds of the Prophet Muhammad. Others view a circumcised women as more pure, and as such would prefer their wives to endure the procedure. Efua Dorkenoo, the FGM program advocacy director at Equality Now, responds to these claims by stating that “despite several cultural reasons to justify it, FGM is done primarily to suppress the sexuality of girls and women.”
Some members of the Kurdistan government have reacted negatively to the recent report. Mariwan Nawshbandi, a spokesperson for the region’s Ministry of Endowment and Religious Affairs, argues that the claims of FGM are “extremely exaggerated,” and that the government faces “issues far more important” than genital mutilation.
Kurdistan has made some progress in protecting women’s rights by passing harsh laws for men convicted of honor killings and opening three shelters for women suffering from abuse. However, the country still lags in its response to female circumcision. Other nations that have found high rates of FGM have had much more active responses, with 17 African countries banning the practice over the past 15 years. A law to formally criminalize female genital cutting was proposed in 2007 in Kurdistan, but it did not receive enough support to reach the Kurdistan National Assembly.
Many women are attempting to fight the practice by refusing to force their own daughters to undergo circumcision. But often a mother’s protest is not enough.
For more information, see Time Magazine at http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1998966,00.html
